Exclusive! Babu Antony to play an investigative journalist in crime thriller Santa Maria

The movie is helmed by debutant Vinu Vijay and also stars Irshad, Alencier, Rony David Raj, Ameya Mathew and Sreejaya Nair,

Mollywood thrillers such as Anjaam Pathiraa have infused an element of reality into their content, making the audience connect with the story all the while being on the edge of their seats. Now, in a similar vein, debutant Vinu Vijay is all set to helm Santa Maria, which had Babu Antony in the lead.

Talking to OTTplay about the movie, the ad filmmaker-turned-director says, “It’s a crime thriller that happens in and around Kochi and follows a series of murders during Christmas time.”

Babu Antony plays an investigative journalist named Sathya in the movie. “There is another police team led by Irshad’s character who is also probing the case. So, there are clashes between Sathya and the cops, with each team cracking a new clue. Santa Maria will have Babu Antony chettan and Sreejaya Nair in full-length roles after a long time,” says the filmmaker, about the movie scripted by Amal K Joby.

The team had released the poster of the film recently that had a seated Santa Claus holding a veena on one hand with a blood-soaked hammer beside him. “It’s terrifying when our favourite characters turn killers. Santa is often associated with happy memories and gifts; even kids don’t get scared if Santa turns up in the middle of the night,” says Vinu.

Apart from the trio, the movie also has Alencier, Rony David Raj, Ameya Mathew, Manju Pillai, Shalin Zoya, Edavela Babu and Zinil Zainudeen in pivotal roles. “A leading Malayalam superstar will also play an extended cameo in the movie,” says Vinu, who also has another project titled Oxygen in the pipeline.

Incidentally, talks are on to remake Santa Maria, which is produced by Leemon Chittilappilly, in Tamil too. “There are plans to remake the film on a big canvas with leading actors in Tamil and an announcement in that regard can be expected soon,” reveals the director.

The Malayalam film is set to go on floors by November or December. “About 80% of the movie happens during the night. One of the highlights of the movie is that it would show Kochi during the festive season. Be it the pandemic or not, Cochin Carnival happens during the time and the city is always lit up in December.

Though the film doesn’t have any songs, its music is scored by AR Rahman’s associate Kedar, who will also be composing for Asif Ali’s Maheshum Marutiyum and Nyla Usha’s Ethire.

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