190326 Mohanlal.
Indian actor Mohanlal. Image Credit: Supplied

Indian actor Mohanlal is a busy man these days.

‘Vrushabha’, his next ambitious film which will be released in many languages, is going on the floors later this month in UK and in India.

Directed by Nanda Kishore, ‘Vrushabha’, an action entertainer, is expected to release next year and has all the trappings of a blockbuster. Indian television mogul Ekta Kapoor-led Balaji Telefilms is partnering with Connekkt Media, AVS Studios, and Dubai-based producer Praveer Singh for the movie, which will be high on visual effects and emotions.

In an earlier interview with Gulf News, Mohanlal described ‘Vrushabha’ as one of his career’s biggest films in terms of scale, budget, and reach.

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“‘Vrushabha’ is an ambitious film that will be made in several South Indian languages. It’s a big film,” the actor, who’s a household name in the South Indian state of Kerala and beyond, said in the interview.

In the interview, Mohanlal also spoke about the change in how South Indian movies are being perceived. “There’s a big change in South Indian films … ‘Drishyam’ created a huge stir and impact and most of India has watched it,” he had said. “Pictures like ‘RRR’, ‘Vikram Vedha’, ‘Pushpa’ and ‘KGF’ have created noise … And that’s a positive development. Pan-Indian films have a lot of scope.”

This film is being touted as Mohanlal’s ‘Baahubali’, the movie which released in two parts and broke all box-office records in India, triggering a massive interest in South Indian films.

The 'Drishyam' effect

Best known for blockbusters ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Drishyam 2’, which spawned remakes in multiple languages, the actor is involved in projects, including ‘Malaikottai Valiban’ and ‘Ram’, which are at different stages of production and are helmed by leading directors Lijo Jose Pellissery and Jeethu Joseph, respectively.

The actor became a smash hit after his turn in the hit crime thriller franchise ‘Drishyam’

Directed by Jeethu Joseph and starring the veteran actresses Meena and Asha Sharath, ‘Drishyam’ instalments turned out to be a huge success at the box office.

The story about a father going to great extents to protect his family in the face absolute danger struck a chord with audiences in theatres and on online platforms.

The remakes soon started pouring in — ‘Drushyam’ in Telugu with Venkatesh and Meena; ‘Drishya’ in Kannada with Ravichandran and Navya Nair in the lead; ‘Papanasam’ in Tamil starring Kamal Haasan, Asha Sharath and Gautami Tadimalla; and ‘Drishyam’ in Hindi, which had Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran and Tabu in key roles.