It was shocking for movie buffs when eminent Malayalam writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair last year announced that he was backing out from the mega-budget film Randamoozham for which he had written the screenplay.
And now, in another surprise, a new producer, Dr S.K. Narayanan, has signed up for the movie, starring Mohanlal. UAE-based industrialist B.R. Shetty was initially supposed to produce the film but reportedly Shetty, too, backed out of the project. A photo of Narayanan signing the contract with director V.A. Shrikumar Menon is now doing rounds on social media. Narayanan was also joined by activist Jomon Puthenpurackal and Swami Vidyanand.
Jomon also shared a photo on his Facebook page where the director and producer are seen having a discussion.
Earlier, Vasudevan Nair had revealed to media that he was quitting the project as his contract for the screenplay had overshot the three-year deadline for completing the film. Shrikumar had reasoned that the project was delayed due to several international contracts and financial planning. Randamoozham, a Malayalam novel penned by Vasudevan Nair in 1984, won the Vayalar Award for the best literary work in Malayalam in 1985. It is a version of the Mahabharata from the perspective of epic hero Bheema.
With both the writer and producer backing out, now all eyes are on actor Mohanlal to announce his stand.