New Delhi: Filmmaker Priyadarshan has finally revealed how Mohanlal reacted when he asked the actor to make a cameo in Haiwaan, the Hindi remake of their 2016 Malayalam thriller Oppam.
“He couldn’t believe it when I asked him, ‘Will you do this?’ He said, ‘I was the hero of the original film. Now what are you making me do here?’ But then he heard it and simply said, ‘Okay, I’m doing it,’” Priyadarshan said in an interview published Monday.
Haiwaan, which will be released in cinemas on 11 September, stars Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar. Khan plays a visually impaired martial artist who tries to protect a young girl from a killer played by Kumar. In Oppam, Mohanlal played Khan’s role, Jayaraman, a visually impaired caretaker who becomes the main suspect in a murder.
Ahead of Haiwaan’s release, Priyadarshan also said he did not want Khan to reproduce Mohanlal’s performance. He stopped Khan from watching Oppam before filming because “imitation never works in acting”. He wanted Khan to interpret the character himself.
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A decades long partnership
In Monday’s interview, Priyadarshan spoke about his partnership with Mohanlal, which has lasted more than four decades.
“We have done so much work together. Almost 50 per cent of the films in my career have been with him. He was the hero of my first film, and now he is going to be the hero of my 100th film. It has been a great journey. I feel extremely lucky to have worked with such a great actor,” he said.
Priyadarshan added that although the duo are friends, he considered Mohanlal to be a gem of an actor who surprises him in every film. He then confirmed that his 100th film, a musical based on Carnatic music, would also be a Mohanlal starrer.
“I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to do a musical with Mohanlal, based on Carnatic music,” he said.
Priyadarshan had shared more details about the film in April. He said it would centre on a clash between a father and son who are both Carnatic singers, with Mohanlal playing the son. He described it as a family drama and commercial entertainer with action and 12 songs.
Priyadarshan also said Mohanlal would not sing in the film, despite having sung for films before, because the role required classical singing “on a high octave”.
At the time, the filmmaker was looking for an elderly newcomer with a background in Carnatic and Hindustani music and Kathakali for the father’s role. He said he would have approached the late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam for the part.
(Edited by Janaki Pande)