For Mohanlal fans, it is going to be the film of the year—Lijo Jose Pellissery’s 'Malaikottai Vaaliban'. Now Mohanlal has said that the film will be a novel experience for cinemagoers. In an interview with Manorama news.com, the actor said it offers something for everyone. There will be mass and class and the execution can be called timeless.
“We are also very hopeful. It has been treated like a Western film. I would call it a timeless film. The music, colour pattern, situation, and action sequences are something you have never witnessed in Malayalam cinema before. We were all striving for that. It is a big-budget film. I believe Lijo has beautifully executed it. The rest is up to the audience. You can see it as a mass film, a spiritual film with a philosophy. If you want you can see it like a very serious film. We are throwing the questions for the audience to interpret the way they want,” said Mohanlal.
Even at the wrap-up party of Malaikottai Vaaliban, Mohanlal couldn’t stop gushing about Lijo. He said they had created something one has never seen before in Indian cinema. He also thanked Lijo for considering him in the film.
“We are still learning about the phenomenon called Lijo. I believe this will be one of the greatest films he has ever made. The shooting was an incredible experience. We had to go through a lot of stress due to the climate. But we managed to overcome all that. Whether or not the film will work at the box office comes later. We have created something we have never seen before in Indian cinema. This will be a different film. I want to thank Lijo for considering me in the film,” said Mohanlal.
June 13th was the pack-up day of the film. Lijo took the opportunity to thank everyone. The film was shot in Rajasthan (the first schedule lasted for 77 days), Pondicherry, and Chennai (the last schedule was in Chennai). After the first eras were shot in Rajasthan, the second schedule was in Chennai’s Gokulam studios. There will be 5 months of post-production left. Other leading roles are done by Hareesh Peradi, Manikandan Achari, Bengali actor Katha Nandi, Manoj Moses, Danish Sait, Sonali Kulkarni, and Rajeev Pillai along with a lot of foreign actors.
The film is produced by Shibu Baby John’s John Mary Creative Ltd in association with Max Lab Cinemas, Amen Movie Monastery, and Century Films. The screenplay is by PS Rafeeq, the cinematography is by Madhu Neelakandan, the music is by Prashant Pillai, and Tinu Pappachan is the Chief Associate Director.