'Heard about iconic movie Chamayam?' Manoj K Jayan responds to ‘Aaraam Thampuran’ criticism

Actor Manoj K Jayan reflected on how he narrowly lost the titular character in the blockbuster yesteryear movie ‘Aaraam Thampuran’. It was in a chat show conducted by a radio FM channel that Manoj opened up about how the movie slipped out of his hands.

Manoj K Jayan:

It was actor Maniyanpilla Raju who suggested casting Mohanlal in the lead role of the movie after hearing the story from writer Ranjith. Maniyanpilla had no doubts about the script but suggested casting Mohanlal to elevate an already brilliant script.

The film was planned immediately after ‘Asuravamsam’, and I was made to play the lead role. The crew were pretty much the same for ‘Aaraam Thampuran’. After taking note of the suggestion, director Shaji Kailas requested Maniyanpilla to get the dates of Mohanlal for the film. Maniyan Pillai Raju soon met producer Suresh Kumar, and Mohanlal was soon on board. And there the movie slipped out of my hands.

I saw many people criticising on social media on how the movie would have ended up as a disaster if Manoj were to act in Mohanlal’s role. Let me remind those sceptics that the iconic movie ‘Chamayam’ was written for Mohanlal and Thilakan in lead roles. Some changes happened, and the duo were replaced with me and actor Murali. I think there is no need to talk about Chamayam, which remains an iconic creation in Malayalam cinema.

If I were to take up the lead actor’s role in ‘Aaraam Thampuran’, the movie would have been a success no matter what. It may not be equal to the scale of what Mohanlal achieved, but it would have been my small Manoj K Jayan cinema.