Mohanlal to play Metro Man E Sreedharan in upcoming film?

After reports that Mammootty might be playing the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekar Reddy, we hear that his contemporary Mohanlal has been approached to play the Metro Man E Sreedharan in an upcoming film. However, the filmmakers are yet to confirm the news.  

The groundwork for the film titled Arabikadalinte Rani, which will be directed jointly by M Padmakumar and scriptwriter-turned-filmmaker S Suresh Babu, has begun already and talks are on with Mohanlal to play the pivotal role while Anoop Menon and Rima Kallingal will be seen as the lead pair. The film revolves around Rima Kallingal’s character who has E Sreedharan as her role model.

Speaking to the Times of India about casting, one of its director’s Suresh Babu said, “The story follows the life of Lathika, a textile salesgirl, who is based in Thrippunithura. Because of the metro work, she had to vacate her home and shift to Aluva. The crux of the film is about her attempts to meet her inspiration, the Metro Man, who spearheaded the project.”

Madhu Neelakandan will be cranking the camera for the movie. Vinod Sukumaran is in charge of editing of the movie and the film will be produced by VJ Films International.  Making it clear that Arabikadalinte Rani is not a biopic on the Metro Man E Sreedharan, its director pointed out that the character in the film is based on him and has been named E Madhavan.

Mohanlal is currently busy with a slew of films in various stages of production. His Odiyan, directed by VA Shrikumar Menon, is in the final stages and its shooting is expected to be wrapped up later this month. He is currently stationed in Mumbai where the shooting of the Ajoy Varma directorial Neerali is in progress. Odiyan has Manju Warrier playing the female lead while it is Parvati Nair in Neerali.