Sharafudheen plays a cop in Senna Hegde’s next film 1744 WA

Sometime back, Senna Hegde had announced his film Padmini with Kunchacko Boban, in which the actor plays the titular character. However, as the actor’s diary is chocablock with quite a few films to finish before joining the project,

Senna

is moving on to another film in the interim.

The movie, titled 1744 WA, is a crime comedy drama that should go on floors this month, if everything goes well. The movie has Sharafudheen in the lead.

Senna tells us, “We are tentatively scheduled to begin later this month. We are just waiting to see whether any COVID restrictions, such as a limited number of people on the set and the like, will be imposed. We want to ensure that the shoot won’t get disrupted after we start.” The director reveals that the WA in the film’s title stands for white alto. “This is a quirky crime comedy drama that has a bit of a road trip element, too, in it.” Senna is apparently looking to have some fun, making such a film. “All my movies so far have had their own sense of humour and have tried to present serious subjects in a light-hearted manner. But this film does not have a plot-driven story, it unfolds after a handful of quirky characters meet. The film has three narrative threads running parallely, and they interconnect at times with a bit of social commentary and humour,” he says.

Sharafudheen plays a cop in the film. “He was my first and only choice for the role,” the director says, adding, “It’s interesting to observe where he started as an actor and how things shaped up for him. I have watched most of his movies and feel that he is an underrated actor. Luckily, he liked this story and agreed to come on board, I hope we make the best use of his talent.”

Just like his State Award-winner film

Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam

, the new movie too will be shot in Kanhangad in Kasaragod. “However, the story is not set there, but in an imaginary place in Kerala. There is no particular slang used,” he explains.