Antony Perumbavoor responds to claims of interfering in Mohanlal's script selection: ‘It's half true, half false'

Indian Express

12-05-2025

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has once again demonstrated his command over the box office, with two of his films crossing the Rs 200 crore mark in less than 45 days. After the massive success of L2: Empuraan, which emerged as the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time and the second highest-grossing Indian film of the year so far by earning Rs 265.5 crore worldwide, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, Mohanlal's Thudarum has also surpassed the Rs 200 crore mark and is continuing its journey at an impressive momentum.
Unlike Empuraan, which was mounted on a massive budget of about Rs 175 crore, Thudarum was a significantly smaller film, making its success all the more impactful. At the same time, in contrast to the Prithviraj Sukumaran directorial that opened to average reviews, Thudarum received largely positive responses, thus making its success more notable. Nonetheless, this contrast also brought more focus to Mohanlal's choice of scripts, which had been widely criticised until Thudarum. Given the superstar's string of underwhelming box office performances since Lucifer (2019) — with Neru being the only exception — his fans had been disheartened, and the Tharun Moorthy directorial has now rejuvenated their spirits.
In the meantime, rumours were rife that it was not Mohanlal himself, but his associates, who decided which projects he should take on. Now, the superstar's frequent collaborator, producer Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirvad Cinemas, has addressed questions about whether he interferes in Mohanlal's script selection. Acknowledging that there is some truth to the claims, Antony, however, clarified that it is only in the case of projects considered for Aashirvad Cinemas that both he and Mohanlal listen to scripts together. For projects from other producers, he maintained, Mohanlal listens to the scripts on his own.
'It's half true and half false that I listen to the stories that come Mohanlal sir's way and participate in his script selections. Yes, we listen together to all the stories being considered for production by Aashirvad. I actively participate in discussions of those projects. On the other hand, it's Lal sir himself, alone, who listens to the stories of films from other producers. I don't participate in such discussions. This is so that, if those films face any setbacks, people don't say it happened because I didn't approve of the projects,' he said during a chat with Mathrubhumi.
Antony continued, 'Many people want to do a film with Mohanlal sir, and their wishes are not bluntly turned down. We want to give everybody a chance. But we only have one Mohanlal sir, right? What can we do when so many people come looking for this one person? So, not everyone ends up getting chances to work with him.'
Antony Perumbavoor bankrolled Mohanlal's blockbuster films such as Narasimham (2000), Ravanaprabhu (2001), Naran (2005), Rasathanthram (2006), Evidam Swargamanu (2009), Spirit (2012), Drishyam (2013), Oppam (2016), Lucifer and Drishyam 2 (2021).
While Mohanlal will be next seen in the Telugu fantasy film Kannappa, wherein he plays a cameo role, the Malayalam superstar is currently working on Sathyan Anthikad's Hridayapoorvam and Mahesh Narayanan's highly ambitious multi-starrer project, tentatively titled MMMN, which marks his on-screen reunion with Malayalam megastar Mammootty after a gap of 16 years since Twenty:20 (2008).