Archive · 5 Jan 2026
Priyadarshan Wrote Mohanlal’s Thalavattam in 10 Days
Priyadarshan and Mohanlal have a special friendship and have made many famous movies together.
Sreenivasan, another famous actor and writer, used to write scripts for Priyadarshan.
Once, Sreenivasan got angry and left a project because he thought Priyadarshan wasn't taking cinema seriously.
Priyadarshan had to write the script for the movie Thalavattam himself in just 10 days.
The movie became very successful, and Sreenivasan was happy about it.
Thalavattam was inspired by a famous American movie called One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Priyadarshan and Mohanlal have a long-standing friendship and successful professional partnership in Malayalam cinema.
Sreenivasan, a legendary actor-filmmaker, was a significant collaborator with Priyadarshan, writing scripts for many of his celebrated movies.
Sreenivasan walked out on the project Thalavattam due to Priyadarshan's casual attitude towards cinema, prompting Priyadarshan to write the script himself in 10 days.
Thalavattam, a tragicomedy, became a superhit and featured Mohanlal, Karthika, Lissy, Nedumudi Venu, and MG Soman in key roles.
The movie was loosely based on Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), which won multiple Academy Awards.
- Who
- Priyadarshan, Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, T Damodaran
- What
- Priyadarshan wrote the script for Thalavattam in 10 days after Sreenivasan walked out
- When
- Thalavattam was written in 10 days, Sreenivasan's demise in December 2025
- Where
- India (Malayalam cinema industry)
- Why
- Sreenivasan left the project due to Priyadarshan's casual attitude towards cinema, prompting Priyadarshan to write the script himself
- Mohanlal
- Actor
- Priyadarshan
- Filmmaker
- Sreenivasan
- Actor-Filmmaker and Screenwriter
- Thalavattam
- Tragicomedy Film
- T Damodaran
- Screenwriter
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Inspiration for Thalavattam