Mammootty wants to watch Orijinal, and he told its director so in person. Director Ramees shared the story in a long Facebook post, describing an hour spent with the actor in his caravan on the set of Mela.
Ramees wrote that the news reached him on the film's second day in theatres. Production controller Javed called to say Mammootty had asked to see the film, and Mammootty's office had already contacted the Qube team to set up a screening. Soon after, actor Binu Pappu called with the same message from George, Mammootty's manager, and told Ramees to ring him at once.
An hour in the caravan
Co-producer Harshad made the call, and George asked them to come over the same day. At the Mela set, Ramees wrote, Maqbool Salmaan recognised him as the director of Orijinal before George took them to Mammootty's caravan.
Ramees described the hour that followed as one of the biggest honours a newcomer could get. Mammootty watched the Orijinal trailer with them on the caravan's TV, even though he had seen it before, which Ramees read as a gesture of encouragement. Mammootty said he would watch the full film on a day without shooting, and as the next shot was called, he shook hands and said one word, "Kaanam", meaning he would watch it.
On the way out, Ramees wrote, Mammootty's costumer told them the actor had spent the day watching videos about Orijinal and talking about it. Ramees said he did not know what had caught Mammootty's interest, and ended the post by saying he would wait for the day the actor is free.
Orijinal at a glance
Director: Ramees, who also wrote the film
Producers: MAZ Media and Ziku Films, with Harshad as co-producer
Lead: Sreenath Bhasi in a double role
Story: A struggling filmmaker meets an older version of himself who has travelled back in time
Certificate and runtime: Reportedly U/A 13+, with a runtime of 132 minutes
Released: October 23 in Kerala; Home Screen Entertainments is the GCC distribution partner
Music: Electronic Kili, with the audio on Think Music
First-time directors at Mammootty Kampany
Mammootty's own banner has backed two debutants so far.
Kannur Squad (2023): Cinematographer Roby Varghese Raj's directing debut
Kalamkaval (2025): Writer Jithin K Jose's directing debut, with Vinayakan
Mela, directed by Nithish Sahadev, whose first film was Falimy, is Mammootty Kampany's ninth production and is reported to be a 2027 release. The unit was filming at the Great Bombay Circus ground in Nagampadam, Kottayam, as our Mela shoot story explains.
More on Orijinal
Read our Orijinal review, the final mix and double-role story, and our release-week guide.
