Actor–director Lal recently revealed that he rejected the role of an antagonist in Mammootty-starrer 'Johny Walker' because he feared it would affect his clean image off-screen. Lal made this revelation in an interview with Saina South Plus as part of the promotion of 'Kerala Crime Files Season 2.' 

“We were good young filmmakers who didn’t create any problems. We enjoyed a great reputation and had the responsibility not to ruin it. When everyone calls you ‘good lads’, you just cannot do anything that changes their opinion, right? It was around that time that I was offered the role of Swami, a drug addict in Johny Walker. I said ‘no’ as I was worried it would ruin my image. But, we grow smarter as we grew older and I accepted the role in 'Kaliyattam' which was offered to me by Jayaraj. I had grown wiser by then. Besides, it was a Shakespearean character. Filmmaker Siddique and Fazil sir’s brother told me that I shouldn’t miss such an opportunity,” Lal stated. 

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Paniyan in Kaliyattam was Lal’s debut in Malayalam cinema. The villain role rejected by Lal in Johny Walker was later played by Bengaluru native Kamal Gaur. Kamal pulled off the role so perfectly that Swamy remains one of the iconic villains in Malayalam.

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