| Aami | |
| Director: | Kamal |
| Producer: | Raphael Thomas Pozholiparambil |
| Music: | M. Jayachandran |
| Cinematography: | Madhu Neelakandan |
| Editing: | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Studio: | Reel & Real Cinema |
| Distributor: | Central Pictures |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Malayalam |
Aami is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language biographical film based on the life of poet-author Kamala Das. It is written and directed by Kamal and stars Manju Warrier as Kamala Surayya, along with Murali Gopy, Tovino Thomas, Anoop Menon, and Anand Bal.[1] [2] The film was released on 9 February 2018. It won two Kerala State Film Awards.
Aami portrays the life of writer Madhavikutty, mainly focused on her childhood, family life, marital life, devotion to Lord Krishna, and conversion to Islam in the later periods of her life.
In 2016, Bollywood actress Vidya Balan was signed for the role of Kamala Surayya, but in January 2017, she backed out from the film citing creative differences with Kamal.[4] In 2016, Murali Gopy was confirmed in the role of Madhava Das, Kamala's husband,[5] and Prithviraj Sukumaran in a fictional character.[6] Later in the year, Prithviraj also opted out from the film due to his tight filming schedules and recommended Tovino Thomas instead.[7] Later, Anoop Menon was added to the cast. Media outlets reported several names as a replacement for Balan. But in February 2017, Kamal denied all the reports and said that he was not in a hurry and was still looking for a person whose features matched that of Surayya's, which was the reason he chose Balan in the first place. Although he revealed he is also considering suggestions from others.[8] In February 2017, Manju Warrier signed to play Kamala Surayya.[9]
Principal photography commenced on 24 March 2017 at Kamala Surayya Memorial in Punnayurkulam, Thrissur. Ottapalam was the main location in the first schedule that lasted till April. The other locations were Mumbai, Kolkata, and Ernakulam.[10]
| Aami | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | M. Jayachandran & Taufiq Qureshi |
| Released: | 2018 |
| Genre: | Feature film soundtrack |
| Language: | Malayalam Bengali |
| Label: | Manorama Music |
| Chronology: | M. Jayachandran |
| Prev Title: | Pullikaaran Staraa' |
| Prev Year: | 2017 |
| Next Title: | Odiyan |
| Next Year: | 2018 |
The film score is composed by Bijibal. The film features original songs composed by two composers, M. Jayachandran and Taufiq Qureshi. Qureshi's compositions are ghazals with lyrics written by Academy Award winner Gulzar.[11] The lyrics for the Malayalam songs are written by Rafeeq Ahamed.