Kaathal: Mammootty suggested Jyotika’s name for the family drama, says Jeo Baby

Mammootty and Jyotika’s Kaathal – The Core, which is helmed by The Great Indian Kitchen director Jeo Baby, went on floors in Kochi on October 20. The movie, which is touted to be a family drama, is produced by the megastar and marks his banner Mammootty Kampany’s third venture after Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam and Rorschach.

Kaathal, which has the superstar duo playing a couple for the first time, also marks Jyotika’s comeback to Malayalam after a gap of 13 years. Her previous Malayalam movie was Seetha Kalyanam, which starred Jayaram in the lead.

In a recent interview with Kochi Times, Jeo had revealed that the team was in the lookout for an actress to play the lead in the film, which was greenlit a few months ago. It was Mammootty who had suggested Jyotika’s name, said the director.

Kaathal is also the first time Jeo is directing somebody else’s script. The director said that several people had approached him with scripts but Kaathal, which is written by Adarsh Sukumaran and Paulson Skaria, is the first one that really interested him. The director immediately approached Mammootty with the script and the megastar had given the nod and also suggested a few changes in the script.

As soon as the movie’s first-look poster was announced, Tamil star and Jyotika’s husband Suriya had posted, “From day one, this film’s idea and every step taken by director Jeo Baby and team is so good.” Jeo revealed that Jyotika too loved the script and that’s why she came onboard.

Salu K Thomas is the movie’s cinematographer with Shaji Naduvil, who was also part of Rorschach, will be handling the art department. The movie is expected to be wrapped up in a single schedule. Lalu Alex, Muthumani, Chinnu Chandini and Sudhi Kozhikode are also part of the cast of the film, which will be distributed by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films.