The famed director Lijo Jose Pellissery and Malayalam actor Mohanlal's debut project together may be the director's most ambitious one yet, and it appears the film's producers are doing everything possible to make sure it is produced on a large scale.
The movie, which is scheduled to begin production in January 2023, is made by Shibu Baby John under the auspices of his company John and Mary Creative, with the assistance of Maxlabs and Century Films. According to recent rumours, the crew intends to cast Bollywood actress Radhika Apte as the movie's female protagonist
While the film's title hasn't been made public, rumours suggest that Mohanlal will play a wrestler, and that it would be a period piece. Lijo hasn't formally endorsed any of this, though.
If Radhika does join the cast, Haram, which starred Fahadh Faasil, will be her second Malayalam film. In an exclusive interview with OTTPlay earlier this year, Radhika discussed making a comeback in Malayalam and highlighted her desire to work in the sector, which is“doing amazingly well”.
“I just feel that if they really want to cast me then, I need to get rehearsal time and really understand why I'm doing it,” she continued, mentioning the current crop of talented Malayalam actresses.
Earlier this year, the actress appeared in the Bollywood adaptation of Tovino Thomas' Forensic, and she most recently appeared in Monica O My Darling. The actress also stated that if she were to be cast in a Malayalam film right now, she would want the time to learn the dialogues and wouldn't want to rush it because the delivery would then be, “a bit mindless”.
Radhika's casting would raise the already high expectations for the movie even further given that the pre-production is already well underway and that there are still about two months before the film begins shooting.