Mammootty’s Maamaankam: Controversies From Dhruvan’s Exit To Padmakumar’s Entry

Dhruvan’s Exit

Dhruvan, the Queen fame actor was initially roped in to play a pivotal role in Maamaangam Reportedly, it was the lead actor Mammootty, who suggested Dhruvan for the role. The actor underwent a total image makeover for his role and was also learning Kalarippayattu, as a part of his preparations. According to the actor, it was a production controller who informed him that he's expelled from the project. The team later announced Dhruvan has been replaced by Unni Mukundan.

Sajeev Pillai’s Take On The Issue

The director of the project, Sajeev Pillai was not informed by the team about Dhruvan's exit. The director later clarified that there have been some minor issues between him and the producer Venu Kunnapilly, due to creative differences. Even though he refrained from commenting on Dhruvan's exit from Maamaangam, the director stated that the young actor had worked hard for his role in the movie, and was just perfect for the character.

The Director’s Allegations

Shockingly, Sajeev Pillai later alleged that some members from the production team threatened him to back out from Maamaangam, and even tried to attack him physically. The director later went on to file an official complaint to the DGP of Kerala Police and Chief Minister against the production team of Maamaangam.

Rasool Pookutty Comments On The Issue

The Academy Award-winner who expressed his deep shock over the Maamaangam controversy stated that it is a shame to the entire Malayalam film industry and its creative members. According to Rasool Pookutty, Maamaankam has one of the best screenplays that he came across in 2018. He feels that the project has the potential to take Malayalam cinema to the international standards.

M Padmakumar’s Entry

Later, it was officially confirmed that Sajeev Pillai has been expelled from the project, and has been replaced by M Padmakumar. Initially, the senior director was reluctant to take up the offer due to the controversies. But later, he was convinced by the members of FEFKA and Producers Association. Recently, there were rumours that M Padmakumar had served as a ghost director in the Mohanlal flick Odiyan, after director VA Shrikumar Menon failed to meet the expectations of the production team.

Producer Venu Kunnappilly’s Official Statement

Venu Kunnappilly, the producer of the project released an official statement about what went wrong between him and Sajeev Pillai, recently. According to the producer, even though the screenplay is excellent, Sajeev Pillai's lack of experience as a director had badly affected the big budget venture. During the 10-days long test shoot which was held in Mangalore, the director lacked command over his craft and shot a lot of excess footage, which lacked quality.

Cast & Crew’s Complaints

The team began to complain after the director refused to take suggestions, even from the experienced actors and technicians. According to Venu Kunnappilly, Sajeev Pillai had admitted that he is unable to handle the project and wanted to recruit two experienced associate directors. Later, the team took the footages shot by Sajeev to renowned editor Sreekar Prasad for quality check. But the senior editor confirmed that footages are not usable, as they were of bad quality and extremely slow-paced.

Sajeev Refused To Work With Padmakumar

Later, the team decided to rope in M Padmakumar as the creative director of the project, while retaining Sajeev Pillai as the director. However, the Sajeev refused to work with Padmakumar and insisted on recruiting lesser-known associate directors. When the production team refused to give in, the director himself decided to quit the project. Currently, the team is busy with the second schedule of the project, is planning to complete the shoot by April 2019 with Padmakumar as the sole director.