Very few filmmakers will put off the production of a film just so the continuity in performances of a cast of child actors is not hindered by those playing their adult version. And if you are Halitha Shameem, you opt to wait for the cast to grow up before resuming shoot.
The filmmaker’s sophomore project, Minmini , which she started filming in 2016 after her debut feature Poovarasam Peepee , is likely to resume production once the COVID-19 lockdown and the restriction on filming placed on Tamil cinema is lifted by the Tamil Nadu Government.
Halitha teased an update on the project with this tweet recently. “How real is survivor’s guilt? How far would you go to live the dreams of your loved ones? That thin line between love and hate? Why are teens more emotional than adults?! #Minmini is a tranquil cloud that descended upon me and I’ve been working all these years to do justice to it.”
In a statement, the filmmaker shared the “heartening” experience she had as she filmed a story on teen emotions. “This (teenage) phase of life as known to all is inclined to purest emotions, mostly found in extremity that might look ambiguous for others outside the zone. Be it the celebration of success, the joy of love and pain of loss, the adolescents are prone to high doses. This raised myriad questions in me,” she says, elaborating on the drive to pen a story on this subject.
In October 2018, Halitha had, in a tweet, suggested that it was a “creative decision” to suspend shooting of Minmini . “The young actors were so awesomely natural that we decided to wait for a few years for them to grow up rather than casting some other actors to play their elder versions,” she wrote in the tweet. The filmmaker has now suggested that Minmini ’s shoot may resume this year or in early 2021.
Minmini ’s cast includes child artistes Gaurav Kalai, Pravin Kishore, and Esther Anil (of Drishyam and Papanasam fame) in lead roles. Manoj Paramahamsa and Abinandhan Ramanujam, who worked with Halitha as cinematographers for Sillu Karupatti , are financing the film. Meanwhile, Halitha has another film, Aelay , in the pipeline. Aelay is in the post-production phase and is expected to find a release date soon.
