Netflix drops Mohanlal, Mammootty and Fahadh Faasil's MT Vasudevan Nair anthology?

The anthology features nine segments helmed by directors such as Priyadarshan, Mahesh Narayanan, Ranjith and Santosh Sivan

Mammootty and Mohanlal | Pic credit: Unni Surendran

The much-anticipated Malayalam anthology, based on MT Vasudevan Nair’s works and featuring superstars such as Mammootty, Mohanlal, Fahadh Faasil and Asif Ali, seems to be the latest project stuck in limbo due to disagreements between its OTT platform and producers.

The project, which was supposed to be Netflix's first ever Malayalam anthology following Navarasa and Pitta Kathalu in Tamil and Telugu, respectively, had begun shooting in 2021 with director Santosh Sivan’s segment. The anthology was supposed to have nine such segments, based on acclaimed writer MT Vasudevan Nair’s stories.

Now, OTTplay has exclusively learnt that Netflix might not be streaming the project at all. One of the leading directors of the anthology, on condition of anonymity, tells us, “Saregama, which had tied up with Netflix, was producing the whole venture. The initial plan, while agreeing to the budget, didn’t have Mammootty, Mohanlal and Fahadh Faasil as part of the project. Their segments were added later and that also resulted in the budget becoming higher than what was agreed first between the producers and Netflix.”

Also read: Netflix anthology, starring Mammootty, Mohanlal and Fahadh, wraps up filming, here’s all we know

This prompted the producers to pitch the project to another OTT platform, says the filmmaker, who had completed the work on his project over a year ago. “Netflix weren’t pleased with that. Right now, from what I understand, Saregama is planning to sell the rights to another platform. The delay is because they are yet to get the desired amount for its rights,” the source explains.

Eight directors – Priyadarshan, Ranjith, Santosh Sivan, Jayaraj, Rathish Ambat, Shyamaprasad, Mahesh Narayanan and MT’s daughter Ashwathy V Nair – had come together to helm the nine segments that featured actors such as Mohanlal, Mammootty, Biju Menon, Fahadh Faasil, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Asif Ali, Madhoo, Siddique and Indrajith Sukumaran.

Also read: Mohanlal and Durga Krishna begin dubbing for Priyadarshan’s Olavum Theeravum from Netflix anthology

Further on the reason Netflix might have backed out, the filmmaker tells us, “It’s also because OTT platforms’ strategies keep changing. The work on this project had started, with Santosh Sivan’s segment, when anthologies were in vogue. But when Mammootty and Mohanlal also became part of the project, the budget went up and it probably didn’t make sense to stream a Malayalam anthology based on the views of their previous projects.”

Each segment of the anthology was reportedly planned to be 40-50 minute in duration. While Priyadarshan helmed two segments – Biju Menon’s Shilalikhitangal and Mohanlal’s Olavum Theeravum, Santosh Sivan directed Siddique in Abhayam Thedi, Shyamaprasad worked with Parvathy and Narain in Kazhcha, Jayaraj collaborated with Indrans, Nedumudi Venu and Surabhi Lakshmi for Swargam Thurakunna Samayam and Ashwathy helmed Vilpana with Asif Ali and Madhoo.

Rathish Ambat teamed up with Indrajith and Aparna Balamurali for Kadalkattu, while Mahesh Narayanan and Ranjith reunited with Fahadh and Mammootty for Sherlock and Kadugannawa Oru Yathra, respectively. The latter two were the final projects to wrap up shoot.

Though there’s still uncertainty on which platform will stream the anthology, our source tells us that the project has not been dropped. “It can begin streaming anytime because most of the work is complete. Most of us had already submitted the complete segments,” the source concludes.

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