Devadoothan, the romantic fantasy drama directed by Sibi Malayil was released in the year 2000. Even though released with huge hype, the film unexpectedly bombed at the box-office and it is still considered one of the biggest colossal flops in the career of Sibi Malayil and Mohanlal. However, when the film was screened in televisions, it gained cult status, and people now believe that Devadoothan was such a movie that was made at the wrong time.
Now, in a recent interaction with Manorama News, Sibi Malayil has revealed some exclusive details about Devadoothan. During the talk, Sibi revealed that Devadoothan was originally planned in 1983 as his debut movie with Nasaruddeen Shah and Madhavi in the lead roles. However, the film failed to take off, and Sibi made his debut through Mutharamkunnu PO.
After establishing himself as a bankable filmmaker in Mollywood, the director once again revived this project in the late 1990s and planned the film with Kollywood romantic hero Madhavan. As the project did not work out due to Madhavan’s commitments, Sibi Malayil finalized Mollywood superstar Mohanlal to play the lead role in this film.
Sibi Malayil revealed that the film was made with a top technical team, and they had made sure that this romantic fantasy was being made with an uncompromising cinematic language. Despite all these efforts, the film bombed at the box-office, and it literally shattered the filmmaker.
“Mohanlal at that time had emerged as a mass hero through movies like Narasimham and Aaram Thampuran. Audiences who entered the movie halls to see Devadoothan might have expected Mohanlal in an extreme mass avatar, and that commercial package was lacking there. I believe this was one of the reasons behind Devadoothan’s failure at the box-office. I still feel sorry for producer Siyad Koker who is also my best friend who bankrolled money for this film,” said Sibi Malayil during the interview.
Sibi Malayil also added that he is now quite happy about the fact that Devadoothan is now getting recognition among young audiences in the state.
