Debutant director preps novel thriller, RJ Madonna

Express News Service

A debutant filmmaker is putting the final touches on his maiden feature-length project titled RJ Madonna. Anand Krishna Raj, who has previously dabbled in short films and film distribution (he was a co-distributor of the Karthi-Lokesh Kanagaraj hit Kaithi in Kerala), has directed it, which he describes as a combination of mystery drama and thriller.

The film’s titular character is essayed by Amalendu K Raj, while Anil Anto (Second Show) and Sher Shah Sheriff (Nizhal) play the remaining characters.Speaking briefly about the concept, Anand, also the writer, tells us the low-budget film chronicles incidents that happen to the protagonist in a day. “It’s about a young radio jockey and aspiring actor named Madonna whose reunion with a familiar man leads to an intriguing situation from the get-go,” says Anand, who waited long to make his debut after completing a course in filmmaking eight years ago.

Considering the nature of the film’s narrative — it deals with the thin line that blurs reality and fiction — and the absence of well-known faces, it was quite a task for him to pitch the project to producers. “Since I don’t come from a filmy background, it was difficult to connect to someone in the industry. Moreover, it was tricky to convey to most producers the various layers of the story,” he adds.

Things were also made more difficult by the pandemic situation. So Anand decided to produce it himself, under the banner Hitchcock Entertainment.Cinematographer Akhil Xavier, who worked on the Karikku episode, Rock Paper Scissors, makes his feature film debut with RJ Madonna while Anand edited the film himself. Ramesh Krishnan composed the music to Hrishikesh Mundani’s lyrics.The team shot RJ Madonna mostly in Wagamon and the rest in Ernakulam. Anand will decide on the release plans after the response to the promos, which will be released soon.