Directed by Zakariya Mohammed, the Malayalam film, Halal Love Story, through comedy, explains the struggles of making cinema for everyone
Starring Joju George, family entertainer Halal Love Story’s trailer is out now. The film stars George as an unorthodox director, Indrajith Sukumaran as the charming Shereef, Sharafudheen as an unmarried young lad from an orthodox family named Thoufeek, along with Grace Anthony and Parvathy Thiruvothu in pivotal roles. The trailer of the comedy drama takes us through the perfectly imperfect journey of a group of cinema lovers from Kerala who are passionate about creating their own film but are subjected to a few guidelines to make their dreams finally come true.
The film within the film aims to adhere to religious beliefs at every point of its production and keeps them ‘lawfully’ right from its screenplay to its casting, and even to the entire shooting process. Halal, a term as per the Quran, means ‘lawful’ or ‘legal/allowed to do’ under Islamic beliefs. As the crew follows religious guidelines in every phase of the filmmaking, massive confusions happen as the unorthodox Siraj (film director) struggles to go ahead with the project.
Back with another thought-provoking film that will leave the audience in splits this time, director Zakariya Mohammed said, “For me, Halal Love Story is a funny, yet beautiful, commemoration of the art of storytelling in all its forms. I am grateful to my co-writers Muhsin Parari and Ashif Kakkodi, who made this chaotic comedy possible alongside me. With a unique perspective brought to life by our strong ensemble, I am confident that the viewers will enjoy this chronicle that tries to manifest that cinema is for everyone.”
Speaking on the film, Indrajith Sukumaran, superstar of the Malayalam film industry, said, “The character Shereef is quite layered. He wants to conquer his passion for acting but at the same time wants to do it right by following his beliefs. The film impacts him in more ways than the other and in the due process completely changes his outlook towards his personal life. Playing a humorous and a complicated Shereef was a phenomenal experience and I will forever be thankful to Zakariya and Aashiq Abu for giving me this opportunity.”
Malayalam cinema’s favourite Joju George said, “It is always fun to be a part of comedy films, especially the one that is engulfed in errors. What was most appealing to me is the opposing views that my character Siraj offers whilst taking on the challenge of directing this Halal film. As my character struggles at every phase, it’s the brilliance of the writers who envisioned the comedic charm in the film. It was indeed a wonderful experience to work alongside such an incredible cast and crew.”
Thoufeek, an unmarried young man from a very orthodox family, is highly passionate about filmmaking. He is an active member and plays a key role in one of Kerala’s popular Islamic Organisations, which has kept his cinema dreams in halt. He’s approached by Raheem and Shereef with the idea of making a film as an initiative of the cultural wing of his organisation. They soon approach Siraj, a popular associate director to don the cap of the director. The biggest challenge for the crew is to keep the film, Halal.
(The film releases on October 15 on Amazon Prime Video.)