Why Priyadarshan chose Prakash Raj instead of Mohanlal?

Priyadarshan"s Kanchivaram has been reaping glories galore at the National level and Prakash Raj has emerged as one of the most talented actors who can carry a character with much ease and poise. However what has been lurking in the minds the Malayalees is that Priyadarshan and Mohanlal are known as the best of friends. If so then why did the director not cast his friend Mohanlal in Kanchivaram?

Well, before you jump to any conclusions, let us hear it right from Priyadarshan"s mouth, “My best friend Mohanlal was supposed to do the film. But he couldn"t as he had date problems. After that, I decided to cast Prakash Raj, whose fantastic performance and dialogue delivery did the magic."

Luck has definitely favoured Prakash Raj and the filmmaker does not regret his choice, for he says, “Prakash took Kanchivaram to a different level. He was totally committed and did the film without any remuneration." Priyan even goes onto say that he had also foreseen an award for Prakash Raj, “Immediately after watching the first copy, I told Prakash that he would get a National Award for it. Such was his performance."