Mohanlal Says There’s ‘No Competition’ With Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan: 'Rajini Sir Called Me And…’ | Exclusive
Mohanlal spills the beans on Rajinikanth's reaction to the trailer of L2: Empuraan and the budget of the Prithviraj directorial.
The trailer of Prithviraj Sukumaran and Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan has already garnered a lot of appreciation from their peers like SS Rajamouli, Prabhas and Ram Gopal Varma. Rajinikanth too took to X and unveiled the Tamil version of the trailer. “Watched the trailer of my dear Mohan’s and Prithvi’s film #Empuraan .. fantastic work, congratulations!!! I wish the team all the best for the release. God bless (sic)," he wrote. Speaking to us exclusively, Prithviraj revealed how the megastar’s words of praises ‘meant the world to him’.
Now, in an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal says that receiving so much support from his contemporaries only go to show the brotherhood that exists among all of them unlike what one may speculate as competition. While he refers to another Malayalam cinema legend Mammootty as his ‘brother’ and ‘family’, he particularly points to Amitabh Bachchan, his Kandahar co-star, and Rajinikanth, who he worked with on Jailer where he had a cameo appearance, thanking them for ‘genuinely’ praising the trailer of L2: Empuraan.
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Mohanlal tells us, “It’s not competition but appreciation. I sent the trailer to Amitabh Bachchan saab. Rajini sir called me and I had a chat with him. He told me, ‘What have you done? Oh my god!’ They genuinely appreciated our trailer. It didn’t come from a place of them wanting to make another film that’s better than ours. What we’ve spent on the film is showing and that’s a very important thing. As a producer, Rajini sir could easily capture and understand this aspect."
The Kaappaan and Drishyam actor further continues, “He told me, ‘You all have spent so much on the film and I can see that.’ It’s not like he watched the trailer and just tweeted about it saying how great it is. His compliment was true and came straight from his heart. It came after he watched the trailer." For the unversed, L2: Empuraan marks the third time that Mohanlal has been directed by Prithviraj after Lucifer and Bro Daddy.
Sharing his experience of being directed by Prithviraj, he says, “Knowingly or unknowingly, a chemistry develops between the actor and the director. Prithvi is very particular about what he wants. In fact, when he tells me that he needs one more shot, it gives me an adrenaline rush because it means that I did something not up to his work and that I can do better. It’s a beautiful thing to hear from him or any other director."
Mohanlal, who has worked with Prithviraj’s father Sukumaran on multiple films, adds, “Usually, he gives his commands using a mic but if he has to tell me something, he comes up to me personally and tells me what he wants, so that other people on set can’t hear his inputs for me. He tells me, ‘No no Chetta, you’ve done this but I want something else.’ We share a beautiful understanding and he has the freedom to tell me anything he wants to. He’s also very naughty but I can’t reveal anything about his naughtiness (laughs)."
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