12th Man preview: Here’s all we know about Drishyam duo Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph’s Disney+ Hotstar release

The movie, which is touted to be a mystery, revolves around 12 people who find themselves in a resort

Mohanlal in a promo still from 12th Man

Post the success of Drishyam and Drishyam 2, fans of Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and director Jeethu Joseph are hoping that they pull off a hattrick of hits with their upcoming film 12th Man. The movie, which is set to release on Disney+ Hotstar, marks their second direct-to-OTT release after the success of Drishyam 2, which dropped on Amazon Prime Video on February 2021.

The promotions for the film have been few and far between except for Jeethu appearing in a weekend episode Bigg Boss Malayalam’s latest season. However, that’s hardly helped in controlling the expectations that accompany a film from the Drishyam duo. Here’s all we know about the upcoming movie.

12th Man is a mystery and not a thriller

At the outset itself, Jeethu clarified to OTTplay in a recent interview that 12thMan is not a thriller like majority of films including The Body, Drishyam and Unnam. “12th Man falls in the mystery genre and is sort of like the content of Agatha Christie’s book, Sherlock Holmes stories. It’s a whodunit that evolves over a course of a day inside a resort,” said the filmmaker.

12thMan is based on a story idea by Badla producer

While the movie’s screenplay is written by KR Krishnakumar, who has also teamed up with the director for his latest film Kooman, 12th Man’s initial idea was given by Bollywood producer and filmmaker Sunir Khetarpal, who had worked with Jeethu in The Body. “Sunir, who had also produced Badla, had told us the idea, but we developed the screenplay,” says Jeethu. “It wasn’t an easy script to write and it took us almost two years to complete.”

Ensemble cast features some of the best in Malayalam

Apart from Mohanlal, the film also has 11 central characters played by Unni Mukundan, Sshivada, Anusree, Anu Sithara, Priyanka Nair, Leona Lishoy, Saiju Kurup, Anu Mohan, Rahul Madhav, G Chandunath and Aditi Ravi. Jeethu told us that each of these characters have unique identities and are equally important as the one played by Mohanlal in the film.

First film that Jeethu Joseph couldn’t finish as per planned schedule

Jeethu is known for finishing all his movies ahead of schedule, but 12th Man is the first film that took more days to complete. The reason for this was the weather. The movie, which was initially supposed to go on floors before Bro Daddy was postponed due to the lockdown and heavy rains in Kerala, and later when it resumed, the misty conditions and rain once again played spoilsport, leading to a delay a few days.

12thMan, which marks Jeethu’s third collaboration with Mohanlal and its producers Aashirvad Cinemas, is set to release on Disney+ Hotstar on May 20.

Also read: Exclusive! Jeethu Joseph reveals the link between Amitabh Bachchan’s Badla, Mohanlal’s Hotstar release 12th Man

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