How does a body double work on a big film set? Actor and production controller Azad Kannadikkal has laid out the basics in a Facebook post, written after mimicry artist Joby Kodakara's release-day post about doubling for Mohanlal in Jailer 2.
How a body double works, in Azad's words
Doubles are called in for long shots where the star's face cannot be made out, Azad wrote, and they are chosen because they share the star's build and look.
Crews keep two identical sets of the star's costume for this, and one goes to the double. The pay for such work, he said, ranges from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000.
He also said what stays in a film is not the actor's call. Once the shoot and dubbing are done, the director and the editor decide which scenes remain, and they are free to cut anything they feel the film does not need.
Not a secret, he says
Azad made the point that doubling is routine. Rajinikanth has a double too, he wrote, and that double has never gone public about it.
Azad added that he has done such a shot himself in a film, and shared a photo from it. "It is something that happens on every location," he wrote.
Why he went after Joby
His objection was to the timing. Azad called Joby's decision to post the photos on the day Jailer 2 released a shameful act, and said film crews should stop hiring people who do this. He blamed the post for social media trolls claiming that all of Mohanlal's portions in the film were done by a double.
Joby has since deleted his Jailer 2 posts, as reported in our Joby Kodakara story.
Who is Azad Kannadikkal
Azad has worked as production controller on films including Viral Sebi (2022), Chaaver (2023), Thalavan (2024) and Midnight in Mullankolli (2025). He has also acted in Viral Sebi and Midnight in Mullankolli.
His point about the edit lands in the same week as another Jailer 2 note. Mohanlal's costume designer said three of the actor's looks were cut from the film, as covered in our Jishad Shamsudeen story.
Also read: Jailer 2 Review: How Suraj, Mohanlal and Kottayam Nazeer fared with critics
