Mohanlal confirms his next with Jallikattu filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery

It is official! Mohanlal made the official announcement of his collaboration with Jallikattu director Lijio Jose Pellissery on social media, posting images from their recent meeting. The Malayalam superstar expressed delight on collaborating with “one of the most exciting immensely talented directors in Indian cinema”, on Twitter.

Former Kerala State Minister Shibu Baby John's production house John & Mary Creative is funding the project, along with Century Films and Max Lab. The trio was supposed to produce another film with Mohanlal, directed by Vivek of Athiran-fame. However, that one has been shelved owing to creative differences.

We hear Mohanlal assigned Lijo those dates, and according to unverified reports, the actor will play a wrestler. Additionally, it's been said that this is a big-budget period film, and the producers intend to start shooting in Rajasthan in January of next year.

Mohanlal has several upcoming projects, despite the mixed reviews of his recent outing, Monster. The film marked his reunion with his Pulimurugan director Vysakh and scriptwriter Uday Krishna.

Alone, directed by Shaji Kailas, will be his next one to be released. He has also wrapped up filming on Netflix's Olavum Theeravum and his directorial debut, Barroz. For Jeethu Joseph's Ram, he still has a few portions left. Empuraan, the second instalment of Lucifer, and Vrushabha, a bilingual with Kannada director Nanda Kishore are among Mohanlal's forthcoming projects.

Lijo Jose Pellissery, however, has Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam up for release, featuring Mammootty. Before it opens in theatres, the eagerly-awaited movie will premiere in festivals.

Since his debut in Nayakan, Lijo has cast the greatest actors in the film circuit, resulting in outstanding performances from his ensemble. He always makes sure the actors playing his imperfect heroes are the right fit. Expectations are high now that he's working on a movie with Lalettan!

In an interview with a leading English daily, Mohanlal reflected on his journey and was quoted, as saying:

“Every director, producer, and actor wants their movies to be successful. So many of the movies to which we committed time and money have failed to find an audience. It is impossible to foretell whether it would be a success or a failure. Every movie contains that element of risk. But, when a movie introduces something novel, we hope that people will be interested enough to see it.”