a golden retriever, a cocker spaniel, a rottweiler, a labrador, a rooster, and a native breed of dog portray the primary characters in Valatty: Tale Of Tails.
Last year, the Kannada film industry gave us an emotional roller coaster ride in the form of the movie 777 Charlie, directed by Kiranraj K. Starring Rakshit Shetty and a labrador named Charlie, the film delved into the deep emotional bond formed between a human and a canine. The tear-jerker won hearts all over the country. And guess what? This year, Malayalam cinema came up with a film which is told from the perspective of dogs. Directed by debutante Devan, Valatty: Tale of Tails was released in theatres on July 21.
The film, which is narrated from the perspective of dogs and hence features an animal cast, was released at a time when Kerala’s stray dog problem is making headlines once more. In fact, a child was bitten and murdered by stray dogs in the state the exact week the film’s trailer was released in June, sparking discussions on animal birth control to reduce the threat. In fact, the movie’s trailer gave viewers a hint that this was another aspect that had been looked at.
The production handled a total of 100 dogs during the shooting of Valatty: Tale of Tails. It got a good response from the Kerala audience. Devan, though, revealed in an exclusive interview with OTTplay that the film, a “feel-good romcom” starring two dogs and their humans, isn’t intended to alter people’s perceptions about dogs. “I didn’t make this movie with the purpose of influencing people’s opinions about animals. However, it would be a major deal if someone decided not to hurl a stone at a dog after watching the movie I made.’
A golden retriever, a cocker spaniel, a rottweiler, a labrador, a rooster and a native breed of dog portrayed the primary characters in the movie. Roshan Mathew, Raveena Ravi, Sunny Wayne, Indrans, Aju Varghese and Soubin Shahir respectively provided the voices for these characters.
The canines were trained for the film during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns after the makers purchased them as puppies around three years ago.