Why Ekta Kapoor is betting big on Mohanlal as she enters Malayalam films with Christmas release ‘Vrusshabha'

Dubai: Few in the Indian entertainment industry possess Ekta Kapoor’s keen business sense. The daughter of Jitendra and TV mogul behind glossy, dramatic telenovelas knows when to disrupt, when to pivot—and crucially, when not to rock the boat. Vrusshabha marks Balaji Telefilms’ first serious stab into Malayalam cinema, and Kapoor approached it with the caution of someone who understands exactly what legacy, optics, and goodwill are worth.

Her tone was reverential —but it was also deeply strategic, when Gulf News asked her why she chose to invest in the sweeping saga.

“To be on this platform with so many great actors, and above all, a legend like Mohanlal sir, what a big honour,” she said.

“For Balaji to step into the Malayalam film industry with Lalettan, the most revered actor of our times, feels like a sign of God.”

Kapoor went on to position Malayalam cinema as the gold standard of Indian storytelling.

“The best content in India today is Malayalam content,” she said, before seamlessly tying that credibility to Mohanlal himself. “And the one synonymous with that content is Mohanlal sir.”

This was not flattery for flattery’s sake. It was brand alignment.

She arrived fashionably late, settled into her seat with a Birkin bag resting on her lap, and delivered a message designed to reassure everyone in the room: Balaji was here to respect tradition, not interrogate it.

“To associate with him for our first Malayalam film—it feels like Balaji has been blessed,” Kapoor said, earning nods and applause.

In isolation, the speech sounded like industry courtesy. In context—inside a room already operating under a repeatedly enforced “stick-to-the-film” rule—it functioned as something else entirely: a masterclass in risk management.

Even when the mood briefly lightened—after her father and iconic actor Jeetendra praised Mohanlal’s Hindi delivery and joked about him singing in a future film—Kapoor instinctively kept things safe.

“I don’t know if I can even request him to sing,” she laughed. “But I can definitely request him to do my next movie. Whatever he wants to do in it—that’s his choice.”

While Mohanlal spoke of hard work, luck, and artistic strangeness, Kapoor spoke the language she knows best: stability, respect, and insulation.