Chavittunatakam,
a
foot-stamping
dance
drama
originated
under
the
influence
of
Christian
Portuguese
missionaries
in
the
16th
century,
was
a
popular
art
form
in
Kerala
for
a
long
time.
The
actors,
in
addition
to
singing
the
songs
in
a
mix
of
colloquial
languages,
attractive
costumes,
dialogue
and
lively
body
movements,
stamp
wooden
platform
with
their
feet
to
the
beat
of
music.
Though
the
characters
in
this
art
form
were
initially
biblical,
as
years
passed,
the
drama
imbibed
the
elements
of
social
contexts,
morals
and
bhakti
movements.
Some
Malayalam
movies
like
Cheriyachante,
Krurakrithyangal,
Chamayam,
Thommanum
Makkalum
and
Kizhakkan
Pathrose
had
featured
some
sequences
with
this
folk
art
in
their
backdrop.
Today,
this
art
form
is
facing
extinction
because
there
are
hardly
any
people
to
encourage
it.
However,
renowned
filmmaker
Shaji
N.
Karun"s
latest
movie
Kutty
Shranku
is
to
feature
Mammootty
as
a
Chavittunatakam
artist.
Kamalinee
Mukherjee,
one
of
the
heroines,
will
be
cast
as
the
daughter
of
a
Chavittunatakam
teacher.
Shooting
of
the
film
has
started
at
the
backwaters
of
Alappuzha,
and
a
thattu
(platform
for
the
art
form)
has
been
constructed.
Thirty
artists
including
Mammootty
are
being
trained
in
the
various
steps
of
the
art
form
by
Fr.
V.P.
Joseph
of
'Aalappuzha
Pauranika
Ranga
Kala
Peedom'
to
support
their
realistic
performances
in
the
movie.
The
film
is
produced
by
Reliance
Entertainment
under
the
banner
of
Big
Motion
Pictures,
the
first-ever
production
by
Anil
Ambani's
newly
launched
entertainment
concern
in
Malayalam.
It
will
be
shot
in
three
schedules
in
and
around
Alappuzha.
As
the
film
is
based
on
the
change
in
seasons,
environmental
and
climatic
changes,
the
second
and
third
schedule
of
the
movie
will
be
shot
by
the
end
of
September
and
December
respectively.