Thiruvanathapuram (Kerala) [India], September 18 : 'Kadha Thudarunnu' actress Mamta Mohandas praised the makers of Arjun Ashokan's latest film 'Thalavara' for shedding light on vitiligo, a chronic autoimmune disorder, through their film.
The movie was directed by Akhil Anil Kumar and starrer Arjun Ashokan and Revathy Sarma in the lead roles. It was released in August 2025. Taking to her Instagram handle, Mamta Mohandas emphasised the importance of recognising the film that accounts for the "personal, emotional and especially psychological challenges" in the life of a vitiligo patient.
Amid the success of the Malayalam female superhero film 'Lokah', Mamta Mohandas decided to divert her fans' attention to Arjun Ashokan's latest starrer 'Thalavara'.
"While we celebrate the rise N long awaited coming and successes of 'superheroine' films this season, I take this opportunity to also redirect your attention towards and throw a bright light on a hero who chose to select a script and played the role of a person who represents the life of several super- heroes & heroines that live amongst us fighting real battles everyday," wrote Mamta Mohandas.
While praising the lead cast and director, Mamta wrote, "Thanks Arjun Ashokan for choosing to do #thalavara and congrats to @i_am_akhil_anilkumar who has handled a sensitive matter when told what could've otherwise been dull and a sob story to tell and unrelatable one to most, managed to keep it simple and entertaining without hurting anyone's personal sentiment in my opinion."
Mamta Mohandas called the movie a "personal" project for all the vertiligi suffering patients in the world.
"Here, Jyotish's experiences will feel personal to anyone who has #vitiligo or closely knows someone they love living with this superficial yet very 'normalcy-disrupting' skin condition, where one loses their colour partially or permanently. Akhil has knit together a beautifully painful yet powerful tale that highlights personal, emotional and especially the psychological challenges that one living with it needs to be mentally prepared for in order to face life - be it at home with their own family, at work, amongst friends, in personal relationships and in society," wrote Mamta Mohandas.
The actress also praised the make-up team for their efforts in making the vertigo condition look real on Arjun Ashokan in the movie.
"Also, congrats to the make-up team who made it as close as they can get to making the condition look 'real' and Arjun, great job on sitting with that look for long hours of the shoot. I'm sure 'showing it' would've been as hectic and 'camouflaging it'. Music was a fabulous addition to the whole theme and great performances by all artists," wrote Mamta Mohandas on her Instagram handle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOs2ZLYE1Qg/?hl=en
The movie was produced by Shebin Backer under Shebin Backer Productions and Mahesh Narayanan under his banner Moving Narratives.
Anurudh Aneesh handles the cinematography, and Rahul Radhakrishnan edits the film. Electronic Kili composes the songs and background score.