Arun Vijay & Mammootty starrer shelved; 'Premam' director Alphonse Puthren reveals reason

Alphonse Puthren, who last helmed Premam, has been on a hiatus for the past few years. In a recent media interview, when asked about his next project, Alphonse revealed that he was supposed to direct a Tamil movie with Mammootty and Arun Vijay in the lead. However, due to budget constraints the movie got shelved. Alphonse Puthren revealed that the movie's budget was Rs. 15 crores, which led to the film getting shelved. The Mammootty and Arun Vijay starrer was reported to be a bi-lingual and was expected to release simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam. 

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Meanwhile, Alphonse Puthren last directed Nivin Pauly starrer Premam. The movie, starring Nivin Pauly, Sai Pallavi, Madonna Sebastian, and Anupama Parameshwaran in the lead, narrates three phases of George's (Nivin Pauly) life. The movie released in 2015 was well-received by the Malayalam audience, making it one of the highest-grossing films of its time.

The Alphonse Puthren directorial recently completed five years of its release, following which, the filmmaker had a chat with an online portal where he discussed about the film and more. Premam was produced by Anwar Rasheed under his banner Anwar Rasheed Entertainments. 

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What's next for Mammootty and Arun Vijay

On the work front, Mammootty is expected to join the sets of Amal Neerad's next. The forthcoming movie is reported to be the sequel to his 2007's movie Big B. The movie stars Mammootty and Mamata Mohandas in the lead, and according to reports, the film will go on floors soon after the lockdown ends.

Besides the upcoming film, Mammootty has a slew of movies in his kitty. He will be seen playing the role of Kerala Chief Minister in Santosh Vishwanath's One. The forthcoming Malayalam movie has an ensemble cast consisting of Mammootty, Srinivasan, Samyukta Menon, Joju George, Renji Panicker, and Murali Gopy among others. The Santosh Vishwanath directorial is reportedly scripted by Bobby and Sanjay, who had previously written the script for Parvathy-starrer Uyare.

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Meanwhile, Arun Vijay is on a signing spree. The actor recently signed four new Tamil films with Naveen, GNR Kumaravelan, Vivek, and Arivazhagan. Also, there are rumours that Arun Vijay has been signed by Mysskin for his next film, which is reported to be the sequel to his movie Anjathe (2008). Besides these films, Arun Vijay is awaiting the release of Rathina Shiva's Vaa Deal. The movie was reportedly slated to hit the marquee in May however got pushed due to coronavirus.