When Akhil Anilkumar speaks about his new film Thalavara (Destiny), there is a quiet confidence in his tone, the kind that comes from knowing you have something meaningful to say, and also a personal stake that seems to go beyond cinema. The film, releasing in theatres on August 22, follows the life of a young man, played by Arjun Ashokan, whose face bears visible signs of vitiligo, a condition that causes patches of skin to lose pigment.
But Akhil is quick to clarify that the film is not defined solely by the medical condition. “Usually, when we talk about someone with a condition like this, the focus tends to be on the condition itself. But this film is different. It is not just about the condition. Even someone without vitiligo can understand the emotions in this film. At the same time, it can also connect with the family and friends of someone with vitiligo,” he says.
For Akhil, Thalavara refuses to fit into a single category. It carries the emotional rhythm of a coming-of-age story, tracing the inner shifts of a young man, but it also has the broader scope of a family drama. “It explores how the destinies of all the major characters unfold, whether for the better or through significant change,” he adds. The origins of the film lie not in a grand plan, but in moments that might have easily gone unnoticed. Akhil points out that vitiligo is rarely explored on screen, not just in Malayalam cinema, but across the world. His research uncovered only few films that dealt with the subject.
The first spark came unexpectedly during a train journey. Akhil recalls sitting across from a 7th-grade boy and his mother. “I noticed vitiligo on the boy’s leg. It struck me that there are so many people around us like this, yet we often do not pay attention. I asked him what it was, and he said it was vitiligo. He was Tamil. I asked if he had had it from a young age and how things were at school. I asked if people ever treated him differently. He said no, not at all, and added that he just got on with things in his own way.” That answer stayed with him, not only for the boy’s confidence but for the way it inverted expectation. Here was someone refusing to be defined or diminished by what others might see as a vulnerability. That encounter sparked a new direction for Akhil to explore the life of a protagonist with vitiligo. “There is a thrill in bringing something to the screen that others have not. After that, I began researching. I watched many documentaries and spoke to people with vitiligo.”
Casting Arjun as the lead felt like a natural fit from the moment the story was narrated to him. Since he had acted in Thalavara's co-producer Shebin Backer’s previous films, the latter suggested sharing the script with Arjun. He says that he is not someone who writes a character with a specific actor already in mind, nor is he adamant about casting a particular person after writing it. “When I narrated the story to Arjun, I began picturing the protagonist as him. By the end of the narration, I was convinced Arjun could pull off the role brilliantly.”
Since the film is set in Palakkad, Arjun had the added challenge of working on the local dialect. “You cannot master a dialect overnight, but when you spend time in a place and talk to the locals, you naturally start picking it up. Arjun immersed himself in that environment and worked hard to get it right,” says Akhil. At the same time, the team had to ensure that audiences from other parts of Kerala could follow the dialogue easily. “We had to consider audiences from other parts of Kerala, so we adapted the dialect to capture the flavour and mood of Palakkad while keeping it accessible to everyone.”
Casting the female lead proved to be a longer journey. The team initially auditioned several Tamil actors, but things did not click. Revathy Sharma had already sent an audition tape once, but it had gone unnoticed in the early rush. When she sent it again, Akhil immediately saw the fit. “One of Revathy’s strengths is that she speaks Malayalam properly. She is originally from Kollam, though settled in Chennai, so she could fully grasp the emotions in the Malayalam dialogue and respond naturally. With a Tamil actor, that would have been more challenging.”
One of the most significant supporters of Thalavara from its early days was seasoned filmmaker-editor Mahesh Narayanan, who joined the film as its co-producer and presenter. “After Mahesh ettan heard the script and was convinced, we moved ahead with the shoot,” Akhil says. Mahesh’s understanding of commercial cinema added another layer of assurance. “He has edited many commercial films, so he understood the commercial vibe we were going for and supported us a lot.”
With Thalavara, Akhil feels he has grown into a different kind of filmmaker. He feels that his writing has grown richer and more grounded, and that the characters he creates now resonate more with everyday life. “Unlike the fictional settings in Archana... and Geethu Unchained, the people and places in Thalavara are closer to everyday life.” He continues to refine his craft constantly, but looking back, he admits there were things he could have done better in his debut. “Over these past three years, I have grown more confident in my storytelling, and I believe both my writing and narration have become stronger since those early days.”
When Archana 31 Not Out was released in 2022, it struggled to resonate with audiences and critics. Akhil reflects with refreshing frankness, recalling that he conceived the film at 21, when nuanced discussions of feminism in cinema were rare. By the time it came to fruition after the COVID-19 pandemic, the landscape had shifted significantly. “During that time, films like The Great Indian Kitchen came out, and conversations around feminism became far more widespread and in-depth. By the time Archana... was released, I was 25, and I felt the content had already become a bit outdated.” Beyond timing, the production itself was heavily affected by COVID-19 restrictions, which presented significant hurdles. “I had only two assistant directors, and because most of the story takes place at night, the shoot was even more challenging.” Despite those obstacles, Akhil regards the experience as an important learning curve.
For all its layers, Akhil’s hope for Thalavara is simple and heartfelt.“I genuinely hope they will find that connection with Thalavara within the first 10 to 15 minutes. I believe people will relate to its real, grounded characters and they can easily recognise these emotions, all while enjoying an engaging story that respects their time, much like a proper commercial film.” The film carries a message, yet Akhil ensures it is felt rather than preached. “There is nothing like Archana shouting out her thoughts. People will understand it naturally,” he signs off.