In a surprise poster and title release that was unprecedented for Malayalam cinema, the stars of Gracias El Clásico, launched the film’s poster by unravelling it during a football game in Barcelona. According to reports, both Tovino Thomas and Nazriya Nazim, unfurled the poster during one of world football’s most watched rivalries, El Clásico, between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The announcement was made live on several social media handles, to coincide with the high-profile La Liga fixture.
The movie is being directed by Muhsin Parari who had last directed KL10 Patthu. He had also written Tovino’s action-comedy Thallumaala. The film’s football theme will continue with the writing credits being shared by Zakariya Mohammed, who had written and directed the football-based drama, Sudani From Nigeria. Gracias El Clásico, which means, 'Thank you El Classico', could be a love story about two football-crazy people. The film team include high profile technicians such as Sameer Thahir and Shyju Khalid in production, music composed by Sushin Shyam and with cinematography by Vishnu Thandassery.
Tovino will be seen next in the action-comedy, Athiradi, releasing this week. It co-stars Basil Joseph who has also produced the film. Speaking about his long-running collaboration with Joseph, Thomas told The Hollywood Reporter India, “We all miss director Basil Joseph. We love actor Basil Joseph, no doubt—but even I’ve told him he shouldn’t take this long,” he said, before acknowledging the circumstances that led to the delay. “The process has been ongoing, and a lot has happened in these years. Malayalis really miss him as a director.”
For Nazriya, the film will be another big-screen outing after her 2024 release Sookshmadarshini, which also starred Basil Joseph. She is also set to appear in the upcoming streaming series The Madras Mystery – Fall of a Superstar, expanding her presence beyond cinema.