Senna Hegde’s next film is titled Avihitham. The term translates to “illicit” or “unlawful” in English and is also commonly used in Malayalam to refer to extramarital affairs or relationships outside marriage. The makers announced the film on Sunday through social media, sharing the title poster which carries the tagline “Not just a man’s right.”
The screenplay of Avihitham is jointly written by Senna and Ambareesh Kalathera, based on a story penned by the latter. The film's cinematography will be handled by Ramesh Mathews along with Senna's frequent collaborator Sreeraj Raveendran, who also serves as the project’s creative director. The technical crew also includes editor Sanath Sivaraj and composer Sreerag Sasi.
Avihitham is produced by Mukesh R Mehta, Harris Desom, P B Anish, C V Sarathi and Senna Hegde under the banners E4 Experiments, Imagin Cinemas and Marley State of Mind. The film quintessentially carries the branding “Made in Kanhangad,” continuing Senna’s ritual of setting his Malayalam films in his hometown in Kasaragod, barring the exception of Padmini.
Senna made his directorial debut with the 2016 docu-drama 0-41 and later directed the Kannada romantic comedy Katheyondu Shuruvagide. His breakthrough came with the Malayalam feature Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, which was showcased at the International Film Festival of Kerala and went on to win the National Award for Best Malayalam Film in 2020. It also secured two Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Story and Best Second Film. Senna has since directed Sharafudheen's 1744 White Alto and Kunchacko Boban's Padmini.
Further details regarding the cast, plot and genre of Avihitham are yet to be disclosed. Although it was confirmed in 2022 that Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam would be getting a sequel centred on a wedding instead of the betrothal in the original film, there have been no updates since, and the status of that project remains unknown.
