Malikappuram writer to script a big-budget multi-starrer for Soundarya Rajinikanth | Exclusive

Soundarya Rajinikanth was reportedly impressed with Unni Mukundan’s Malikappuram, which is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Rajinikanth, Abhilash Pillai, Soundarya Rajinikanth and Unni Mukundan 

Malayalam scriptwriter Abhilash Pillai is surely going places. The writer, who had four releases in 2022, struck gold with Unni Mukundan’s Malikappuram, which has already become the highest-grossing Malayalam film this year. The film’s story also got him a call with superstar Rajinikanth’s daughter and Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 director Soundarya to collaborate.

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Abhilash Pillai, who had also written Amala Paul Tamil movie Cadaver, tells us, “I got a call from Soundarya after Malikappuram’s release, asking if we could meet. We met in Chennai and discussed a project. Right now, I am busy with its scripting. I am hoping we would be able to collaborate in a film this year.”

Abhilash’s scripts so far have had ‘mass’ elements. Ask him if the film too falls in that genre and if it has Rajinikanth attached, and he says, “It’s too early to say anything about that. I only bounced off a thread, which Soundarya liked. I am developing that now. It’s a big-budget multi-starrer.”

The writer’s career trajectory is different from other relative newcomers in Malayalam, as he has already worked with some of the top filmmakers including Vysakh in Roshan Mathew and Anna Ben’s Night Drive and M Padmakumar in Indrajith Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramood-starrer Pathaam Valavu. “I had worked for this for the past eight years. It just so happens that when I finally got the break, I could do back-to-back projects. Right after I finished the Amala Paul-starrer, I got to work with Vysakh chettan and Pappettan (M Padmakumar). And then Malikappuram happened. I also have got other huge opportunities in Malayalam. I don’t know which movie will go on floors next, but I am working on all those scripts simultaneously,” says Abhilash.

Meanwhile, Malikappuram is currently streaming in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu on Disney+ Hotstar.

Share