Mohanlal confirms Neru spin-off – 5 Malayalam film franchises that brought back famous characters to the silver screen

Mohanlal is currently busy with the promotions of his upcoming courtroom drama Neru. The project, which is helmed by Jeethu Joseph stars the superstar in the role of Adv. Vijay Mohan. Interestingly, in one of his recent interviews with a leading Malayalam media, the leading man confirmed that the makers are planning to make a spin-off to Neru, if the project does well at the box office. Mohanlal will return to play Adv. Vijay Mohan in the yet-to-be-announced spin-off of the film.

However, spin-offs are not new for the Malayalam film industry. There are quite a lot of famous movie characters in Malayalam cinema those made a comeback to the silver screens with not just sequels, but also spin-offs that are set to totally different backdrops.

Here we present the 5 such notable spin-offs of Malayalam cinema, that brought back famous movies characters to the silver screen. Have a look...

C.I.D Nazir series

This detective film series has been considered one of the first mainstream spin-off franchises in Malayalam cinema. Legendary actor Prem Nazir played the role of C.I.D Nazir in two blockbuster thriller films, C.I.D Nazir (1971) and Taxi Car (1972), which dealt with different crime investigations. The film series, which is helmed by P Venu, also had veteran actors Adoora Bhasi and Sreelatha reprising their respective characters, which were also named after them. For the initiated, these C.I.D films were inspired by the iconic James Bond franchise.

CBI Series

This is unarguably the most popular film franchise ever made in Malayalam cinema. Mammootty appeared as CBI officer Sethurama Iyer in all five installments of the K Madhu directorial, which depicted the character leading different crime investigations. In all installments, Mukesh and Jagathi Sreekumar reprised their characters, Chacko and Vikram. The franchise penned by SN Swamy also had many prominent characters played by Sukumaran, Janardhanan, Prathap Chandran, Adoor Bhavani, Sai Kumar, and others reappearing, in some of its installments.

Also Read: Mohanlal reacts to Ranjith’s criticisms on his Thrissur slang in Thoovanathumbikal; real-life Jayakrishnan defends the actor

Dasan and Vijayan Series

Mohanlal and Sreenivasan played the roles of Dasan and Vijayan in the much-loved comedy thriller franchise. The journey of the popular duo started in 1987 with Nadodikkattu, helmed by Sathyan Anthikad. The actor duo reunited with the director for the second installment, which was set in a different backdrop, and released in 1988. Later in 1990 Mohanlal and Sreenivasan returned as Dasan and Vijayan in the Priyadarshan-directorial Akkare Akkare Akkare. Many prominent faces from the franchise including Thilakan and MG Soman reprised their roles in the installments.

Also Read: Mohanlal says L2 Empuraan has a ‘brilliant’ script; drops major updates on release date and shooting schedules 

Commissioner Series

Suresh Gopi, the actor-MP achieved superstardom with his stellar performance as police officer Bharath Chandran IPS in Commissioner, the 1994-released neo noir thriller helmed by Shaji Kailas. Later, the action star reprised the celebrated character in three more films, including The King, Bharath Chandran IPS, and The King & The Commissioner. Interestingly, Suresh Gopi is now set to make a comeback with the role once again, with a new installment in the series.

Also Read: Mohanlal says Neru is one of his favourite films as an actor; opens up about his role 

Ramji Rao Speaking Series

The Siddique-Lal directorial, which hit the screens in 1989 featured Sai Kumar, Mukesh, and Innocent in the roles of Balakrishnan, Gopalakrishnan, and Mannaar Mathai. Later, the trio reprised their respective roles in the two other installments of the film, Mannaar Mathai Speaking and Mannaar Mathai Speaking 2. Vijayaraghavan, on the other hand, appeared as Ramji Rao, the goon in all three installments. The much-loved films were adapted to Hindi as Hera Pheri franchise.

Watch Koose Munisamy Veerappan, Kadak Singh, Scam 2003, Chaaver and more on OTTplay, by subscribing to the Jhakaas monthly pack which provides access to 19 OTTs at just ₹49 for the first month.