Veteran filmmaker Shaji Kailas has taken a look at the making of ‘Red Chillies’ and shared why he feels the 2009 action thriller failed to connect with audiences. Despite generating good hype before its release, the film did not perform as expected at the box office.In a recent interview with Club FM, the director revealed that the original concept of ‘Red Chillies’ was very different from what finally appeared on screen. According to him, the script underwent major changes after Mohanlal was available for a longer shooting schedule.Shaji Kailas admitted that these last-minute changes altered the fundamentals of the story and ultimately affected the overall impact of the film.
The team asked only for Mohanlal’s voice
Explaining how the project evolved, Shaji Kailas revealed that Mohanlal’s character OMR was initially designed as a limited role that would only be heard through phone conversations.Recalling the incident, the director said, “Originally, OMR was a character meant to appear only for two days. In fact, he was supposed to exist only through phone conversations. That’s how we initially approached Lal. We just asked for his voice. But Lal said, “No, I’ll come in person. Let’s do it.”However, we told him that two days would be enough. Around that time, one of his shoots in China was postponed. Then he told us, ‘Now I’m free.'”The unexpected change in Mohanlal’s schedule gave the filmmakers an opportunity to expand his role, but also led to significant changes in the script.
How the story changed during production
Shaji Kailas explained that Mohanlal eventually spent nine days on the project instead of the originally planned two-day commitment.He said, “I immediately informed Sajan. We somehow managed to extend it and ended up shooting with him for nine days. We had gone to him asking for just his voice, but instead, he was with us for nine days. Naturally, the character had to change. In the process, we broke the foundations of the story. Since we had him for nine days, we expanded his role.According to the director, the script had to be reshaped quickly in order to make the most of Mohanlal’s unexpected availability.
Shaji Kailas says the rewrite will hurt the film
The director admitted that expanding Mohanlal’s role resulted in rushed writing, which affected the final product.He added, “We had to make use of his availability because he had given us these dates. So we added several more scenes for Lal. These scenes were written in a hurry, and that affected the film as a whole.”Released in 2009, ‘Red Chillies’ featured Mohanlal in the lead role and was staged on a grand scale. However, despite high expectations, it did not achieve the commercial success that many had predicted.Meanwhile, Shaji Kailas’ latest directorial venture ‘Varavu’ has been released in theatres. The film stars Joju George in the lead role.