Mohanlal: The budget of my most ambitious films would start from Rs 150 crore

Mohanlal is arguably the biggest star from the Malayalam film industry. His recent signings are proof of that. The actor, who has just completed shooting for his directorial debut Barroz, has two instalments of Jeethu Joseph’s Ram, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Empuraan and Nanda Kishore’s Malayalam-Telugu bilingual Vrushabha lined up. However, the actor says that his ambition doesn’t end with these massive projects.

In a recent interview, the superstar, who explained that he has been offered several projects in Hindi and Telugu in the past few years, said that he is comfortable producing and acting in his bigger films as he doesn’t want to take risks with other producers’ money. This also gives him the freedom to experiment better and not sacrifice on the creativity and scale that each project demands.

“If somebody asks me the budget of my ambitious films, it will start from Rs 150 crore,” he told Gulf News, adding that when he quotes this figure he has seen producers pull back. Mohanlal said that “a good movie defines an actor” and that’s also what makes them “feel relevant”.

Also read: Mohanlal to team up with a Telugu star for multilingual father-son action-drama titled Vrushabha 

Mohanlal said that Drishyam was an important landmark in his career and has also taught him to expand the boundaries. The actor said that the success of Drishyam’s Mandarin remake in China has prompted him to start an office in the country, as there’s a booming potential for movies that have good stories and emotions in the country.

The actor also said that Drishyam 2’s popularity has urged people across the country to watch Malayalam films. Mohanlal said the onus on him is to surprise the audience with their films and he hopes that his directorial debut Barroz, a 3D children’s fantasy movie, accomplishes that.

The movie, which has Santosh Sivan as its cinematographer, also has Lydian Nadhaswaram composing its songs. "He's a prodigy. When he joined us, he was only 12 years old. He might get a Grammy Award for his album Chromatic Grammtic. He is 15 now and I was brave enough to take him as the music director to compose the background score of Barroz. I am sure it will bring about a big change in music,” said the actor.