Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's 'Chola' chosen for Venice Film Festival

"S Durga" director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's next film "Chola" was on Thursday selected for a competition section of the Venice Film Festival that begins next month.

The Malayalam film -- the English title is "Shadow of Water" -- is the only Indian movie to have made it to the Orizzonti Competition category at the prestigious movie gala that begins August 28 and goes on till September 7.

The announcement that "Chola" would be featured in the Orizzonti Competition, a section of the festival's official selection, was made on the Venice Film Festival's official website.

Sasidharan, who will attend the screening along with his cast Joju George and Nimisha Sajayan, said he is happy but tense about taking the film to Venice.

While "S Durga" explored the idea of feminine identity through the lens of society, "Chola" views the same issue from an individual's point of view, the filmmaker told PTI.

"Both follow the common thread - the social problem about the feminine identity, how do they look at women, and all those kind of things... in the new film, we discuss the mindset of individuals. It delves deeper into individual psyche. It is connected to society, but is a more inward approach," Sasidharan said.

"Chola", he added, is also a road movie and a thriller.

"S Durga" courted controversy over its original name "Sexy Durga" in 2018 and the director said his approach to his work remains the same.

"Whatever the circumstances or oppression, we'll say what we have to say (through our work)," he said.

"Chola" is among the 19 international films picked for Orizzonti, which runs parallel to the main competition category.

In 2014, the National Award-winning multilingual legal drama "Court" became the first and only Indian production to have won a Best Film award in the Orizzonti Competition category.

Gitanjali Rao's animation feature "Bombay Rose" will inaugurate the Critics' Week section in the upcoming festival.