Lijo Jose Pellissery was last seen directing the Mohanlal starrer Malaikottai Vaaliban. Recent reports suggested that the director was set to make his Bollywood debut with a project headlined by Vir Hirani.
However, what is the truth behind it? Let’s take a look.
Is Lijo Jose Pellissery making his Bollywood debut?
According to a report by The Cue Studio, Lijo Jose Pellissery has denied the reports and confirmed that he is not set to make his Bollywood debut. In his interaction with the news portal, the filmmaker stated that, to the best of his knowledge, he was never a part of the project.
For those unfamiliar, several reports claimed that Lijo Jose Pellissery might direct a love story produced under Hansal Mehta’s banner, True Story Films. The film was speculated to star director Rajkumar Hirani’s son Vir Hirani as the lead, marking his acting debut in Bollywood.
It was also rumored that AR Rahman would compose the music. However, the reports now appear to be incorrect.
Lijo Jose Pellissery’s recent movie
Lijo Jose Pellissery most recently directed the Mohanlal-starrer film Malaikottai Vaaliban. The epic period actioner featured the story of an undefeated, nomadic warrior who becomes a legendary hero across a vast desert region.
As he journeys through the land, he encounters Chamathakan, a vengeful man who seeks to settle a personal score, an encounter that alters Vaaliban and his family’s life forever.
Apart from Mohanlal, the film had Sonalee Kulkarni, Hareesh Peradi, Danish Sait, Manoj Moses, Katha Nandi, Manikandan R. Achari, Hariprashanth MG, Shanta Dhananjayan, Sanjana Chandran, and many others in pivotal roles.
The screenplay was penned by PS Rafeeque based on a story by Lijo himself. The film received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office. It is currently available to stream on the OTT platform JioHotstar.
Meanwhile, Rajkumar Hirani last directed the 2023 drama flick Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film also had Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Vikram Kochhar, Anil Grover, and Vicky Kaushal in an extended cameo appearance.
The filmmaker is next set to helm a biopic movie on Dadasaheb Phalke with Aamir Khan as the lead.
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