Jagathy's character was added in 'Devadoothan' when Mohanlal came on board: Sibi Malayil

'Devadoothan', a cult classic, which has returned to the screens after a gap of 24 years, is running successfully in theatres. Now, the filmmaker Sibi Malayil has revealed that Jagathy's character was not part of the original script initially and he had decided to include the scenes only after Mohanlal came on board.
“The priest character played by Jagathy Sreekumar was not part of the script when we wrote the first few drafts of the screenplay. A few sequences were added because of Lal and to satisfy the audience who are also fans of the super star. In fact, we did that to make the movie more watchable or enjoyable. But, that was a misconception. We have avoided a few scenes, in the re-released version, which we thought were unnecessary and have now focused only on the core story,” he said.

According to him, it is the youngsters who fueled their desire to bring back the film in theatres. “The youngsters were the ones who stood by us. This re-released version is for those who are prepared to accept our film in theatres,” he said.
Raghunath Paleri, who wrote the film's screenplay, said the movie's re-release is dedicated to the young generation of audience who gave them the energy to re-release the film. “I find this whole experience unbelievable. In the past, we received a lot of negative feedback for the film. It is not their fault; they probably just spoke what was there in their mind. But, we grew up in a social set up where people comforted others when they were hurt. But here, people kept posting negative remarks. The youngsters are different. They know how to appreciate our work,” he said.