Lost main role in 'Amar Akbar Anthony' at the last moment: Asif Ali

Malayalam actor Asif Ali revealed that he was offered one of the main roles in the 2015 movie 'Amar Akbar Anthony' and was sidelined at the eleventh hour.

The actor was talking at the audio launch of his upcoming movie 'Mera Naam Shaji' when he made the statement surprising his fans.

“Although I was not given the main role, I am glad that I could be part of that film in a very minor role that went on to become a huge success,” he said.

The movie directed by Nadirshah had Prithviraj, Indrajith and Jayasurya playing the titular roles, while Asif was seen playing Faizal, a bike-stunt artiste.

Mocking the writers of 'Amar Akbar Anthony', Asif further added, “When I say these, I can see the writers of the film smiling. And since I couldn't get what I wanted,

Nadirshah gave me a significant role in 'Mera Naam Shaji'.”

The new film is the third directorial venture of Nadirshah. It has Asif Ali, Biju Menon and Baiju in lead roles. Interestingly, their characters bear the same name, Shaji. Asif is called Cochin Shaji, Biju Menon plays Calicut Shaji and Baiju will be seen as Trivandrum Shaji.

Nikhila Vimal, Mythili and Surabhi have been roped in to play the female leads. Sreenivasan is also expected to appear in an important role.

Dilip Ponnan and Shaani Khader have penned the story.