Kerala's own "mango moment"? That was the question many on social media raised when the teaser of Mohanlal's interaction with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dropped on Tuesday.
The phrase is a callback to a widely discussed 2019 interview in which Akshay Kumar asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Do you eat mangoes?" a light, personal question that later spiralled into memes and political trolling.
For many, the tone of Mohanlal's conversation with Kerala's Chief Minister felt similar. It was seen as an effort to soften a strong political image through casual, non-confrontational dialogue.
Titled Iruvar and tagged "Kandum Mindiyum" (meet and chat), the one-minute-15-second teaser was released through the Kerala government's official social media handles and Mohanlal's verified pages. Within hours, it went viral. Shot at Cliff House, the clip showed an unusually relaxed Chief Minister in conversation with the superstar.
The warmth of the exchange, sprinkled with nostalgia and light banter, including Mohanlal asking about the Chief Minister's favourite film star, strengthened comparisons to that 2019 Akshay Kumar-Narendra Modi interview.
By Thursday at 6 pm, the full one-hour interaction was broadcast across multiple television channels and digital platforms. Thousands tuned in live to see whether the complete episode would maintain the teaser's tone. It did.
The conversation remained very gentle. The Chief Minister appeared at ease throughout, smiling frequently, something most of the viewers pointed out.
Much like the teaser, the full interview drew more criticism than praise. "Both are acting well," read one popular comment, while several others labelled the interaction a carefully staged PR stunt ahead of the polls.
At the same time, there were a few supportive voices praising the Chief Minister and the government's efforts in the past years.
Though the promotional reel sparked viral traction and debate, the full interview did not appear to generate the same level of online momentum in its first few hours after release.
It remains to be seen how the interview of Kerala's so-called "Iron Man" and the complete actor will be remembered in the coming days—whether it becomes a talking point that boosts CPM's image or slowly sinks under the weight of negative responses.
Meanwhile, social media feeds are now flooded with the second-look poster of Mahesh Narayanan's movie Patriot.
The Big Ms headline the cast. The poster has Mohanlal standing atop a car aiming his gun while Mammootty leans out of the open door pointing at the same target. Kunchacko Boban is behind the wheel driving the vehicle.