Did you know not Mohanlal but it was Mammootty who was the first choice of actor for Drishyam’s ‘George Kutty’?

Mohanlal’s iconic film franchise Drishyam remains special amongst fans for more than one reason. However, did you know he was not the first one to be approached with the script of the movie? Find out.

By Srijony Das

Updated on Jan 28, 2025 | 10:26 AM IST | 74.5K

DYK: Not Mohanlal, but Mammootty was first approached to play George Kutty in Drishyam? (PC: Mohanlal on IG, IMDb)

Mohanlal’s iconic crime thriller flick Drishyam has been undoubtedly one of the most loved and watched franchises ever. Not just several installments, but the film was even remade in Hindi, adding to the excitement. However, did you know that the senior actor was not the first choice for the movie?

Yes, you read that right! Well, not Mohanlal but his dear friend and another Malayalam icon, Mammootty, was the one who was approached for the movie first. Apparently, the director, Jeethu Joseph, after completing the writing portion of the script, had gone down to the latter first.

However, despite being such a massive offer and project, Mammootty politely turned it down, owing to the fact that he had featured in similar characters and roles already, and thus he did not wish to get typecast.

Nonetheless, the Bazooka star was very supportive of the project and expressed great interest in how the film had the potential to turn out as a hit. Moreover, it was Mammootty who suggested actress Meena to take up the project, who ended up playing Mohanlal’s on-screen wife in the Malayalam flick.

Well, the rest is history for the film, as Drishyam emerged as nothing less than a blockbuster hit at the box office. The first installment was released in 2013, followed by a sequel in 2021. Both the parts of the Mohanlal starrer created a rampage in terms of their box office collections and received immense love and appreciation from fans.

Moving on, Drishyam was remade in several languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. For Bollywood, this film was headlined by Ajay Devgn in the lead role.