Mohanlal’s much-awaited Malayalam film Athimanoharam, directed by Tharun Moorthy, has received permission to shoot its second schedule at and around the Sabarimala temple premises. But the Travancore Devaswom Board has imposed several strict conditions on the production team, considering the religious significance and cultural sensitivity of the location.
Sabarimala is one of the most important pilgrimage centres in Kerala and has lakhs of devotees from various parts of India every year. For this reason, filming there and around the temple is more difficult than shooting away from there. The filmmakers have been told to not interfere with temple traditions, rituals, the sanctity of the premises or the feelings of the devotees.
The permission was sought by director Tharun Moorthy by meeting Travancore Devaswom Board president K. Jayakumar and other officials. The Board agreed to allow the shooting but with some conditions.
One of the key conditions is that the production team must submit the whole story and screenplay to the Devaswom Board. The filmmakers must also ensure that no scene or dialogue in the movie insults or disrespects Lord Ayyappa, the Sabarimala temple, its traditions or the beliefs of devotees.
The production team will also have to deposit Rs 50,000 before beginning the shoot. Since Sabarimala is situated in a forest region, permission from the Forest Department will also be required separately. The Devaswom Board’s approval, therefore, does not exempt the filmmakers from regulations imposed by other government departments.
The tightening of rules and procedures follows earlier trouble with filming in Sabarimala. The authorities have been especially cautious because there were reports this year of filming conducted without permission or prior permission in the most important festival periods.
Athimanoharam has already attracted a great deal of interest from the Malayalam cinema audience. Mohanlal is playing the role of Laljan, a police sub-inspector. His role as a police officer has attracted much attention to see him in another unique character.
Meera Jasmine as the female lead is another big attraction. The film is another collaboration between Mohanlal and Tharun Moorthy after their previous project Thudarum received a positive response from audiences.
The screenplay for Athimanoharam is written by Ratheesh Ravi, and the film is being produced by Ashiq Usman Productions. Shaji Kumar is handling the cinematography.
According to the production team, around 80 per cent of the movie has already been completed. The Sabarimala schedule will cover some of the important elements that remain to be filmed and therefore could be the key to completing the project.
A shoot at a religious location such as Sabarimala can present a unique challenge for filmmakers. The team has to get the scenes shot in the temple to suit the story and keep the sanctity of the temple and devotees’ privacy and convenience.
The filmmakers will therefore have to coordinate with the authorities while working with the Sabarimala schedule. The location itself will also be important visually and in narrative terms.
Mohanlal’s police officer character, Tharun Moorthy’s direction, Meera Jasmine’s presence and the Sabarimala background have already increased expectations around the movie. So fans will be interested to see how the temple and its environment are woven into the narrative.
Athimanoharam is scheduled to be released worldwide on 24 December. With most of the filming completed, the production team is working on the remaining schedule and post-production work to get it ready for release.
I think the Sabarimala shoot is one of the most important remaining stages of production. With strict guidelines from the Travancore Devaswom Board and other permissions from other government agencies, the film team will be faced with the task of balancing the demands of filmmaking with the unique religious and environmental sensitivities of the location.
As a Mohanlal fan and Malayalam cinema audience, Athimanoharam remains one of the projects to watch, and the Sabarimala schedule is likely to add another layer of anticipation ahead of its December release.
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