Prathichaya actor Sharaf U Dheen on reuniting with Nivin Pauly after almost 10 years, and what was different this time
Prathichaya will feature Sharaf U Dheen and Nivin Pauly in serious avatars and are likely to be seen as opponents. The B Unnikrishnan-helmed movie will release on March 26, 2026
Last Updated: 05.33 PM, Mar 21, 2026
The upcoming Malayalam film Prathichaya will bring together actors Sharaf U Dheen and Nivin Pauly, known for movies such as Premam and Neram, after a hiatus. But unlike their previous mostly fun outings, Prathichaya will feature both actors in serious avatars. Speaking about reuniting with the Premam star after almost 10 years, Sharaf U Dheen said that both actors had to really strive hard to maintain the serious tone of the political thriller movie.
When Sharaf U Dheen, Nivin Pauly came together for Prathichaya
Actors Nivin Pauly and Sharaf U Dheen were last seen together in the movie Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela in 2017. The actors are coming together for Prathichaya, helmed by B Unnikrishnan, which will feature Nivin as the son of the CM and Sharaf U Dheen as a corporate player, and they are likely to be opponents.
"Nivin's character is serious, so is mine. So we have to set that mood to pull off the characters. So it was very difficult, especially to render such long dialogues (without breaking into laughter). But at the same time, we are also happy that we get to do such characters too in our combination,” Sharaf U Dheen said during an interview with News Malayalam 24x7.
"Mostly, the film set was a serious space. So, it is better we maintain that and not change it into a laughter space,” he added.
Malayalam star Nivin Pauly led several hit movies such as Neram, Premam, Ohm Shanthi Oshaana and Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela that also featured Sharaf U Dheen. One of the most popular roles of Sharaf U Dheen is Girirajan Kozhi from the Nivin Pauly-starrer Premam.
Sharaf U Dheen also revealed that he had asked director Unnikrishnan if there were any roles for him in Prathichaya.
Prathichaya releases in theatres on March 26, 2026, a week ahead of Mohanlal’s Drishyam 3 on April 2. Senior actor-filmmaker Balachandra Menon plays the Chief Minister in the upcoming movie, along with Harisree Ashokan, Sai Kumar and others.
Meanwhile, Nivin Pauly's upcoming movies include Tamil film Benz, starring Raghava Lawrence, and director Girish AD’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.