Sibi Malayil reveals the story behind Mohanlal’s cameo role in ‘Summer in Bethlehem’

Director Sibi Malayil recently opened up about how Mohanlal joined the cast of ‘Summer in Bethlehem’ as the character Niranjan. The story came to light during the film’s re-release press meet, with Malayil recalling the sequence of events that led to Mohanlal’s involvement.

According to screenwriter Ranjith, Mohanlal was approached after they met him personally in Bangalore, where he was undergoing a month-long wellness treatment. Sibi Malayil added that Mohanlal’s role in the original film lasted about ten minutes, which was later edited out, and that they had considered including it in the re-release.

“‘Summer in Bethlehem’ was being written right on the shooting location,” Sibi Malayil said. “In the first few days, we only shot the songs. Once the script reached a certain stage, Ranjith mentioned that one more character was needed, especially for the climax. We needed an actor of a certain stature whose presence would add weight and popularity to the film. We considered many names, from Rajinikanth to Kamal Haasan. But then we realised that since Lal was already available, why look elsewhere?”

He continued, “At that time, Lal had grown a beard and was unusually calm due to his treatment. Ranjith and I went to meet him personally, and Lal’s response was, ‘Isn’t this your film? We can do it.’ He agreed to shoot for just two days. I told him to come straight to the location and not shave his beard, and that look ended up perfectly suited for the character. His calm and cheerful demeanour added a lot to Niranjan on screen.”

Sibi Malayil also revealed how they kept Lal’s participation a secret until the film reached theatres, creating a big surprise for the audience. “We had actually deleted two scenes,” he explained. “One involved convincing Manju after tying her up, which ran for about five to ten minutes. Another had Lal in a bench sequence with another character. After the first day’s screening, Sayed called me, saying these scenes made the audience uneasy. Once Lal’s character dies, people hesitate to sit. We tested it by cutting the scenes in Sayed’s theatre, and it seemed fine.”

He added, “We had hoped to include these scenes in the re-release, but we couldn’t get high-quality negatives. Otherwise, it would have been a surprise for the audience once again.”

Sibi Malayil concluded by announcing that the Ranjith-Malayil team is bringing ‘Summer in Bethlehem’ back to theatres on December 12 in 4K resolution. The trailer has already been released by the crew.