Mohanlal is a photographer in his new film !

Ranjan Pramod former advertising executive and writer of super hit mega hits like, Meesa Madhavan and Naran is making his debut as director with Photographer featuring Mohanlal in the lead. It will be a realistic film within the commercial format and is produced by Howli Pottur under ‘Dream Team Productions’ banner.

Mohanlal will be completing K.P.Kumaran’s off-beat Akasagopuram in London and is rushing to Kozhikode on August 3 from where he will proceed to the jungles of Wynad where Photographer is being shot.

Mohanlal plays Dijo John, a press photographer who gets entangled with Wynad’s adivasi problems. The film is said to be loosely based on Muthanga killings where seven advasis were killed by policemen. Mohanlal was so impressed by Ranjan’s script that he gave him priority dates.

In real life Mohanlal loves photography and has an array of state-of-the art cameras and lenses. If you browse through his personal albums, you will find some extraordinary pictures clicked by the star himself. Photographer will be shot by ace cameraman Azhagappan and has music by old timer Johnson.

Mohanlal disappointed with release of Aran

Mohanlal has reported that he was very disappointed when he came to know of the release of Keerthi Chakra in Tamil as Aaran. He says that he knew that a Tamil adaptation will be made, but he was not aware of the fact that Aaran was dubbed in Tamil, using a different artist to voice his role.

He says “I have spoken in pure Tamil in `Iruvar' for one of the best directors, Mani Ratnam. I could have done a better job in this film also but no one told me about it. Through my friends in Chennai I came to know some scenes are added in Tamil featuring Jeeva and Prakashraj”. Sources say, Rajeev has dubbed Mohanlal’s voice in Tamil.

Besides these issues Aaran remains a huge grosser both in Tamil and Malayalam.

It just happens to Lal ettan

MOHANLAL strides out of his room at The Club, Mysore Road, onto the sets of Kannada film director Rajendra Singh Babu's, `Love'. Whiskers obscure his chubby face, and he wears a black suit, red shirt, and black turban. Is he playing a Sikh in the film? "No, this is a disguise," he says, adding with a gentle laugh, "For love, you sometimes have to disguise yourself."
In the film, Lal plays a Malayali taxi-driver in Dubai who brings two lovers together. In the scene about to be shot, he takes on another identity in order to rescue the heroine.
He is wearing disguise upon disguise, really, for his screen persona is itself a camouflage. Life `just happens' to Mohan Lal. Speak to him long enough and you're bound to hear the refrain: "It just happened." He takes on assignments `because of friendship' rather than as a challenge. His role in Love came his way because the director approached him. Ramgopal Varma sought him out for a brief but compelling part in Company. He didn't plan to act in a Hindi or a Kannada film. "It just happened."
Similarly, when he went to Delhi to collect a National Award, he visited the National School of Drama, and its director, Ramgopal Bajaj, asked him if he would act in an English-language play. He confessed that he had absolutely no experience in theatre. "From English, it became Malayalam, and then Sanskrit! It just came to be."
When Kavalam Narayana Panicker offered to direct him if he would enact Bhasa's `Karnabharam', he could not refuse, although he knew no Sanskrit. Getting such an opportunity was "a blessing for an actor", although it was also "like a trapeze without the net" since he had to memorise pages of Sanskrit verse and hold his own on stage.

There's more on the "it just happened" front. As part of Malayala Manorama's ongoing `Ente Malayalam' project for preserving Kerala's language and culture, film director T. K. Rajeev Kumar conceived `Kathayattam', a travelogue, and thought of none better than Mohan Lal to enact it. The stage, he has come to realise, requires sustained involvement. "For two hours, you become that character." The role remains with you when you go off-stage, in a way that it never does in cinema. "The instant I get off the set, I'm back to normal." Such is the nature of the medium, he explains. Emotions are fleeting and disconnected, and scenes are shot in random order.
A film shoot is a series of interruptions. He vanishes intermittently and then reappears to complete his reply. Steeped in cinema, when is he truly himself? With family or friends, perhaps? "With friends," he says without hesitation. "I have a closer relationship with the technicians, with my driver, than my family. I don't feel suddenly homesick or say, `Oh, I want to see my children now'." He remains detached from personal bonds and focussed on work. "If I miss my family so much, I should quit cinema."
Why does every male Malayalam actor, lean when he enters cinema, swell up in no time like a pappadam in hot oil? He seriously ponders all possible reasons: irregular eating habits due to hectic schedules, "something in our genes, being Indian", one's constitution ("If I drink a glass of water, I put on weight"), fans being "ready to accept us although we put on weight", and the absence of a health club culture. He finally stops sounding apologetic and declaims, "The Indian concept of beauty is flesh!" Er — that's only for women, isn't it?
A man walks into the room to give Lal his lines in Hindi for the next shot. He copies them out, transliterating in Malayalam. The first of the seven sentences reads: "Mujhe paanch biwi hain... " He reads out the dialogue twice and comments: "This is unusual." The lines being in Hindi? No, the situation — his having five wives! He is answering my next question when he is interrupted yet again. He gets up, checks his beard in the mirror, and as he reaches the doorway he says aloud: "Mujhe paanch biwi hain... "
When he returns, I ask if he has contemplated the end of his career. "It's very strange," he muses, "but no planning has been done." Once again, he explains how "things happen" to him. He was just helping out friends who wanted to export Kerala cuisine, and he got so involved in the venture that there is now a restaurant in Dubai which bears his name: Mohan Lal's Tastebuds.
One comes away with the feeling that if, one day, Lal loses all he has, he will simply open a paan shop and manage to survive. With sanity intact. As Mohan Lal, Everyman.

MOHANLAL+ MAMMOTTY+dileep in one movie

A film starring Mammootty and Mohanlal has been a dream project for any producer in Malluwood for a decade. Last time they joined together for Fazil's Harikrishnans which created waves in the box office. The latest buzz is that one lucky producer, none other than superstar Dileep has secured their dates to work together.
The unique project to be directed by veteran Joshi will announce the entry of AMMA into film making. The film will feature five top heroes and five heroines. Apart from Mammootty and Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Dileep will also figure in this mega project.
Udaya Krishna and Siby K Thomas, who are entrusted to create a script satisfying every stars has already been into this tiresome act. As all actors are acting for no remuneration in this film, the scriptwriters have to create one story that will get the positive nod from every stars.
Many believe that recreating Mahabharata is the only way to satisfy every stars as no other literature in the history satisfy the heroics of many protagonists.

Kirthichakra(Aran) captures the soldier's life': Major Rav

Former army man Major Ravi has roped in Malayalam superstar Mohanlal for his bilingual film " Kirthichakra ", based on a soldier's life and the joys, sorrows and comradeship army men share. The film is made in Tamil (Aran) and Malayalam and Ravi claims it will be an eye-opener for the audience. "Viewing Kirthichakra will be a unique experience. It is real. It is a true account of a soldier's experience, and not a synthetic war story moulded to suit the celluloid," Ravi told IANS about his prestigious directorial venture. Ravi says shooting the film in Kashmir and Afghanistan was a risky operation. "Our goal was to capture reality at its best, in places of actual action, within a span of 30 days. We accomplished this, braving the severest weather and real terrorist threats," said Ravi. Ravi is a war veteran himself and received the President's Gallantry Award in 1991 and 1992.Excerpts: Q: How did " Kirthichakra" actually happen? A: The army life was a treasure house of experience to me. There was a touching incident, which moved me beyond words. I scripted it four years ago hoping to make a movie based on it one day. It captures the true feelings, pains and joys of the soldiers and the wonderful comradeship they shared amongst themselves. Finally, after a long wait and a series of disappointments, when R.B. Choudhari, volunteered to finance the film and Mohanlal agreed to play lead role, I was absolutely thrilled. Also, Priyadarshan, who is a like a brother to me, gave me strong moral support. Q: From the barracks and battlefront, you have come to the make-believe world of dreams and aspirations. How was the migration?A: Cinema was in my heart even when I was in service. Fortunately, I acquired an excellent group of friends in the industry, which included Suresh Balaji, Priyadarshan, Santhosh Sivan, and Mohanlal (thanks to the film "Kalapani"). I was serving at Port Blair while "Kalapani" was being shot there. Hearing about my participation in heading the commandos operation in connection with Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, Mohanlal expressed his wish to meet me. He wanted to know about the Sivarasan episode in detail. He invited me for a chat and that marked the beginning of a beautiful relationship with the whole team. Later, after my retirement, Priyadarshan introduced me to the world of commercial advertisements. He accepted me as his assistant. And it was Santhosh Sivan who first took me into the world of cinema. His recommendation fetched me a consultant's job for movies on war. "Pukar" was my first assignment. Then followed "Terrorist", "Kannathil Muthamittal", "Maa Tujhe Salaam", "Main Hoon Na", and "Rang De Basanti". I also did a children's movie, "Punarjani", which was widely appreciated.Q: What is " Kirthichakra " about?A: It speaks about a beautiful bond between an officer and his subordinate and much more about the army life, and the soldiers' strong loyalty to the country. The story unfolds through fragments of a flashback about a major and his Havaldaar, brought alive by Mohanlal and Jeeva. The beauty of the 'buddy' relationship has been portrayed by them wonderfully. Q: Why did you opt for a bilingual film? A: I believe that soldiers are the same everywhere. Their stories or feelings have universality about it. I wanted them to reach out to as many as possible. Q: Did you have to compromise on the theme or treatment for commercial reasons?A: Not at all! My story was straight and simple. I had to shape it cinematically. That was all. I gave music a prominent role in the flashback. It is not thrust upon viewers, but woven into the scenes.Q: You were revisiting Kashmir on a new mission. How did you feel about it?A: It was great to go back to the barracks, even if it was to shoot with a camera! My colleagues were immensely happy to see me. They went out of the way to provide extra security to us, and this was touching. They were thrilled beyond words to have Mohanlal and other artistes with them. They thoroughly enjoyed correcting the body positions of the actors and training them to handle the arms (which were real and not dummy). We also had many of them acting in the movie, and this made it more realistic. Q: How was your shooting experience in Kashmir and Afghanistan? A: It was a highly risky operation. Eights bomb blasts took place near Dal Lake, which was only a few kilometres away from the location while the shooting was on! But, amazingly, not one member of the unit was deterred. The atmosphere was charged with excitement, and the whole unit worked with a fighting spirit, which truly matched a soldier's mental frame. The light men and the rest of the technical crew, who were the last to pack up, deserve special mention for their unbelievable grit and determination. In Afghanistan the fear and uncertainty were always felt. But the experience had the charm of an adventure.Q: Are you happy about the end product?A: Very much. The rest is left to the audience. Q: Have you planned your next film? A: Not exactly. But I want to make a very different film for children, with a good message and a happy ending. Many children told me that "Punarjani" was too sad a film for them.