'They are famous writers, is this how you speak before them? I asked Raju'

Ayalum Njanum Thammil, directed by Lal Jose and starring Prithviraj, is a superhit film which has a special place in the hearts of the Malayali audience. The film's cast included notable actors like Prathap Pothen, Kalabhavan Mani, Naren, Samvritha Sunil, and Ramya Nambeesan. In a recent interview, director Lal Jose shared a memorable experience connected to this movie.

Lal Jose's words

"We did Ayalum Njanum Thammil at a time when Raju (Prithviraj) was facing a lot of criticism on social media. Before coming into that project, I was planning to do a film called 'Cousins' with Lalettan (Mohanlal) and Raju in the lead roles. One day, Raju called me on the phone and said, 'Laluchetta, I heard a story. I liked it. The writers came to me with an advance. But I told them that I would do the film only if Laluchettan directed it. I'll take the advance if you hear the story and agree to do it'.

I thought that the writers would be some newcomers. However, it was the famous writer duo Bobby-Sanjay who came to narrate the story to me. I immediately called Raju and said, 'Is this the way you speak before them? They are famous writers.' To this Raju replied, 'There is a reason I said so. You'll understand once you hear the story'. That is how Ayalum Njanum Thammil was born.

However, the story they narrated was not the same as we see in the film now. I had some differences of opinion in some areas. The love story in the movie was incorporated at my insistence. Prithviraj was facing a severe attack on social media during the time of the film's release. Some people called me and asked if should do such a film with him. They feared it would fall flat and come across as comical on the big screen. However, the audience warmly received the character Ravi Tharakan (Prithviraj's character in the film) from the very first scene".