In a stunning revelation, acclaimed filmmaker Priyadarshan has disclosed that one of his most beloved tragicomedies starring Mohanlal was written in a frantic ten-day sprint. This emergency scriptwriting session was triggered when his trusted collaborator and legendary writer Sreenivasan dramatically walked out of the project.
The Unbreakable Bond and a Sudden Rupture
While the cinematic partnership between Priyadarshan and superstar Mohanlal is the stuff of Malayalam film legend, the director shared that writer-actor Sreenivasan played an equally pivotal role in his artistic journey. Their deep friendship, forged through cinema, was marked by brutal honesty. Priyadarshan recalled that Sreenivasan often criticized his approach, once sarcastically remarking, "There is no director more capable than you at making people believe things through trickery."
The crisis erupted during the pre-production of the 1986 film Thalavattam. Sreenivasan, who had agreed to write the script, reached a breaking point with Priyadarshan's perceived casual attitude towards filmmaking. In a fit of anger, he quit the project and delivered a stern ultimatum: "We will work together again only after you start taking cinema seriously."
A Dire Deadline and an Unlikely Saviour
Left in a lurch, Priyadarshan faced a logistical nightmare. The shooting locations were locked, and the entire cast and crew, including Mohanlal, were scheduled to arrive in just ten days. The director was stunned, with not a single line of dialogue ready.
Salvation came from an unexpected corner. Noted screenwriter T Damodaran, who was in a neighbouring hotel room, noticed Priyadarshan's distress. After hearing the predicament, Damodaran offered blunt, practical advice: "Even if Sreenivasan isn’t there, you still need to put food on the table, right? You write it yourself!"
With no other option, Priyadarshan hunkered down and accomplished the near-impossible. He penned the entire screenplay for Thalavattam in those ten frantic days.
From Crisis to Superhit: The Sweet Taste of Vindication
The film, loosely inspired by the Oscar-winning classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, went on to become a major box office success. It featured Mohanlal in a memorable lead role, supported by Karthika, Lissy, Nedumudi Venu, and M.G. Soman.
The triumph had a poetic epilogue. After the film became a hit, Sreenivasan visited Priyadarshan wearing his classic smile. The director reflected that this challenging episode ultimately empowered him, stating, "It could be said that it was Sreenivasan who gave me the drive to write screenplays. After all, if Sreeni doesn’t come to write, what option do I have but to write it myself?"
This incident highlights the profound, if sometimes turbulent, creative relationships that have shaped Malayalam cinema. The Priyadarshan-Mohanlal duo gifted audiences numerous classics, but as this story reveals, the catalyst behind one of their hits was a fiery fallout that pushed a director to his limits.
