‘Biju Menon was my 1st choice, but Mohanlal gave me his dates’: Major Ravi on the making of Keerthi Chakra

Kozhikode: Filmmaker Major Ravi has revealed that his critically acclaimed war film ‘Keerthi Chakra’ was originally planned with actor Biju Menon in the lead role. Speaking to The New Indian Express, he said that the project had to be abandoned following an unpleasant experience with the producers introduced by Menon.

“I narrated the story, and Biju liked it. He brought a producer from the US. They called me to the Taj to narrate the script. Biju was there, and a few others were also seated. A deck of cards was placed on the bed. As Biju entered, he was handed a bundle of ten thousand rupees to play. I was standing there with the ‘Keerthi Chakra’ script in hand, ready to narrate the story,” Major Ravi recalled.

However, while I was narrating, they were engrossed in their game, the major said in disappointment. Narrating the incident, he said that after about five minutes, he closed the script and walked out. “I told Biju that they won’t make the film or anything; they just called you here to join their card game. I left the place and kept the script aside at home,” he said.

Major Ravi added that the script remained untouched for two years. “One day, I felt, why not approach Mohanlal with this story? So I dusted off the script, took a vehicle from Madras, and travelled to Kanhangad to narrate it. Right then and there, Mohanlal gave me his dates,” he recounted.