Malayalam superstar Mammootty on Wednesday had a heartwarming message for colleague and fellow superstar Mohanlal’s son, Pranav, for his upcoming debut film Aadhi.

“Wishing our dearest Appu who you all know as Pranav a wonderful entry into world of cinema! For us he is just like one of our own children and has grown up before our eyes. He’s turned out to be a fine young man and will definitely delight all of you with his talent and charm. All the best for #Aadi to dearest Appu and also to his proud parents our Lal and Suchi,” he posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Mammootty also wished Pranav’s parents Mohanlal and Suchitra good luck for their son’s entry into the world of cinema.

Pranav, known within the industry by his pet name Appu, will be debuting as hero in Jeethu Joseph’s Aadhi, an action-thriller which is set to hit the theatres on January 26. The movie is bankrolled by Antony Perumbavoor, under the banner of Aadhirvad Cinemas.

Pranav is playing an aspiring musician in the film, which is supposedly high on action sequences. An interesting detail about Aadhi is that most stunt sequences, barring one, has been performed by the 27-year-old himself, despite father Mohanlal requesting for dupes to carry out the action sequences.

Director Jeethu Joseph in an interview had also said that the Malayalam film industry would get an exceptional actor if Pranav decided to continue in cinema.

Pranav made his acting debut as a child artiste in Onnaman in 2002. He then went  on to win the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist for his performance in Punarjani. He has also worked as an assistant director under Jeethu Joseph in the Tamil film Papanasam which had Kamal Haasan and Gauthami playing the lead roles.

The star cast of Aadhi has Siju Wilson and Sharafudheen as well as Anusree, Lena, Siddique, Aditi Ravi, and Nobi.

(With inputs from Digital Native)