Arun Chandu on casting Jagathy in Vala instead of Gaganachari: ‘He was a rockstar and when he...’

A poster of Jagathy Sreekumar as Uncle Lunar from Arun Chandu’s Vala was an announcement that both elated and excited fans, across generations. The very news that Jagathy, who has been missing from our screens for too long, would be returning to films was thrilling and that he would be seen in a sci-fi film with a young filmmaker made it even more sensational.

In a recent conversation with Maneesh Narayanan of Cue Studio, Gaganachari director Arun Chandu spoke about portraying Jagathy in a character, which is befitting his stature as one of the greatest comedy and character artists in Malayalam.

Arun Chandu on Jagathy

With Gaganachari, Arun Chandu proved that Malayalam too can have its sci-fi film set in a post-apocalyptic Kerala. The young filmmaker is continuing his tryst with the sci-fi universe with Vala, which will also feature Jagathy Sreekumar as Professor Ambili, aka Uncle Lunar.

Arun Chandu said that they thought of how to incorporate Jagathy in his 2024 film Gaganachari, which starred Anarkali Marikar, Gokul Suresh, and Aju Varghese. But it was not possible then, Arun said, considering the actor's health condition at the time, as they did not want to show him in a woeful state.

Even in Gaganchari, they did something like a tribute to Jagathy with references to Ikru, a character played by Jagathy in Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu. The young filmmaker went on to say that it is one of the most relatable roles of the actor for the 90s kids.

For the unversed, Jagathy was grievously injured in an accident in 2012, putting him away from the limelight. The actor was seen in a brief appearance in Mammootty's CBI 5: The Brain in 2022.

Jagathy in Vala

Explaining the idea of Jagathy as Uncle Lunar in Vala, Arun Chandu said, "He was a rockstar and when he comes on screen, we would like him to come with that same rockstar energy."

“Now with his current condition, he can play a mastermind (like) at a Stephen Hawking level...  Someone who is capable of igniting a zombie apocalypse, we are trying to portray him like that,” he said. 

Arun Chandu also said that Vala, despite being a futuristic film set in the 2060s Kerala, will be funny with relatable simple-minded characters.

Also read - Gaganachari director Arun Chandu on using AI images, Maniyan Chittappan and pitching a sci-fi to Prithviraj | Exclusive 

Gaganachari is available for streaming on Manorama Max. You can also watch Anarkali Marikar’s film on OTTplay Premium right here.