Malayalam actor Malavika Mohanan may have made a forgettable debut with Dulquer Salmaan in Pattam Pole. But, she has now landed a role in celebrated Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's next venture, Beyond the Clouds.
Majid is known for films like Children of Heaven, The Color of Paradise, and Baran which have explored human nature through small stories told with exemplary skill. He has won numerous international awards and his film Children of Heaven was nominated for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category. Although it lost out to Life is Beautiful, it achieved the distinction of being the first Iranian film to be nominated at the Oscars.
Beyond the Clouds is set in India and also stars Shahid Kapoor's brother Ishaan Khatter. According to reports, Deepika Padukone had auditioned for the role, which Malavika ultimately bagged. This will be Majid's first film in Hindi and AR Rahman is composing the music for it.
Speaking on making an Indian film, Majid said, “Filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, whose work I adore, have represented India's culture, rich heritage and the lives of common people to a global audience. These visions and images have stayed in my mind for years and cajoled me to make a film in India. Finally, I'm in Mumbai with a lovely team to narrate a story woven around the lives of common people.”
Malavika is the daughter of cinematographer KU Mohanan who has worked in films like Raees. She has done only a handful of films (including one in Kannada) so far, but has caught Majid's eye as he reportedly believes she has the right look for the character in his film.
In an interview to The Hindu, Malavika had revealed that it was Mollywood superstar Mammootty who had convinced her to give acting a shot and that was how she'd ended up starring opposite Dulquer. Interestingly, she will be playing the role of a cop in Mammootty's upcoming film The Great Father. Malavika has also appeared in several ads, including for Hero Honda.
(With inputs from Digital Native)