Mohan Raja good for father Chiranjeevi and not son Ram Charan

The choice of  Mohan Raja to remake  Malayalam film Lucifer  with Chiranjeevi in the lead came as a surprise. Raja’s Tamil hit Thani Oruvan when remade in Telugu with Chiru’s son Ram Charan Tej as Dhruva, the family did it with Surender Reddy . “As the remake agreement had a clause that Raja would direct , after a few discussions, Mohan Raja agreed to give up the project and Telugu director Surender Reddy stepped in. May be, Chiru is compensating Mohan Raja now,” the source close to production house revealed.

The first choice was Vinayak who directed Tagore , the Tamil hit `Ramana’ with Chiru. “Initially, young director Sujeeth of ‘Saaho’ fame was roped in to direct the remake and was asked to work on the script to suit the nativity of Telugu audience. In between, seasoned director V V Vinayak who also entrusted the job of re-drafting the script and both did a fairly good job, however, both were dropped,” says an industry source.

 Raja had worked as AD in the remake of Hitler in Telugu with Chiru in the lead and produced by his father Editor Mohan. Mohan  produced Hanuman Junction with his son Raja making his debut as director in Tollywood.

“Mohan Raja was chosen since he is capable of handling big stars and also the changes he suggested felt apt for new-age Telugu viewers and he was roped in,” the source adds. The film will be bankrolled by NV Prasad’s NVR Cinema and Ram Charan’s Konidela Production Company. The filming of Lucifer will begin from January after Chiranjeevi completes his current schedule of Koratala Siva’s ‘Acharya.’ Remake of another Tamil film ‘Vedhalam’ under Meher Ramesh’s direction will begin in summer after Chiranjeevi completes ‘Lucifer’s’ shoot. Megastar is aiming for three releases from summer 2021 to Sankranthi 2022.

The Malayalam film  begins with a  political Godfather’s sudden death  and many wish to take his place and gain his power. Crooks and con men  masquerading as politicians stake their claim., while one name gradually emerges to be the true replacement and he is Lucifer. The film marked the directorial debut of actor Prithiviraj who also plays a pivotal role. The film box office was Rs 250 cr, a first in Malayalam film history. It was in Ramoji Rao Film City that writer Murali Gopy told the story to Prithviraj who was shooting for Tiyaan ( a political thriller by Gopy).

Lucifer had powerhouse performance by Kerala Lady Superstar Manju Wariier, Tovino Thomas, Vivek Oberoi and Indrajit Sukumaran.