He wore his dupe's sweat-soaked shirt: Director remembers Mohanlal’s modest spirit

Alleppey Ashraf recently shared a memorable story about Mohanlal on his YouTube channel, highlighting the actor's generosity during the making of his first directorial, Oru Madapravinte Katha, released in 1983. Ashraf, a versatile figure in the film industry who has directed around ten films and contributed as a producer, screenwriter, actor and dubbing artist, reminisced about the production process and the unexpected challenges they faced.

The film featured prominent actors Prem Nazir and Mammootty in leading roles, while Mohanlal also had a part in the movie. However, his character was ultimately cut, even after shooting scenes, including a fight sequence. Ashraf recounted an unforgettable experience during the filming of that fight scene.

“Mohanlal acted in the movie Oru Madapravinte Katha, which starred Prem Nazir as the lead. However, he does not appear in the final cut of the film. Mammootty also acted in it, but his voice was not included. Balakrishnan, a makeup artist known for his work on various films including Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, served as my assistant during production.

“We chose Nazir as the hero. Getting Nazir sir's date was as difficult as securing dates with Mammootty and Mohanlal today. At that time, Nazir's highest salary was Rs 75,000, which later increased to Rs 1 lakh—that is when we decided to cast him. One lakh back then is equivalent to about Rs 5 crore today. Organising that amount was challenging, but I managed to secure it and met with Nazir Sir. He agreed to give us 10 days of shooting time over two schedules. Seema was selected as the heroine. Her salary back then was Rs 35,000,” Ashraf recalled.

“Later, I met with Mammootty and Mohanlal. Mammootty received Rs 25,000 for his role. Mohanlal said, ‘Anna, I will come and do it’, even though he was primarily known for playing villains in major films at that time.

“As we began shooting, we had planned a fight scene involving Nazir and Mohanlal, both of whom had stunt doubles. While filming that scene, something unexpected happened that caught me by surprise. A problem arose when the costume designer failed to prepare an outfit for Mohanlal's double. This issue came to light only after the filming started,” Ashraff added.

He said Mohanlal then quickly offered his shirt to the double, stating, “No problem, give my shirt to the dupe.” The double began the fight scene wearing Mohanlal's shirt, which ended up soaked with sweat after filming. Ashraf said at that moment, he witnessed Mohanlal’s “generous spirit”. Mohanlal remarked,”It’s okay, Anna, I'll wear the shirt.”

“When someone cautioned him, ‘Lal, don't wear that; it will be a problem’, Mohanlal replied, ‘Why is that? Isn’t he a human being like us?

“The fight scene was successfully filmed, but Mohanlal didn’t have time to shoot any additional scenes. Ultimately, his character was removed from the film with his permission,” Ashraf concluded.