New Delhi: Malayalam filmmaker Girish AD has finally opened up about the difficult decision to shelve Premalu 2. Girish said that he spent an entire year working on the sequel before the project was unexpectedly abandoned.
Speaking at the celebration of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’s success, which became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, Girish said the team had to abandon Premalu 2 after investing a year in its development.
“Work on this film began after a year. Until then, I had been working on Premalu 2. We had to abandon the project unexpectedly, and it was a huge setback for us. We lost an entire year because of it. There was no need for us to lose that much time,” he said at the Kochi event.
The decision delayed his next project, even though he had wanted to make Bethlehem Kudumba Unit long before the sequel entered the picture.
Released in 2024, Premalu became one of the biggest Malayalam hits of the year, collecting nearly Rs 130 crore worldwide. The film was produced by Bhavana Studios as well as Fahadh Faasil, Dileesh Pathan and Syam Pushkaran and stars Naslen and Mamitha Baiju.
Earlier this month, the film’s Hindi remake Prem Keetanu hit the theatres. Directed by Apoorv Singh Karki, the film stars Veer Paharaiya and Aafiya Sayed. However, unlike its Malayalam counterpart, the Hindi version was a box office disaster, reportedly collecting only Rs 1.4 crore worldwide against a budget of Rs 25 crore.
Despite Premalu 2 being shelved, Girish came up with Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, which collected nearly Rs 330 crore worldwide. The film stars Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju. It revolves around Justin, an unmarried man approaching middle age, and Ashley, a younger woman who moves into his neighbourhood.