Priyadarshan wrote Mohanlal’s superhit tragicomedy in 10 days after favourite writer stormed out: ‘Won’t work together again until you take cinema seriously’

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If there’s any other person who has played just as significant a role in Priyadarshan’s cinematic and artistic life as Mohanlal, it was the legendary actor-filmmaker Sreenivasan. Although it was Priyadarshan who turned Sreenivasan into a screenwriter with Odaruthammava Aalariyam, that was undoubtedly one of the best career moves the filmmaker also made, as many of his most celebrated subsequent movies were born from Sreenivasan’s pen. From Aram + Aram Kinnaram, Punnaram Cholli Cholli, Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu and Hello My Dear Wrong Number to Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu, Vellanakalude Nadu, Akkare Akkare Akkare and Midhunam, among others, they joined forces many times, much to the delight of the audience.

‘Sreenivasan reshaped my concepts of cinema,’ says Priyadarshan

“I have only one friend whom I met through cinema and became a lifelong companion, and that’s Sreenivasan,” Priyadarshan wrote in Mathrubhumi following the actor-filmmaker’s demise on December 20, 2025. He added, “It was Sreenivasan who completely reshaped my concepts of cinema.” Since they shared a deep bond, the two were often unfiltered with each other as well. “Sreeni used to always tell me that I wasn’t being honest with the medium of cinema. ‘There is no director more capable than you at making people believe things through trickery,’ he once said (sarcastically).”

Mohanlal with Priyadarshan on the set of Chandralekha. (Express archive photo)

Having penned a handful of movies for Priyadarshan by then, Sreenivasan had also agreed to script Thalavattam (1986). However, at one point, the screenwriter exploded in anger and walked out of the project over Priyadarshan’s seemingly casual attitude towards cinema. He apparently said, “We will work together again only after you start taking cinema seriously.” This left Priyadarshan in a fix, as the movie was scheduled to go on floors in 10 days. “The shooting location had already been fixed. Everyone (cast and crew) was set to arrive within 10 days. As I sat there stunned, without a single line of script in hand, ace screenwriter T Damodaran, who was in the adjacent hotel room, saw me. He asked, ‘Why the worry, Mister?’ I explained the situation. He replied, ‘Even if Sreenivasan isn’t there, you still need to put food on the table, right? You write it yourself!’ And so, I wrote Thalavattam in 10 days.”

Priyadarshan added, “When the movie became a superhit, Sreeni came and met me, sporting the classic Sreenivasan smile. It could be said that it was Sreenivasan who gave me the drive to write screenplays. After all, if Sreeni doesn’t come to write, what option do I have but to write it myself?”

Loosely based on director Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), which won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Jack Nicholson) and Best Actress (Louise Fletcher) trophies, the blockbuster tragicomedy Thalavattam featured Mohanlal, Karthika, Lissy, Nedumudi Venu, and MG Soman in key roles.