Mohanlal
starrer
Aakashagopuram,
the
first
South
Indian
language
film
to
be
shot
entirely
in
various
locations
in
the
UK
with
an
international
crew
consisting
of
talents
from
Hollywood,
UK,
Bollywood,
Tamil
and
Malayalam
film
industry
is
all
set
for
global
release
on
August
22.
The
film,
by
National
award
winning
director
K.P.
Kumaran,
has
been
shot
by
cinematographer
Santosh
C.
Thundiyil
and
stars
Bharat
Gopi,
Sreenivasan,
Swetha
Menon,
Manoj
K.
Jayan,
Geethu
Mohandas
and
Nithya
in
important
roles.
The
movie,
according
to
the
producers,
is
billed
as
the
costliest
ever
in
Malayalam.
Set
among
the
Indian
immigrant
community,
Aakashagopuram
is
an
adaptation
of
Henrik
Ibsen's
classic
play
'The
Master
Builder',
which
was
first
published
in
1892
and
first
performed
in
Berlin
on
January
19,
1893.
The
play
(The
Master
Builder)
depicts
the
story
of
a
middle-aged
architect,
Halvard
Solness,
whose
single-minded
focus
on
his
job
has
hardened
him
and
prevented
him
from
having
a
meaningful
private
life
with
his
wife
Aline.
In
his
firm,
he
has
a
dying
assistant,
Knut
Brovik,
who
is
now
demanding
that
his
son
Ragnar
be
given
more
responsibilities
in
the
work.
However,
Solness
fears
that
he
will
be
eclipsed
by
a
younger
generation
of
architects,
and
refuses
to
allow
Ragnar
either
to
design
original
houses
or
to
leave
the
firm.
Into
this
tension
comes
Hilda
Wangel,
a
vivacious
young
woman
who
built
a
large
church
in
her
home
town
and
climbed
to
the
top
of
its
tower
during
its
dedication
ceremony.
In
long
conversations
with
Hilda,
Solness
describes
his
career
and
his
frustration
with
how
his
ambition
has
kept
him
from
achieving
true
satisfaction.
The
climax
of
the
play
deals
with
a
new
house
which
Solness
has
been
building
for
himself
and
his
wife.
The
house
features
a
tall
tower
which
both
Solness
and
his
wife
fear
is
too
great
for
him
to
climb
in
the
dedication
ceremony.
At
Hilda's
repeated
requests,
Solness
climbs
to
the
top
of
the
tower,
but
then
falls
to
his
death.
"Almost
all
the
Malayalees
in
their
60s
are
familiar
with
Isben's
work
and
can
identify
with
the
film.
Very
few
of
the
new
generation
might
have
heard
about
the
Norwegian
playwright.
As
an
actor,
I
feel
it
is
a
blessing
for
me
I
feel
honoured
and
lucky
to
be
a
part
of
this
film,"
Mohanlal
told
reporters
in
New
Delhi
during
a
special
screening
of
his
film.
Director
Kumaran
said
that
this
film
might
be
taken
as
an
attempt
to
expose
the
film
to
a
wider
audience.
"This
project,
I
feel,
is
an
attempt
to
break
through
existing
conventions.
It
is
the
first
time
that
an
Indian
film
has
been
shot
entirely
in
London.
Conceiving
and
executing
such
a
project
is
rare,"
he
added.