Tag: mohanlal

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Bollywood Lite Blogs

SRK Accepts Mohanlal’s Dance Challenge

SRK took to his X account on Tuesday and re-shared a video from an award function where Mohanlal can be seen dancing to ‘Zinda Banda’…reports Asian Lite News

Malayalam megastar Mohanlal on Tuesday took to X to invite Shah Rukh Khan to groove on ‘Zinda Banda’ from the blockbuster ‘Jawan’ over a meal (actually, from dinner to breakfast!).

SRK took to his X account on Tuesday and re-shared a video from an award function where Mohanlal can be seen dancing to ‘Zinda Banda’.

Sharing the video, SRK wrote that he was eagerly waiting for dinner with the veteran actor. He wrote, “Thank u @Mohanlal sir for making this song most special for me now. Wish I had done it half as good as you. Love u sir and waiting for dinner at home as and when. You are the OG Zinda Banda.”

Mohanlal humbly replied to SRK’s tweet with these words: “Dear @iamsrk, nobody can do it like you! You are and always will be the OG Zinda Banda in your classic, inimitable style. Thanks for your kind words. Also, just dinner? Why not groove to some Zinda Banda over breakfast, too?”

Seeing one of his favourite actors respond with such warmth, SRK replied, “Done sir. Your place or mine?”

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Films Interview Lite Blogs

Sonalee Kulkarni’s Memorable Journey with Mohanlal

The actress also spoke about director Lijo Jose Pellissery and shared that the unexpected becomes the norm in the cinematic universe of Lijo…reports Asian Lite News

Actress Sonalee Kulkarni, who is receiving a lot of positive response to her work in the recently released Mohanlal-starrer film ‘Malaikottai Vaaliban’, shared her experience working with the Malayalam cinema legend, Mohanlal.

She narrated an incident from the shoot about the Malayalam megastar’s generosity.

Elaborating on the same, the actress said: “Collaborating with Mohanlal sir was an immersion into the realm of cinematic brilliance and unparalleled dedication. From the very first encounter on the sets in Jaisalmer, his warm welcome set the tone for an extraordinary journey. During his action sequence shoot, amidst the cold desert winds, his immediate concern for my comfort epitomised his generosity and camaraderie.”

She continued: “It was during this shoot that I witnessed firsthand his commitment to perfection, every action sequence, a testament to his enduring passion for his craft. He not only recognised my work but also expressed genuine curiosity about the nuances of my recent popular songs.”

She added: “His childlike enthusiasm in discussing his favourite action sequences from ‘Lucifer’ or demonstrating dance steps between takes was both delightful and enlightening. It’s not every day that a legendary actor, with a plethora of accolades and accomplishments, exhibits such humility and genuine interest in others’ work.”

The actress also spoke about director Lijo Jose Pellissery and shared that the unexpected becomes the norm in the cinematic universe of Lijo. She said that working with him is an exhilarating experience, filled with spontaneity and surprises.

She said: “My journey into Lijo’s world began unexpectedly, much like the twists in his narratives. I never imagined working in a Malayalam film under his direction, but here I am, living a dream I never saw coming. His visionary approach to filmmaking, demonstrated in masterpieces like ‘Jallikattu’ and ‘Angamaly Diaries,’ drew me into a world of storytelling that defies conventions.”

She further mentioned: “The turning point arrived when I was finally slated to shoot my first dialogue portion, a crucial scene with Mohan Lal Sir. However, just before the sequence, Lijo decided to rewrite the scene, leaving me in shock. A sudden change in script and a completely new scene thrown at me just an hour before shooting—panic set in. Miraculously, the scene unfolded seamlessly in a single take, becoming one of my favourite moments in the film.”

“This incident encapsulates the essence of working with Lijo Jose Pellissery—a director who thrives on unpredictability, pushing actors to embrace the unexpected. With him, every moment is a unique adventure, a testament to his genius and the electrifying magic he brings to the canvas of cinema,” she concluded.

ALSO READ-Mohanlal’s ‘Barroz’ first look poster out

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Films Kerala Lite Blogs

Lal’s ‘Neru’ Promises a Riveting December Showdown

The poster simply features Mohanlal dressed up as a veteran lawyer in official attire, donning a black coat on top of a white shirt…reports Asian Lite News

Superstar Mohanlal is gearing up for his next film ‘Neru’, a legal drama. Dressed up as an experienced lawyer, the poster looks bleak and grounded, with the actor really selling his avatar.

A bleak kind of legal drama, the narrative revolves around the actor taking the reins of delivering justice himself while fighting the very system which he works under.

The movie was confirmed to be releasing sometime this year, though its release date was unknown with some even speculating that the film will not be released before 2024. However, back in early November, the film’s release date was confirmed as December 21.

Unveiling the poster of himself, Mohanlal wrote: “#’Neru’ Official Poster. Releasing worldwide on December 21st!”

The film will be directed by the veteran and highly acclaimed director Jeethu Joseph who had also directed Mohanlal’s films ‘Drishyam’, and ‘Drishyam 2’ which were later remade in Hindi as well and starred Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn.

The poster simply features Mohanlal dressed up as a veteran lawyer in official attire, donning a black coat on top of a white shirt. Wearing glasses and sporting a full beard, the actor’s dress however looks less like an attorney and more like a judge, a curious choice.

Mohanlal has worked with Jeethu Joseph in several films before such as ‘Aadhi’, and ‘12 Man’. Apart from that, the two will also be working together in the upcoming action-thriller Malayalam film ‘Ram’, which will release sometime in 2024.

Last seen in ‘Jailer’ in a special appearance, the megastar will next be seen in actor-producer Vishnu Manchu’s epic film ‘Kannappa’, while Jeethu Joseph last directed the acclaimed mystery-thriller film ‘Kooman’ in 2022.

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Lite Blogs Music

Lal’s musical tribute to FIFA World Cup

Mohanlal comes up with a musical tribute to FIFA Football World Cup

Sources say that Mohanlal will be in Qatar for the launch of the music video…reports Asian Lite News

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has come up with a musical tribute to the FIFA Football World Cup, which is scheduled to begin later this year in Qatar.

Aashirvad Cinemas, the production house producing actor Mohanlal’s first directorial venture ‘Barroz’, on Sunday made this announcement.

Taking to social media, the production house tweeted: “Releasing this October 30th 2022, from the people of God’s own country, a musical tribute for the Fifa Football World Cup 2022. All for football. Football for all.”

The song, which is to be released on Sunday, has been sung by Mohanlal himself. The musical video has been directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar while music for the tribute has been scored by Hesham Abdul Wahab.

Sources say that Mohanlal will be in Qatar for the launch of the music video.

ALSO READ-Mohanlal’s ‘Barroz’ first look poster out

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Bollywood Films Lite Blogs

‘Aaraattu’ to hit screens on Feb 18

The film’s trailer gives away the fact that the film will be a proper commercial entertainer with ample amounts of both action and humour…reports Asian Lite News

Director Unnikrishnan’s upcoming Malayalam action entertainer ‘Aaraattu’, featuring actors Mohanlal and Shraddha Srinath in the lead, is to release worldwide on February 18 this year.

Mohanlal, who made the announcement on Instagram on Monday, said, “‘Aaraattu’ is all set to hit theatres worldwide from February 18, 2022.”

It was only recently that the team chose to release the trailer of the film, which will have Shraddha Srinath playing an IAS officer.

The film’s trailer gives away the fact that the film will be a proper commercial entertainer with ample amounts of both action and humour.

Apart from Mohanlal and Shraddha Srinath, the film will also feature Vijayaraghavan
Saikumar, Siddique, Riyaz Khan, Johny Antony, Anoop Davis, Rachana Narayanankutty, Swaswika, Malavika Menon, Neha Saxena and Seetha among others.

The film, which has music by Rahul Raj, has cinematography by Vijay Ulaganath and editing by Shameer Muhammed.

ALSO READ-Mohanlal’s ‘Barroz’ first look poster out

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Films Lite Blogs

Mohanlal’s ‘Barroz’ first look poster out

Mohanlal plays the lead in the film, which is to be shot in 3D and which will feature Spanish actors Paz Vega and Rafael Amargo in important roles…reports Asian Lite News.

Actor Mohanlal has released the first look of his eagerly-awaited film ‘Barroz’, which will mark his debut as a director.

Taking to social media to release the first look, Mohanlal said, “Here’s a toast to another year that rises before us. Wishing all good fortunes and prosperity upon each one of you! May this year turn out to be one of the most treasured time frames of your life! Happy New Year! Barroz First Look!”

Mohanlal plays the lead in the film, which is to be shot in 3D and which will feature Spanish actors Paz Vega and Rafael Amargo in important roles.

Written by Jijo Punnoose, who is known for having directed India’s first 3D film, ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’, ‘Barroz’ will have ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan cranking the camera.

The ace Malayalam actor will be playing a genie that guards the treasure of Spanish explorer Vasco Da Gama in the film, which is being produced by Anthony Perumbavoor.

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Bollywood Kerala Lite Blogs

‘Marakkar’ hits big screen, enters in 100 crore club before release

Reacting to the film, Mohanlal said let this be a new beginning and become a new strength for the industry and wished that all come and see the film in the theatres…reports Asian Lite News.

At long last, Malayalam epic ‘Marakkar: The Lion of Arabian Sea’ hit the screens on Thursday and fans turned delirious seeing superstar Mohanlal coming in person to his film.

Despite pouring rain, his fans waited in the rain for long to have a glimpse, finally got their wish fulfilled when he arrived with his wife Suchitra and producer of the film Antony Perumbavoor at a theatre here close to midnight.

The police had a tough time escorting the star inside the theatre and soon the film began.

This film has been waiting for a release since March last year, but amid the Covid pandemic, it had to be postponed and finally it was released in 4,100 screens across the world.

Reacting to the film, Mohanlal said let this be a new beginning and become a new strength for the industry and wished that all come and see the film in the theatres.

Speaking to IANS veteran actor Siddiq who has a fairly good role in the film said it was a great feeling to see the first show and that too with Mohanlal.

“The general impression that we all got was, it has come out extremely well and Malayalam cinema has reached newer heights. We have proved that we are second to none and the highlight has been the superlative performance of Mohanlal. Definitely this film is a feather in the cap for our industry,” said Siddiq.

Directed by Priyadarshan, this film before the release was selected as the best feature film for 2019, besides the veteran director’s young son — Siddarath Priyadarshan fresh from studying special effects in the US also won his first national award for the best special effects.

Another winner for the film was Sujith Sudhakar who won the National Award for the best costume designer.

The magnum opus tells the tale of Kunhali Marakkar, the famous naval chief of the Zamorin of Calicut, often known for organising the first naval defence of the Indian coast.

Mohanlal, known for his flexibility and adaptability to any character, plays the title role of Marakkar.

The star cast includes Manju Warrier, besides actors from south India and Bollywood and four British actors and one Chinese actor.

Priyadarshan has stated that this is the outcome of his four decades in the film industry. It took three years for the film to commence shooting after the first day he conceived it.

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Bollywood Lite Blogs

‘Marakkar’ prepares for ‘ROYAL’ OTT release

Mohanlal-starrer ‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea’ directed by Priyadarshan will soon be shown on OTT as the epic film has been reportedly bought by Prime Video at a price between Rs 90 crore and 100 crores.

Unconfirmed reports attributed to the producer of the movie, Antony Perumbavoor, stated that this was one of the most costly purchases by Amazon in India.

The movie, according to industry sources is one of the costliest productions ever in Malayalam cinema with a budget of Rs 100 crore.

If the movie is bought by Amazon for Rs 90 crore to 100 crores, then the satellite rights of the movie would fetch good profit for the producer.

Antony Perumbavoor had on Friday said that he had tried his level best to show the movie on the big screen but even after several rounds of meetings with theatre owners, a final decision could not be reached and hence he and his team had decided to sell the movie on OTT.

Kerala film producers association head C. Sureshkumar had said that the producers of the movie and the association had held several rounds of meetings with the film exhibitors but no solution could be arrived at.

Film exhibitors association head Anchal Jayakumar had said, “We have held discussions and we had promised Rs 15 crore and 500 screens for the producer but they insist on more and we cannot afford that. Theatres will remain an indispensable part of the Malayalam film industry and we cannot be cowed down by such actions.”

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Bollywood Kerala Lite Blogs

‘Marakkar’ prepares for Onam release

The release of Marakkar has been delayed for more than a year after the Covid pandemic broke out in February last year…reports Asian Lite News.

Marakkar, the Lion of Arabian Sea is the most awaited film from Mohanlal. Superstar recently broke the news that one of his mega project in Malayalam ‘Marakkar, the Lion of Arabian Sea’ directed by his close friend and ace director Priyadarshan is all set for release on August 12.

Lal, as he is popularly known, announced on his Facebook page that he was hopeful about release of the film during the Onam festival.

“For this to happen, we need the prayers and the moral support of all and with that we are going forward for it to happen,” wrote the 61-year-old actor who plays the main role.

The release of Marakkar has been delayed for more than a year after the Covid pandemic broke out in February last year.

‘Marakkar, the Lion of Arabian Sea’ was selected as the best feature film for 2019, besides the veteran director’s young son — Siddarath Priyadarshan fresh from his studies on special effects from the US also won his first national award for the best special effects.

Another winner in the same film was Sujith Sudhakar who won the national award for the best costume designer.

The magnum opus tells the tale of Kunhali Marakkar, the famous naval chief of the Zamorin of Calicut, often known for organizing the first naval defence off the Indian coast.

Mohanlal, known for his flexibility and adaptability to any character , play the key role of Marakkar.

The star casts include thespian actor Madhu, Manju Warrier, besides actors from south India and Bollywood and four British actors also one Chinese actor.

Producer Antony Perumbavoor said that they were planning for a release across Kerala and pan India and not to mention, outside the country also.

“We have done everything for the release and if not for the pandemic, we would have released it much before,” said Perumbavoor.

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Prithvi reveals ‘Bro Daddy’ suspense

Prithviraj made his Bollywood debut with 2012 film “Aiyaa” alongside Rani Mukerji, and was later seen in films such as “Aurangzeb” (2013) and “Naam Shabana” (2017). However, his presence in Bollywood has been rare ever since…writes Yashika Mathur.

Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran acknowledges the industry has been missing “happy films”, and the reason is the contained environment under which everyone has been living over the last one and a half year.

“I think the primary reason for that is all the filmmakers, actors and producers — all of us — were forced to start thinking about contained films. Films that could pull off under these circumstances,” shares the actor, as he opens up in a conversation.

“More often than not, when you start thinking on these lines, the genre that you start deviating towards is either a thriller, a dark satire happening in real space, like ‘Joji’. As is the usual practice when you start thinking about happy films — films that have a lot of actors, laughter, joy, comedy and music — you start thinking that this is big and the film has many locations, people, and places. So, you don’t usually think on those lines, when you think what kind of a film you can pull off under the given circumstances (of the pandemic and lockdown),” he says.

The actor made his directorial debut in 2019 with the film “Lucifer”, and is now all set to wield the megaphone again in the recently announced “Bro Daddy”. Besides him, the film will also be headlined by superstar Mohanlal. Prithviraj calls it a happy film that has badly been missing in Malayalam cinema lately.

“I was supposed to come with my next directorial long back, which was supposed to be a sequel to ‘Lucifer’. It was a much bigger film. If things would have been as we wished, then it would have been shot this year, but due to obvious reasons we couldn’t start. To me, it seems we are badly missing a happy film in Malayalam cinema over the past one and half year. All of the content we see in Kerala is dark. It’s either a murder mystery or a dark satire or an investigative thriller,” he says.

“I thought we were all badly missing a happy film, which is when these two writers came and narrated the script to me. I found it to be interesting, hilarious and more than anything I found it to be a really enjoyable, light watch. I casually narrated the idea to Mr Mohanlal over a zoom call and he said that we are doing this and the project took off,” recalls the actor-filmmaker.

Prithviraj made his Bollywood debut with 2012 film “Aiyaa” alongside Rani Mukerji, and was later seen in films such as “Aurangzeb” (2013) and “Naam Shabana” (2017). However, his presence in Bollywood has been rare ever since.

“I have heard a few scripts in between but the fact of the matter is that Malayalam cinema is going through such a high and all of us find such great content here in Malayalam, it would require something really good to come and invest that kind of a time in a Hindi film, though I look forward to it. I hope something good enough finds its way to me,” he says.

Right now, Prithviraj is gearing up for his next film, the dark mystery thriller “The Cold Case”. He shares that shooting for the Malayalam film was a new experience for him.

“This is going to be one or the first films I shot with post-pandemic regulations. We were not used to social distancing on the set, being masked all the time. This film was shot strictly keeping all precautions in mind. Most of us would remember shooting ‘The Cold Case’ because all of us were coming together for the first time post the pandemic,” he says of shooting the film, which will soon stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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