'Don't need Shobana in this movie'; Veteran director about Mammootty's comments

In 1995, the movie Mazhayethum Munpe’ written by Sreenivasan was released and ended up being a sleeper hit, even taking the industry by surprise. Mammootty, Sreenivasan, Shobhana and Annie played the lead roles while veteran Kamal was the director.

Produced by VP Madhavan under the banner of Murali Films, the film was released in 1995. The story revolves around Mammootty becoming a teacher in a women's college and the subsequent events. And now, director Kamal shared an anecdote related to the casting of this movie to Kaumudy Movies.

Kamal:

“After the completion of the script, we fixed Mammootty as the lead character, but choosing the other casts turned into a laborious job. Later, we zeroed in on Shobana to play a prominent role in the film. But when Mammookka came to know about the decision, he was perturbed saying that he had acted alongside Shobana in many films and suggested we find another actress.

The character demanded an expert dancer and Shobana was the ideal choice. Mammootty loathed the idea of playing the hero to the same actress in consecutive movies. The movie was Annie’s second one in Malayalam. I have seen her acting in the movie ‘Ammayane Sathyam’ which she slayed. I discussed the same with Mammootty. Immediately he taunted Annie for her character in the movie ‘Ammayane Sathyam’ where she is seen disguised as a man. Mammootty said she would create a similar impression if cast in the movie. But I suggested that the character demands a strong female, a far cry from the traditional feminine attributes. If diagnosed now, all such comments would fall in the politically incorrect category, but this is how we found the casting for the movie.”