Mohanlal’s Odiyan was first announced over 10 months ago. The film, directed by VA Shrikumar Menon, has hence, set the rumour mills turning. There were reports in June that Lal had shed 15 kilograms to be Odiyan Manikyan, the titular character of the film which is written by national award-winning screenwriter Harikrishnan.
On December 12, a photograph of a visibly slimmer and healthier Lal surfaced, with reports saying that he had shed 18 kilos, thanks to a fitness programme abroad. There were tattles on social media aplenty, that ranged from the project being dropped altogether to Shrikumar Menon being replaced as the film’s director. All of them were proved wrong on December 13 with the release of the film’s first teaser.
Mohanlal plays the mythical Odiyan, a black magician, in the film which is set in the 1950s. The one-minute long teaser has Mohanlal, who sports a clean-shaven face and an enigmatic smile, addressing the camera, while spreading slaked lime on a betel leaf with one finger. “The game begins now,” he says, and the screen fades to dark, with an electrifying background score composed by Sam CS.
The Times Of India report quotes Menon as saying, “The film will talk about the story of Odiyans who are the first quotation gangs in Kerala. They disguised themselves as animals during the night to scare the enemies. Mohanlal plays the last of the Odiyan clan. The movie will be a magical realism thriller.” Odiyan is one of the two ongoing mega-budget films Mohanlal is a part of. The other project, Randamoozham, too has Shrikumar Menon as the director.
Mohanlal’s co-stars in Odiyan are Manju Warrier, Prakash Raj, Innocent, Sana Althaf and Sreejaya. The film is touted to have high octane action sequences choreographed by Lal’s favourite collaborator Peter Hein. Sabu Cyril is the production designer, and Shaji Kumar is the cinematographer.
#Odiyan Teaser. Unveiling the transition of Odiyan Manickan.
Presenting to you the young and vibrant Manickan in me who travelled back in time. #OdiyanRising pic.twitter.com/7ERbBeIsWg— Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) December 13, 2017
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