Director Halitha Shameem at Minmini audio launch: ‘Khatija Rahman is a pure soul, and it reflected in her music’

The producer-cinematographer also revealed the film that inspired him to take the theatrical route instead of releasing Minmini on OTT. “The success of Manjummel Boys, especially in Tamil Nadu, gave me the confidence to go for a theatrical release. Honestly, the film is not made for financial purposes, and we’d be glad to just break even. I just wanted to back Halitha’s vision and conviction, and after eight years of perseverance, here we are,” said Manoj, and landed the line of the day when he compared debut music composer Khatija Rahman to a surprising legend. “Of course, Khatija is AR Rahman sir’s daughter, but the music that she has given for Minmini reminded me of the works of the Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.” 

ALSO READ: Khatija Rahman on father AR Rahman’s response after listening to her first song: ‘He advised me to find my own sound’

Among the actors, Esther Anil won the hearts of the audience when she spoke about how it was surreal to finish shooting her last scene in Minmini. “I carried the character of Praveena with me for eight long years. Even when I was doing other films, somewhere deep within, I was still holding on to the character. After the last day’s shoot was complete, I returned to my room, looked into the mirror, and understood that it was finally time to let go. It was an emotional moment,” said Esther, who has starred in blockbuster films like the Drishyam series, and Papanasam. 

Celebrities at the Minmini audio launch

Halitha was effusive with her praise about her actors and technicians who stood by her throughout the process. “I decided to rope in Khatija as the composer because I wanted a very sensitive score for Minmini. I find her to be a pure soul with a divine voice, and this is reflected in the music of the film,” shared Halitha. Expressing her gratitude for the patience of her actors, the filmmaker shared, “They never once asked me about the release date, and completely surrendered to the process. In fact, when I started filming Minmini, it wasn’t supposed to be shot with the same actors.” 

Shining light on the thought process that made Minmini into what it is today, Halitha said, “I didn’t work on this idea because it was novel. I did it because my actors were compelling performers, and I wasn’t sure if the older actors we had auditioned for their roles as young adults would be able to do justice to the roles. I decided to wait for them, and now, I see them all as different people now, but they still became the characters in my film. Minmini is for them. Minmini is them,” signed off Halitha.