Lijo Jose Pellissery’s new film has been creating all sorts of good noise. Jallikattu, which has premiered at Toronto Film Festival 2019, will be playing next at the BFI London Film Festival 2019.
Written by S Hareesh and R Jayakumar, the noir film follows the inhabitants of a village who find themselves increasingly addicted to red meat, placing both butchers and abattoirs in high demand. One day in a bootleg slaughterhouse, a buffalo fights its would-be executioners and escapes, wrecking a local neighbourhood as it flees. Jallikattu takes you down a thrilling ride into the depths of human bloodlust and the darkness of the heart, where the rampaging buffalo is hunted by a violent mob. Watch the teaser.
The title Jallikattu refers to a traditional spectacle in which a bull is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull’s back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape.The main cast includes Chemban Vinod Jose, Antony Varghese and Sabu Abdusamad. The film has been produced by Thomas Panicker.
This is the seventh film by veteran Malayalam filmmaker Pellissery, whose last two films Ee Ma Yau and Angamaly Diaries have found cult fame. No release date is set at the moment.