‘Mohanlal hurt by Barroz’s failure,’ says Malaikottai Vaaliban producer; confirms no sequel for Lijo Jose Pellissery film

Although Mohanlal is known for his calm and composed nature, Malaikottai Vaaliban's co-producer Shibu Baby John revealed that the degrading and eventual failure Barroz faced deeply hurt him.

By: Entertainment Desk

Kochi | January 15, 2025 05:58 PM IST

3 min read

Although Mohanlal is known for his calm and composed nature, Malaikottai Vaaliban's co-producer Shibu Baby John revealed that the degrading and eventual failure Barroz faced deeply hurt the superstar.

Mohanlal had two releases in 2024, Malaikottai Vaaliban and Barroz, and they both ended up being critical and commercial failures. (Credit: Facebook/@ActorMohanlal)

Despite Malayalam cinema delivering several outstanding films and major blockbusters in 2024, the year was anything but good for superstar Mohanlal, whose two films, Malaikottai Vaaliban and Barroz, ended up being critical and commercial failures. While Malaikottai Vaaliban was helmed by renowned filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery, Barroz marked Mohanlal’s debut as a director. Although Mohanlal is known for his calm and composed nature, seemingly unaffected by successes or failures, Malaikottai Vaaliban’s co-producer Shibu Baby John recently revealed that the failure of Barroz deeply hurt the superstar.

“I have not gone into its details. But I can say one thing — he’s really hurt by it. The audience, including Mohanlal’s fans, did not approach Barroz with any interest. I don’t blame them for that. While Malaikottai Vaaliban’s problem was excessive hype, Barroz suffered from negative expectations. As part of this, comments about the movie surfaced from people who hadn’t even watched it. Those who attended Barroz’s first show acted like they were the director — using cell phones and cameras — to tear apart the film,” he shared during a chat with Mathrubhumi.

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Although many reports claim that Malaikottai Vaaliban was a box office bomb, Shibu clarified that it wasn’t, despite its underwhelming performance. “Vaaliban was not a flop. It just didn’t reach the level we expected. If you look at the film’s revenue, it’s not a failure. We managed to ensure that it didn’t cause us much harm,” he added. Written by PS Rafeeque and Lijo Jose Pellissery, Vaaliban was co-produced by Shibu Baby John, Achu Baby John, Vikram Mehra, Siddharth Anand Kumar, MC Philip and Jacob Babu.

“Our assessment was that it’s a classic. Its visualisation, craft and technique were brilliant. Unfortunately, an opinion emerged that it didn’t have the pace people wanted. Expectations were generally high for the Lijo-Mohanlal combo. However, people forgot that, in the end, it would be a Lijo film. Because of that, there was disappointment. Yes, the film does have some issues, particularly due to the changes we made to the original concept to pave the way for a sequel. But we are happy with the final product,” he shared.

When asked about the possibility of a sequel to Malaikottai Vaaliban, as teased in the end credits, Shibu confirmed there are no such plans. However, he didn’t dismiss the idea of collaborating again with Mohanlal and Lijo in the future. “This combo has nothing planned at the moment. Vaaliban won’t have a second part. When we find a suitable subject for Lal, we will make the film and announce it only after ensuring that it is a strong concept,” he emphasised.

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