The teaser of Mollywood Times introduces a wide-eyed boy who dreams of becoming the next Manoj Night Shyamalan and revolutionising Malayalam cinema with the scariest film ever made. Starring Naslen in a coming-of-age drama, the film follows his quest to create history as the best horror filmmaker, blending ambition, fear and love for movies into a heartfelt cinematic journey.
The new teaser of Naslen’s upcoming coming-of-age drama was released this weekend, and it promises a journey into the cinematic dreams of a boy who dreamed big. It begins with this boy watching films with wide-eyed wonder, speaking to his father about whether he would buy him a camera. His inspiration is Manoj Night Shyamalan, the director of Hollywood classics such as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Unlike other movies about a boy growing up wanting to become a director, the lead in Mollywood Times dreams of changing the Malayalam movie industry by making the scariest film ever. He says he wants to create history with the kind of fear he is able to instil in his viewers. He also says he wants to be known as “the best horror filmmaker Malayalam cinema has ever produced.”
In an exclusive interview with THR India, the film’s director, Abhinav Sunder Nayak, spoke about the script of the film having biographical elements of his own life as a struggling filmmaker. He said, “Since I’ve lived the life of a struggling director, I believe I can make this film with a lot of honesty. I hope that reflects in people’s reactions, too. Maybe if a sound designer wants to make such a film, then surely he or she will be able to make a movie about that with even more honesty. Just because it’s about sound design, I don’t think it's valid to say that the regular audiences will not get it. There’s always a way to make viewers understand, no matter how complex the subject. We were able to understand films like The Social Network and The Big Short, weren’t we?”
The film is scripted by Ramu Sunil, who previously co-wrote Asif Ali-starrer Rekhachithram, which released early last year. Mollywood Times has cinematography by Viswajith Odukkathil and music by Jakes Bejoy. It is edited by Nidhin Raj Arol and director Abhinav Sundar Nayak. It will be released on June 5.