'I always say that if Mohanlal was not there, Priyadarshan would not have been there.'
Priyadarshan shares a very close bond with Mohanlal. Out of the 97 films he directed, 45 starred the Malayalam superstar!
As Mohanlal received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award -- the first Malayalam actor to get this honour -- Priyan looks back at his childhood friendship with the actor, and tells Subhash K Jha, "We literally came together to Chennai! We made our first film, a black and white one, during our college days together. We were neighbours as children and would play in the same ground."
Nobody is more qualified than you to talk about Mohanlal. How many films have you done with him?
I have done 97 films so far, 45 of them are with Mohanlal.
No director-actor combination has done so many films together in the world! How do you feel about him getting the Dadasaheb Phalke Award?
I feel as if I've got the award!
We grew up together, started our careers together.
When we were barely in our 20s, we took the same train to Chennai to become an actor and director.
Did you actually take the same train or is that a metaphor?
We literally came together to Chennai!
We made our first film, a black and white one, during our college days together.
We were neighbours as children and would play in the same ground.
So we are childhood friends. He is three years junior to me.
Did the two of you recognise the potential in each other from right then?
No, no, it was a dream. We saw it together.
We were not sure where we would reach.
It was not only me and him. There was also Suresh, Keerthy Suresh's father.
All of us dreamt cinema together.
There should be a movie made about your friendship with Mohanlal.
But who will make it? Only the two of us know the true story.
One day, this actor-director called Satya Nandikar said that if this guy (Mohanlal) becomes a superstar, our life will be saved because nobody else will give us dates to direct.
So I always say that if Mohanlal was not there, Priyadarshan would not have been there.
Because those days, even today, you need the big stars' dates. So because he became a star and believed in me, he gave me opportunities to make films.
And till date, till the last film we did together, he never asks what the subject is, what is my role, what are we doing...
That is Mohanlal's faith in you.
But that has became a huge responsibility for me. That pressure actually made almost 90 percent of my films with him successful.
Do you socialise with him? Do the two of you get together for a drink?
Definitely! Because we grew up together and our families are also close to each other.
My children and his children grew up together.
We used to go vacations together with our families.
Let me tell you something interesting.
Do tell.
I'm on my 97th film. Mohanlal declared that the 100th film will be with me since my first film was with him too.
Let's see if I get there.
You mean to your 100th film? Of course you will.
You never know about tomorrow. I always feel that the film I am making will be the last. I'm a very insecure person.
What is the biggest reason for my success? It is my insecurity.
You are currently remaking a film that you have done with Mohanlal. Is Mohanlal also acting in the film?
Yeah, he is doing a cameo. Not the role he played in the original (Oppam).
Which among the films that you have done with Mohanlal is your favourite?
There are three. One is Chithram, which ran 365 days. It broke the record of Chota Chetan and is the highest running cinema in the history of Malayalam cinema.
Then, there's Kaalapani.
The third is Thenmavin Kombath.
The 100th film will surely be a masterpiece.
I don't know. It can be a flop or a hit, who knows?
I have been growing by learning cinema every day. I hope that I'll do something good for him.
I'm known more as Kalyani Priyadarshan's father now than Priyadarshan. That's not what I thought would happen, but it did.
Did you see Lokah?
Yes, I did. I messaged you and spoke to Kalyani. Success has not gone to her head.
No. That was my message to her.
I said success should never go to your head and failure should never go to your heart.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff