Exclusive! After Mohanlal’s Aaraattu, B Unnikrishnan to direct Mammootty in a mass film with a relevant theme

Director B Unnikrishnan seems to have developed a liking for big-budget mass entertainers with superstars. After helming the upcoming theatrical release Aaraattu, which has Mohanlal in the lead, the filmmaker is now in talks with Mammootty for his next, which is again touted to be a mass entertainer.

The director, who had earlier helmed movies such as Grandmaster, Madambi and Villain, had previously worked with Mammootty in 2010 in Pramani. The upcoming movie is scripted by Udaykrishna, who had written Mammootty-starrers such as Pokkiri Raja, Madhuraraja, Masterpiece and Kammath and Kammath.

Talking to OTTplay, Unnikrishnan tells us, “I am in discussions with Mammukka. There’s still nothing concrete yet. Even though it’s a mass movie, it will have fun elements and will also tell a pertinent subject. It will be a blast, but nothing has been finalised yet.”

Unnikrishnan, meanwhile, is excited about his upcoming movie Aaraattu, which is also scripted by Udaykrishna. The filmmaker says that it was Mohanlal’s idea to do a festive film like Aaraattu during the pandemic. The duo had initially approached the superstar in 2020 with another film that had a darker subject, but Mohanlal apparently asked why they couldn’t do a fun entertainer, especially with everything being grim during the pandemic.

The upcoming movie has Mohanlal playing a loud character named Neyyattinkara Gopan. On the film’s plot, the director tells us, “His character is someone who comes to a village to make a deal. But there he creates more problems than the ones he encounters and becomes a liability in the process. The villagers then have to find solutions for the trouble he creates.”

The ‘mass’ entertainer also has a large ensemble cast featuring Shraddha Srinath, Ramachandra Raju, Nedumudi Venu, Dhruvan, Sidhique, Johny Antony, Swasika and music director AR Rahman in a cameo. The movie, which completed shooting in March 2021, is set to hit theatres across the world on February 18.

Also read: Exclusive! AR Rahman initially declined to be part of Mohanlal’s Aaraattu, here’s who eventually convinced him