Anoop Menon recalls director Rajeev Nath locking him in a room, asking for Pakal Nakshatrangal script quickly because he had secured Mohanlal’s dates

Actor Anoop Menon’s first film as a screenwriter, director Rajeev Nath’s Pakal Nakshatrangal (2008) grabbed significant attention upon release and has continued to draw interest over the years, largely due to Mohanlal’s remarkable performance as the morally complex brilliant filmmaker Sidharthan. His portrayal of this multifaceted character garnered significant acclaim and is regarded as one of the superstar’s standout roles of the decade. Anoop, who also played a prominent character in the film, recently shared an intriguing anecdote about the development and scripting process of Pakal Nakshatrangal.

“While writing Pakal Nakshatrangal, I did not feel any pressure because I didn’t get the time or chance to get stressed there. Saying that he had received Mohanlal’s dates for five days, Rajeev Nath locked me up in a room telling me to write fast. Directors Jayaraj and Ranjith were in the very next room working on their upcoming film Gulmohar (2008). I think we had completed two schedules of the film Thirakkatha (2008),” Anoop recalled during a chat with Filmibeat Malayalam.

Also read | Ranbir Kapoor’s private chef recalls having Rakhi Sawant as a client back in the day, says she’d negotiate prices over ‘crazy’ voice notes: ‘Babu, nahi hoga…’

“For me, it was a big opportunity to write for a film that is to be headlined by Mohanlal, right? So I sat down and wrote. I wrote a one-line in two days, including the scene order. When I came out of the room after writing, Jayaraj and Ranjith asked me what I was up to. I told them that I was returning after completing writing a script. Astonished, they asked me, ‘You finished a script? Didn’t you go into that room just yesterday?’ That’s how that film happened. If you notice carefully, you can figure out that most of Mohanlal’s sequences are inside a room, except for a few such as the one in Trivandrum Club and him taking a stroll at the beach. The remaining portions were filmed inside Vismaya Studios,” he added.

Besides Mohanlal and Anoop Menon, Pakal Nakshatrangal featured Suresh Gopi, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Manianpilla Raju and Kalpana in key roles. Mohanlal won the Kerala Film Critics Award for Best Actor that year for his performance in Pakal Nakshatrangal, Kurukshetra and Aakashagopuram.