Malayalam film Vimaanam starring Prithviraj Sukumaran hit theatres on Friday to critical acclaim. Now the makers of the film have announced that the film will be screened for free across Kerala on Christmas.
The film is based on the life of Saji Thomas, a deaf-mute man from Kerala, who built an aircraft for himself.
Taking to Facebook, Prithviraj said that all the theatres screening the film will do so for free till evening on December 25. The first and the second show alone won't be free shows, but the proceeds from these will go to Saji.
Calling him their patron, Prithviraj said, “On Christmas Day, the 25th of Dec 2017, every theatre in Kerala showing #Vimaanam will run free shows for the entire day till the evening shows! From there on, every rupee that we, the makers of the film, make from the 1st and 2nd evening shows on the day, regardless of how big or small the amount is, will be handed over to Saji Thomas as a Christmas gift from us. Make it count, friends.”
Prithviraj also went live on Facebook to announce the filmmakers' decision to hand over the proceeds to Saji.
When TNM reached out to Saji, his wife, Mariya, said that the family was elated to hear the news.
"The film's director, Pradeep, just called us a few minutes back to say that the proceeds from the show will be handed over to us. For us, because we spent all our money on Saji's dreams, financial troubles have always plagued us. This is a kind gesture on the part of the filmmakers. We are happy beyond measure," she said.
Saji was making a Christmas crib when the news reached him and Mariya says they still have prayers on their lips.
Written and directed by Pradeep M Nair, the film is produced by Listin Stephen under the banner Magic Frames.
Pradeep told TNM, "We jointly took a decision to hand over the money to Saji. We want this to be a Christmas gift for him and his family. With free shows, a lot of people will now be able to see his life story. The film is doing really well in the theatres and we want to share a part of the film's success with him. After all, he is the inspiration behind the film.”
Starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Durga Krishna in the lead roles, the film also has Nedumudi Venu, Shanthi Krishna, Sudheer Karamana, Anarkali Marikkar and Baby Durga Premjith in crucial roles. Gopi Sunder has composed music for this film with Shehnad Jalal cranking the camera and Baiju Kurup editing it.