‘Little Miss Rawther’ is a small film with a big heart, says the film’s lead actor and writer Shersha Sherief

Shersha Sherief and Gouri Kishan in Little Miss Rawther
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Shersha Sherief stands out from the crowd, literally. The 6’2’’ youngster has cashed in on his height to fulfil his tinsel-town dreams. Little Miss Rawther, his debut film as an actor and writer set to release in theatres next week, is a “soulful musical romance” between a tall guy and a petite woman. The film, directed by debutant Vishnu Dev, has 96-fame Gouri Kishan as the female lead.

Shershah plays Abhijith Chandra Das aka ABCD, Naina Rawther’s (Gouri) significant other. Cinema is Abhijith’s passion, while Gouri is the studious kind. Their love story hits a low as they part ways. “What happens when these ex-lovers come together takes the story forward,” says Shersha.

In 2012, Shersha and his friends had made CET Life, perhaps one of the early short films in Malayalam. Then a student of the College of Engineering Thiruvananthapuram (CET), he came up with the story of a student on the CET campus. Among the actors was Basil Joseph, then his senior and now one of the leading filmmakers in Malayalam.

Actor-writer Shersha Sherief
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Although Shersha, an IIM graduate, took up a corporate job after his studies, he quit to do theatre and thereafter decided to try his luck in cinema.

Shersha Sherief and Gouri Kishan in Little Miss Rawther
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

He was an assistant in the pre-production of Minnal Murali and acted in movies such as Nizhal and Hridayam. “I realised that it would take long to establish myself. So I decided to diversify and added writing to my portfolio,” he says.

His journey to set the project rolling had several hurdles, as most producers and leading heroines wanted to work with experienced actors. “However, Gouri liked the script and came on board. Eventually, we got a producer [Srujan Yarabolu and Sadhik Shaik]. Srujan has produced movies in Telugu, while this is Sadhik’s first project,” he adds.

Musical romance

Shersha lucked out by roping in the versatile Govind Vasantha to compose music. “Once I finished the narration, he told me that music would be another main character in the film. Although the plan was to have nine songs, a couple of tracks were added later. It is a Govind Vasantha musical,” Shersha says.

Actor-writer Shersha Sherief
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Besides the director Vishnu, who is Shersha’s friend and Senna Hegde’s associate, there are several new faces in the crew, including DOP Luke Jose and editor Sangeeth Prathap.

Shersha adds, “It is a small film with a big heart. There are strong characters. That is why we were confident of taking it into theatres.”