Mohanlal: RRR, KGF and Pushpa have created a lot of positive noise, expanding scope for pan-Indian movies

Even before movies such as Baahubali, RRR, KGF and Pushpa caught the imagination of pan-Indian audiences, Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph’s Drishyam was hailed for its intriguing screenplay and performances. The remake of the movie – not just in Indian languages but in Mandarin, Sinhalese and Indonesian – is a testament to that.

The superstar, in a recent interview with Gulf News, opened up about how the recent South films have achieved what he and his counterparts had been aspiring to, for years. “Films like RRR, KGF, Pushpa have created a lot of positive noise. Pan-Indian films have so much more scope now,” he said, adding that films across languages are open to roping in actors from other film industries.

The actor said that this was always the dream, where artistes can work across industries and films can be viewed by audiences around the world without the barrier of language. He cited the example of Drishyam 2, which released directly on OTT during the pandemic, saying that it had a massive impact on his career.

Mohanlal recounted how the priest at a temple in Assam, where he had recently visited, had watched Drishyam and went on to view other Malayalam movies because of that. The actor also said that his directorial debut Barroz, which is a 3D children’s fantasy, has the scope to subtitled in Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Portuguese. The movie, which is set to release later this year, is the biggest film that Mohanlal has been part of and is among the most expensive Malayalam movies ever made.

The actor, who is currently in Dubai, also signed another big budget film titled Vrushabha, which will be made in Malayalam and Telugu. The story of the father-son action-drama will span generations and feature battle scenes set in wintry conditions. The movie is expected to go on floors in 2023 after Mohanlal completes shooting for Empuraan.