'Dileep's film was a failure but not because of him; everything changed after that Prithviraj movie was released': Director Lal Jose responds

Classmates was a film directed by Lal Jose using newcomers in Malayalam at that time. Many stars including Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Kavya Madhavan, and Indrajith were present in the film. Lal Jose directed Classmates after the film Rasikan, which had Dileep in the lead. Now, Lal Jose has responded to the high-profile gossip related to Classmates. He shared these things in an interview granted to a YouTube channel.

"Rajiv Ravi was the cameraman of the film Rasikan. Some people were afraid that if Rajiv Ravi came as the cameraman for my next film, it would fail too. There were gossips that I had said that Rajiv Ravi was enough and that I was the one who made the decision. There have always been different beliefs in cinema. At that time, the films shot by Rajiv Ravi were not very successful.

"There was no such problem with Classmates. I told Rajeev the story. He said he would do the camera. No one objected to me. Classmates was a huge success. Everything changed after that. There are many reasons why Rasikan did not succeed. There is no point in blaming Rajeev Ravi for that. Dileep got the status of a star after doing the film Meesa Madhavan. That film was based on the life of a thief from Nilambur. In real life, he committed suicide," said Lal Jose.