Zakariya Mohammad’s latest film ‘Halal Love Story’ is an ode to film-making, while mixing in two unlikely components as co-themes – love and Muslim orthodoxy. Zakariya has been known to break new ground in his feature films, so this unlikely combination of film-making, romance and ingrained doctrines is going to be something worth watching.
Zakariya aims to create a unique movie experience, that much is for sure, just from watching the trailer. The trailer kicks off with a group of men acting out an open play on the streets; with a crowd around them, watching the free entertainment. Later, an older man remarks that their village shouldn’t have to view such a “haram” picture, when he sees a film poster featuring a tantalizing woman. His wife says that they can’t do anything about it as her husband’s attempt at a “halal” film didn’t pan out.
Unable to give up on his dream, he approaches a young actor Shereef, to act in a film, who agrees to participate as long as he doesn’t have to do anything that is against his beliefs. They eventually find a good script writer Taufeeq, who is ready to provide a script for a short 1-hour TV movie, to which everyone is amicable. Trouble comes in the form of a wayward director, who is a heavy drinker and becomes uncontrollable while under the influence.
This film trailer also highlights the issues film directors and scriptwriters face (portrayed in a hilarious fashion), such as staying within a tight schedule of shooting, getting funds for said shooting, facing issues from the producer who is not releasing funds, etc. Shereef then goes on to demand that his actual wife has to portray his wife on-screen, as that is the only way he will act in the film (and to avoid the discomfort of having to treat a stranger as a significant other); to which the director reluctantly agrees.
A sequence of film shots follow, featuring bad acting and conflicts between the cast and the director & the script writer. Parvathy Thiruvothu appears for a short cameo, teaching the actors how to act as their assigned characters(which is not as hilarious as it sounds). Shereef and his wife face a conflict of interest while the shooting takes place. And unexpectedly Soubin Shahir also makes a quick appearance as a sound mixer, which works as an unexpected comedy relief towards the end of the trailer.
‘Halal Love Story’ is set to be a family comedy starring Indrajith Sukumaran, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Joju George, Grace Antony, Soubin Shahir, Sharaf U Dheen, Abhiram Pothuval and Sidheek Kodiyathur. The screenplay has been written by Zakariya Mohammed, Muhsin Parari and Ashif Kakkodia. The feature film is set to stream on Amazon Prime Video on October 15th 2020. The trailer for the movie is available down below:
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