Exclusive! Vineeth Sreenivasan, Biju Menon replace Fahadh Faasil, Joju George in Syam Pushkaran’s Thankam

The film, which was set to go on floors in 2020, is directed by debutant Saheed Arafath and is produced by Bhavana Studios

Biju Menon, Fahadh Faasil and Vineeth Sreenivasan

The much-delayed Thankam, which was to mark the reunion of Maheshinte Prathikaaram and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum team of Fahadh Faasil, Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Pothan, is finally set to go on floors this year, albeit with a change of cast.

The movie, scripted by Syam, will be directed by Saheed Arafath and will be produced by Bhavana Studios’ that has Fahadh, Syam and Dileesh as partners. Thankam was first announced in 2019 with a star cast featuring Fahadh, Joju George, Aparna Balamurali and Dileesh in lead roles.

With the project now being pushed by almost two years, Dileesh tells OTTplay that Vineeth Sreenivasan and Biju Menon will now play the lead roles, instead of Fahadh and Joju. The movie is touted to be a crime drama that is set in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Some portions of the film will be shot in Coimbatore. A few days ago, actors such as Vineeth and Kunchacko Boban had shared a casting call for Tamil actors aged between 16 and 20, and 30 and 60. The auditions are reportedly for Thankam, which is set to go on floors later this year.

Considering the team behind it, the movie will be a much-anticipated one. Dileesh and Syam had reunited in 2021 for Fahadh’s much-acclaimed Joji, which was a direct-to-OTT release on Amazon Prime Video.

In a recent interview with us, Dileesh talked about what excites him the most while making a film. “I find joy when I find an idea and decide to make a film out of it. For me, the possibilities of that idea are what matter most. So, I am first looking to pitch the idea and weave a plot out of that. When that story takes form, you organically know which platform would be ideal for that film,” he says.

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