Mammootty roped in for an anthology celebration

Malayalam superstar Mammootty has been roped in for the upcoming anthology, comprising four short films, which is being made to celebrate the centenary year of Indian cinema, sources said. The film is expected to be screened at next year's Cannes Film Festival. Other stars working in the film are -- Kunchacko Boban, Sreenivasan, Fahadh Faasil, Salim Kumar and Biju Menon and directors M Padmakumar, Rajesh Pillai, Salim Ahmed and Shajoon Kariyal will helm the projects. Though it was rumoured that a Hollywood production giant would step in to distribute the film, its line producer Anoop Aravindan denies the rumour, saying, "The film's part of the project titled Centenary of Indian Cinema and we are hoping to rope in a big Indian production house to screen the movie all over India."

According to sources, the initial plan was to do five short films with the fifth project being helmed by a big name from Kollywood. "We are yet to get the nod from the director, so as of now, we are going ahead with the four projects which are of 30 to 40 minutes duration," says Anoop. Mammootty will star in Padmakumar's film. "Mammootty has given the nod for the project and the next step is to decide the scriptwriter for the film," the director said.