Mohanlal reunites with Odiyan director VA Shrikumar for a new project; What’s cooking?

Mohanlal, the Malayalam superstar has entered a new phase of his illustrious acting career with the mega success of his latest outing, Neru. The Jeethu Joseph directorial released emerged as a big relief for the fans of the veteran actor after a string of forgettable, underwhelming projects and performances. Mohanlal has a massive line-up of upcoming projects in his kitty, including Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malaikottai Vaaliban and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Empuraan.

Meanwhile, filmmaker VA Shrikumar, who made his directorial debut with the Mohanlal starrer Odiyan, is now garnering attention with his latest Instagram post. The director shared a recently clicked location still with Mohanlal and hinted at his new collaboration with the superstar, leaving film fanatics curious.

Mohanlal to team up with VA Shrikumar for a new project?

The director, who shared a location picture with Mohanlal, captioned his post: “My next film with dear Lalettan.” VA Shrikumar’s post came out as a big shock for the veteran actor’s fans, who are still unable to forget the duo’s underwhelming first outing, Odiyan. However, now it has been confirmed that the filmmaker was hinting at his next ad film with Mohanlal, not a feature film, in his post. As per the reports, the actor-director shot a new ad film for a famous brand recently. More updates on the same are expected to be out soon.

The debacle or Odiyan and shelved Randamoozham

For the uninitiated, Mohanlal and VA Shrikumar’s first and only collaboration, Odiyan, hit theatres in 2018. The fantasy action film that hit theatres with massive pre-release hype, however, ended up being a colossal disappointment. Director VA Shrikumar was heavily trolled by Mohanlal fans and cine-goers alike for the missed opportunity. However, what broke the hearts of the superstar’s admirers was his underwhelming makeover for the film.

Also Read: Mohanlal regains box office throne with Neru; What makes him the ultimate crowd-puller of Malayalam cinema? 

After the debacle of Odiyan, the actor-director duo’s other announced project, Randamoozham, was shelved. Even though director VA Shrikumar claimed that he was indeed directing the epic drama starring Mohanlal, it was later revealed that the project had not materialised. MT Vasudevan Nair, the legendary writer who penned the Randamoozham novel, confirmed the reports by moving legally against VA Shrikumar, citing that the filmmaker failed to make the project within the contract period.

Also Read: Malaikottai Vaaliban is the ‘good risk’ from Mohanlal we waited for – Here's why 

What happened to Mission Konkan?

However, Mohanlal and VA Shrikumar later reunited for another film, titled Mission Konkan. The movie, which is touted to be a pan-Indian project, started rolling in 2021. The superstar was expected to play a pivotal character in the film, which also stars many popular stars of South cinema and Bollywood in key roles. However, Mission Konkan has been delayed indefinitely due to various production issues. There are no further updates on the project so far.

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