
Speaking at the 25th-anniversary celebration of Aashirvad Cinemas in Kochi, veteran filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad shared new updates on his forthcoming directorial venture, Hridayapoorvam, headlined by Mohanlal. He announced that Malavika Mohanan has joined the film’s cast, replacing the previously announced female lead, Aishwarya Lekshmi. The film’s shooting is set to commence on February 10 following a traditional pooja ceremony in Kochi, with Mohanlal scheduled to join on February 14.
Hridayapoorvam is billed as a family entertainer set primarily in Pune. Akhil Sathyan wrote the story for the film, while debutant Sonu T P penned the screenplay and dialogues. Its cast also includes Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala actor Sangita Madhavan Nair, Premalu-fame Sangeeth Prathap, Siddique, and Janardhanan, among others. The Pune schedule is expected to begin sometime in March.
On the technical front, it has cinematographer Anu Moothedath (Sufiyum Sujathayum), art director Prasanth Madhav (Aadujeevitham), State Award-winning sound designer Anil Radhakrishnan (Carbon) and composer Justin Prabhakaran, who previously collaborated with Akhil on his directorial debut Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum (2023).
Interestingly, it will also be Mohanlal’s first film to utilise the current sync sound technology, a detail confirmed by Akhil in an exclusive statement to CE. “I believe Vasthuhara (1991) employed sync sound, but that was an older technology. Hridayapoorvam marks the first proper sync sound recording of Mohanlal sir’s voice in more than 30 years. We are all excited about it, as we get to hear his voice captured directly from the set rather than from a dubbing studio.”
Akhil also added that it will be first time he and his twin brother (Anoop Sathyan, who made his directorial debut with the 2020 film Varane Avashyamund) will be working together with their father on the same film. While Akhil is part of the writing, Anoop serves as an associate director in it. Produced by Antony Perumbavoor for Aashirvad Cinemas, the film is scheduled for hit theatres on August 25 as an Onam release.
Malavika was last seen in the Hindi film Yudhra (2024), opposite Siddhant Chaturvedi. The Thangalaan actor is also part of the sequel to Karthi’s Sardar and is set to make her Telugu debut with the Prabhas-starrer The Raja Saab. In Malayalam, she was previously seen as the titular protagonist in the 2023 film Christy.
Meanwhile, Mohanlal is gearing up for the release of L2: Empuraan, the sequel to Lucifer (2019). Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, the film is set to release worldwide on March 27. The actor also has Tharun Moorthy’s Thudarum, which has been indefinitely postponed from its previously announced release date.