MUMBAI: Oscar winning sound engineer  has for the first time taken up a Malayalam feature film as his next assignment.

Mammootty's historical film Pazhassi Raja, directed by director Hariharan,scripted by literary giant M.T. Vasudevan Nair, will mark the Malayalam debut of Pookutty as a sound mixer, say reports.

The film will be simultaneously released in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi with the same title, and will release on 15 August.

Reports say Mammootty plays the title role of legendary ruler " warrior Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja ", known to be the first freedom fighter of India, who took on the British in the forests of Malabar in the 18th century. The movie showcases his heroic fights against the British in the jungles of Wayanad during the 1790s.

Popular Tamil-Telugu actor Suman plays the villain, Pazhaiveetan Chandu and Tamil actor Sarathkumar plays Edachena Kunkan, the chief lieutenant of Pazhassi Raja. This is Sarathkumar's first appearance in Malayalam. Thilakan dons the role of king Kurubranaad, who revolted and plotted against Pazhassi Raja. Jagathy Sreekumar dons the role of Kannara Menon, an employee of the British Government. Padmapriya and Kanika are the heroines.

Produced by Gokulam Gopalan under the banner of Gokulam Films, Pazhassi Raja is made with the biggest-ever budget for a Malayalam movie, rumoured to be more than Rs. 20 crores. Manoj K. Jayan, Peter Handley Evans and Harry Key play pivotal roles in the film which has music by Ilayaraja and songs by poet O.N.V. Kurup.