The music turns scary in the 13th second. Maybe a coincidence but you notice it when the newly-released trailer ofVarathan suddenly switches to a semi thriller semi horror mode. Varathan’s official page doesn’t really specify a genre, but the new Amal Neerad movie is expected to be a thriller.
Aishwarya Lekshmi, lauded for her performance as the struggling young actor in Mayaanadhi, is playing the female lead, and Fahadh Faasil, the male lead. In the trailer, she can be heard asking ‘Abi’ (Fahadh), “Why don’t we go away for a while?”. Of course, they go away to a remote scary place, to some estate that belonged to her father, that ‘Abi would surely like’.
And then promptly the thriller throws in a line, “Live where you fear to live.” Calling bell ringing out of the blue, shadows in the dark, unseen-something by the window… all the elements of a scary thriller are in the short one-and-a-half minute trailer. Then there is the love, the anger and the wee bit of comedy.
Varathan got noticed as soon as it was announced by Amal on his Facebook page on a Wednesday noon in June. For Nazriya Nazim, the actor who had taken a break of four years following her marriage to Fahadh, is the producer of the film. Nazriya also acted in a film around the same time, appearing as the mysterious Jenny in Anjali Menon’s Koode.
In her interviews, Nazriya was heard saying she was not involved so much in the finance part of it as she was in the creative production.
Amal and Fahadh had earlier teamed up for the film Iyobinte Pusthakam, which had gone on to win several awards, including the National Award for Best Cinematography.
Varathan is scripted by the duo Suhas-Sharfu, the music comes from young Sushin Shyam, and the cinematographer is the now-famous Littil Swayamp. The film is expected to release on September 20.