It was reported, after you did Ram Gopal Varma's Company, that you filed a suit against him when a cheque from his office bounced. He has offered you the role Sanjeev Kumar played for his remake of Sholay. Does that mean there are no misunderstandings now?
There was no misunderstanding at all. Before filing the suit, I told him I was going to, and he agreed. He called me for that film because he may have felt the need to have me. We go along based on a contract of understanding. And, I cannot even imagine a cheque given to you for your work bouncing. Yes, it is true that many people have not paid me on purpose. I have also acted without accepting any money. I have never ever argued about money with any of my producers because that is the kind of relationship and understanding I have with them. But when this happened from a reputed firm, and when everything went off so professionally, it saddened me. They should not have cheated me. I felt insulted.
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Did you get your money, finally?
Yes, I did.
Will the remake of Sholay really happen?
I think it is a project in the pipeline. He asked me to act in it, and I agreed. I don't know what happened after that. He is not making it using the same backdrop. It could be with the Mumbai underworld as the background! I don't know what his exact plans are.
When did you see the original?
I was in school when Sholay was released. I think recreating a film like that is a good idea. I am also sure it will be good because he is a good filmmaker.
A few years ago, some filmmakers in Kerala also had the idea of recreating old classics like Bhargavi Nilayam, Asuravithu, Yakshi, Vaazhve Mayam, etc. Yakshi, based on the late Malayattoor Ramakrishnan's (a well-known novelist in Malayalam) novel, was about a schizophrenic. I don't know if the audience in those days really understood the nuances of the character. I think we can do it with more understanding today.
Even in Hollywood, filmmakers are re-creating classics at regular intervals.
Yes, Shankar met me and narrated the storyline. It was a negative character I found quite interesting, but they wanted many days from me spread over an entire year. It meant letting go of many of my Malayalam projects, which I didn't want to. I want the good relationship I have in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to stay that way. It was a good villain's role though.
I read somewhere that, like Laurel and Hardy, Dasan and Vijayan -- the two characters immortalised by you and Sreenivasan in three films -- are going to be made into cartoons.
Yes, we are doing it. We in the sense, my studio is. I have an animation school and studio, Vismaya's Max, in Trivandrum. It is doing on the project based on the concept of Laurel and Hardy. I am also setting up a full-fledged DTS studio and theatre in Trivandrum where dubbing, editing and all post-production work for films can be done. I have also started a voice school where dubbing is taught. We have 40 students, all of whom are professionals working in other places like ISRO, banks, etc. I think it is the first of its kind in India.
Who is Mohanlal now an actor or a businessman?
I really do not know! What I am currently involved in is all related to cinema. I may even start an acting school, now that I have a voice school! In the 75 acre plot I have, there will be a magic academy too, run by magician Gopinath Puthukad. I recently inaugurated one of his magic shows by doing four items!
You did magic on stage?
Yes, he taught me and I performed those tricks on stage!
What about filmmaking? Have you stopped making films like Vaanaprastham?
I may not be making films under my banner Pranavam Arts, but another banner called Aashirvad -- which is floated by my driver Antony, who has been with me for more than 20 years -- produces films at regular intervals. The one I am acting in right now, a film by Satyan Anthikad, is being produced by Aashirvad.