Jude Anthany Joseph clears the air on Mohanlal ‘secondary artist’ remark, says Ayushmann Khurrana not to blame

A photo and a caption were enough to shut down a controversy that had been building for days.

Malayalam filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph recently revealed that he had walked away from a Bollywood project starring Ayushmann Khurrana, saying he felt disrespected after a producer referred to superstar Mohanlal as a "secondary artist." The comment sparked backlash online, with some assuming Khurrana himself was behind it. Joseph has now put that assumption to rest.

Setting the record straight

Taking to social media, Joseph posted a picture of himself with Khurrana and made his position clear: the remark that upset him came from a producer, not from the actor. He described their meeting warmly, saying there was nothing but mutual respect between them, and added that he hoped the two would still collaborate on a project down the line. He wrote in the caption, “Wonderful catching up with Ayushmann today. Just to clarify, my Mohanlal Sir comment was about the producer and had nothing to do with him. Nothing but respect between us. Hope we get to work together soon!."

Joseph also revealed that Khurrana had genuinely liked the script built around Mohanlal's character and was disappointed when the project fell apart — an outcome the director was careful to note had nothing to do with the actor. He spoke of meeting Khurrana as a genuine highlight, praising his talent, and once again expressed hope for a future collaboration.

Khurrana's reply

Khurrana responded to the post in kind, expressing admiration for Joseph's filmography and saying he hoped to work with him at some point. He also addressed Mohanlal directly, calling him a legend and saying he'd consider it an honor to eventually share the screen with him.

What actually happened

The falling-out traces back to a conversation Joseph had about the film's development. Speaking to Club FM, he explained that the script was nearly finished and had already been discussed with the production house, with Mohanlal attached to a significant role. Before finalising the screenplay, Joseph asked the producers to confirm Mohanlal's casting. According to him, the response prioritised approving the script first, before the team would even consider the "secondary artists" — a phrase Joseph took as a slight against Mohanlal's stature, and the reason he chose to step away.

He said, “The basic script was almost complete. We had also discussed the story with the production house. At that time, Lal sir had a role in the story. It was an important role. However, they asked me to complete the screenplay first. At that point, I put forward a demand to them. I told them that I could complete the script, but my condition was that Lal sir should be confirmed for the project. They responded by saying, ‘First, we need to like the script. Only then will we think about the secondary artists.’”