Kunchacko Boban and the team overjoyed with the response to Ariyippu at Locarno Film Festival

Ariyippu became the first Malayalam film to be selected for the competition section after Shaji N Karun’s Piravi in 1989.

Kunchacko Boban/Facebook

Ariyippu, directed by Mahesh Narayanan; starring Kunchacko Boban and Divya Prabha, premiered on August 4 at the Locarno Film Festival. The team is overjoyed with the positive feedback they received at the festival.

Kunchacko Boban posted pictures of the team at the festival on Instagram, and said, "Officially Yours at the Film Festival Locarno! Thank you for all the adulations, positive reviews and accolades still pouring in for Ariyippu. We had given our 100 per cent for this movie. And the feeling is just surreal when you feel vibes amongst the audience. Thank you once again Giona Nazzaro for being so generous with your positive opinions and exemplary conduct of the festival."

He mentioned that Ariyippu had its world premiere as the opening film in the competition segment in front of nearly 2500 people from all over the world.

Boban added, "Thank you Mahesh for being what you have been throughout my life. Shebin for being a wonderful producer, partner and pal. Divya for the outstanding performer and wacky friend. Sanuchettan for the life-breathing visuals. Jothish for being our go-to-man."

Kannan Arunachalam, Loveleen Mishra, Danish Hussain, and Faisal Malik are also part of the cast. Sanu John Varghese is the cinematographer, and Sushin Shyam provides the original score.

Ariyippu tells the story of a Kerala couple who work in a glove factory in Noida and hope to eventually migrate abroad. However, a manipulated video clip causes unrest among the factory workers as well as problems between the couple. Antarmahal, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Soha Ali Khan, was the last Indian film to be screened in the competition section in 2005. According to a press release from the film's producers, Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Nizhalkkuthu was the last Malayalam film to be screened in Locarno in 2011.

Kunchacko Boban produced the movie under his family’s 75-year-old banner Udaya Pictures. In an interview with the Hindu, Mahesh stated that he stayed completely true to the story and did not add any flavouring for commercial entertainment. "My films have focused on various types of migrants. Ariyippu is about them as well. I do intend to release it in theatres," he added, "but only after screening it in the festival circuit."

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