'They were my Nikhil Maheshwar and Aleena'; Director Sibi Malayil about 'Devadoothan' casting

24 years after its theatrical release, the underrated masterpiece of Malayalam cinema ‘Devadoothan’ is gearing up to thrill audiences for a second time. The film which was released in 2000 doomed at the box office. In the later years, the film regained backs its lost sheen and was crowned as one of the best thriller-horror genres to emerge from Malayalam cinema.

As part of the promotion works for the re-release of the film, director Sibi Malayil revealed some unknown facts about the movie, in an interview with a YouTube channel.

Sibi Malayil:

“We first approached Padmarajan sir to write the script. However, he couldn’t commit to the work due to his busy schedule. This was the story that I had in mind for my debut film. For some reason, the plans got delayed.

In 2000, I was lucky enough to do Devadoothan. We had a young hero in mind to play the lead role. It was during that time that Mohanlal came on board and we had to change the script to suit his superstar image. The present generation admires the movie and it is evident from the social media reactions and discussions. Minding this, we have decided to re-release the film.

When I first drafted the script, I had Naseeruddin Shah and Madhavi in ​​mind to play the roles of Nikhil Maheshwar and Aleena. But it didn't happen. Later, when discussion for the movie resumed, I intended to rope in Madhavan to do the lead role. However, the actor got busy with another movie and Mohanlal happened to hear the script. He expressed a desire to do the role and everything fell into place.