To Kazakhstan with the camera - Rajeev Nath's Moksham in Kazakhstan

Thiruvananthapuram, May 14 (IANS): Though Kerala has had close relations with the erstwhile Soviet Union, until now no Malayalam film was ever shot there.

In a first in the history of Malayalam cinema, national award-winning director Rajeev Nath has almost completely shot his latest film "Moksham" in Kazakhstan.

Except for a five-day shoot in Kerala, the whole film was shot in Almaty in Kazakhstan, once part of the erstwhile Soviet Union, and currently a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The film is about a young man Radha Madhavan, flying back to Kerala with his mother's dead body from the US as his mother wanted to be cremated next to her husband.

The flight is forced to land in Almaty in Kazakhstan following the Sept 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in the US.

While all the passengers move to a hotel, Radha Madhavan is forced to spend his time at the airport with his mother's coffin. And his plight makes headlines in every newspaper there.

That is how Babylona Menon goes to meet Radha Madhavan. As days go by, friendship blossoms between the two.

The story and screenplay of the film are by Rajeev Nath himself and the dialogues are by Ranji Paniker. Azhagappan is the cinematographer.