Maheshum Marutiyum producer Maniyanpilla Raju: The film would not have existed if Asif Ali said no to the role

Maniyanpilla Raju is turning producer yet again, this time with Asif Ali and Mamta Mohandas’ film, Maheshum Marutiyum. The film, written and directed by Sethu, will see Asif take on the role of a young man who find himself in a love triangle with his childhood sweetheart and his Maruthi 800 car. In a recent interview, Raju opened up about how important Asif’s casting was for the film.

In an interview with Kairali TV, the producer revealed that the film took four years to be developed. “Before writing the script we’d wanted to find the lead actor who’d be willing to take up such a role, said Raju. “If Asif said no to the film, Maheshum Marutiyum would not exist, and we would have gone with a different story.

“This particular character of Mahesh would not have worked if we had gone with someone else. There were a lot of things we considered, including the character’s age, mannerisms etc. So we first decided to choose the perfect actor to cast and then move onto developing the story”.

Raju went on to say that the film was for everyone, talking about how the film showcased Mahesh’s deep love for his vehicle as well as for Gouri. There was even a scene in the film where Gouri exclaims that if Mahesh loved a woman as much as he loved his car, she would be the luckiest person in the world. “Something I think everyone will like about the film is how love is depicted in it. It is a feel good film, one which will make you tear up and leave the theatre happy”, he said.

Maheshum Marutiyum, which also features Varun Dhara, Vijay Babu, Dr Rony David Raj, Premkumar, Idavela Babu, Prashanth Alexander, Kunchan, Manu Raj and Divya, will be released in theatres on March 10, Friday.