Exclusive | ‘We can compete with Hollywood,’ says Mohanlal; recalls creating one of the first pan-Indian films

Exclusive | Mohanlal discusses challenges of making Barroz 3D; opens up about using My Dear Kuttichathan’s gravity illusion technique in his debut directorial

In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, the actor-turned-filmmaker shared his reasons for pursuing Barroz despite the many hurdles and his other commitments. He credits the same to his dedication to the immense love and support he has received from his audience over the past four decades. “This is like an offering from my side to the audience for the care, love and respect they have given me all these years. I had to give them something back for all that. When I got the chance to direct a movie, I thought I’d create something no one has ever done before,” he shares.

Recalling how he — and by extension, the Malayalam film industry — has consistently embraced innovation, Mohanlal encourages young talents and his contemporaries to carry forward such efforts rather than letting them fade into the past. “When we made Kaalapani (1996), it was a pan-Indian film for its time. We thought many more pan-Indian films would follow, but no one attempted it until years later. Similarly, we did Vanaprastham (1999), the first international co-production. We are always trying something new, but we can only do so much. Others need to step in and take these initiatives forward. We have unbelievable resources, talented technicians and exceptional actors. We can compete with Hollywood and create amazing films from India,” he shares.

Watch Barroz trailer here:

While director Priyadarshan’s Kaalapani was jointly produced by Mohanlal under Pranavam Arts International and R Mohan under the banner of Shogun Films, Vanaprastham, directed by Shaji N Karun, was co-produced by French writer and journalist Pierre Assouline in collaboration with Mohanlal. Even as Kaalapani received four National Film Awards, including Best Art Direction (Sabu Cyril) and Best Cinematography (Santosh Sivan), Vanaprastham earned Mohanlal his second National Film Award for Best Actor and also won accolades for Best Feature Film and Best Editing (A Sreekar Prasad and Joseph Guinvarch).

In Barroz as well, Mohanlal has prioritised innovation and the 3D film features an animated underwater song titled “Bambooziya”. “This is the kind of film where you can try something like this. It’s a magical story, so animation fits perfectly. At the same time, it’s incorporated in a special way when Barroz creates a hallucination for Isa (Maya Rao West). By pushing her into the water and making her see the visuals, he is asking her to accept the treasure, which is the only way he can achieve salvation. When she remains unconvinced, he shows her what happened to him. This is the only place where we could use animation and we went for it. Normally, such sequences would take months to create, but we completed it in just six to seven weeks with 3,000 machines working on it.”

Mohanlal’s Barroz, first announced in 2019, faced multiple hurdles during production, including delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

For Mohanlal, who typically doesn’t prepare in conventional ways and is often described by his directors as a “first-take actor,” was stepping into the role of a director challenging? He has previously mentioned that he doesn’t overthink his performances. However, directing requires a different mindset, as it’s his vision being brought to life on screen and he is the force that unites all departments, guiding them on what to do and how to execute it. So, how was the transition from actor to director for the Malayalam legend? With his signature laugh, Mohanlal admits to SCREEN that he was “very calm and quiet,” attributing his composure to the support of his excellent team.

“I was confident in what I was doing and trying something new. This is my way of presenting a film. We have used very long shots, taking into account the music and how to integrate it into the visuals, and incorporated jibs for that purpose, among other techniques. I haven’t taken any shots from other films; this is beyond creativity — it’s a blessing. It’s a blessing from all my gurus, the great directors I’ve worked with in the past. Perhaps, it’s also in my blood. At the same time, you have to remember that I’ve been doing this every day for the past 47 years. Still, I make no grand claims regarding Barroz. My only request is, please accept it because I made it with great passion. Please don’t subject it to unnecessary postmortems. You can critique a film, but unnecessary criticism is not needed. Barroz is a film for children and families. Let them enjoy it. If you want to watch something else, go ahead and watch that,” he adds.