Lal Jose recalls meeting child actor Hari Murali years after ‘Rasikan’; mourns his untimely death

Filmmaker Lal Jose, who introduced child actor Hari Murali to Malayalam cinema through the film 'Rasikan,' has expressed deep sorrow over the young actor’s untimely death at his residence in Kannur on Thursday. Lal Jose recalled a chance meeting with Hari nearly two decades after the film’s release in 2025. According to the director, the encounter happened unexpectedly at a roadside thattukada (street-side eatery) in Kochi.

“I had visited a thattukada in Kochi when a young man approached me and asked if I remembered him. At first, I couldn’t immediately recognise him. After a while, he introduced himself as Hari — the same boy who played the mischievous character in my film Rasikan. I was really happy to see him after so many years,” Lal Jose told Onmanorama.

During their brief conversation, Hari shared updates about his life and career and told Lal that he had completed a degree in animation and was exploring opportunities in the film industry.

“He told me he had finished studying animation and was also working on a few scripts, hoping to contribute to Malayalam cinema in the future,” Lal said. Before parting ways, Lal told Hari to stay in touch. “I asked him to contact me if he ever needed any help,” he said. Reacting to the news of Hari’s death, Lal Jose said he was deeply saddened by the loss of someone he remembered as a bright and curious youngster on the sets of ‘Rasikan.’

“He was a promising young man. I still remember how active he used to be on the sets. Hari would walk around observing everything happening during the shoot. Sometimes he would come up to me with doubts and questions. He was a very bright boy,” Lal Jose said.

The director also fondly remembered a humorous moment involving Hari and actor Dileep during the filming of Rasikan. Lal Jose said that although Hari had a dialogue written in the script, the scene eventually turned into a spontaneous moment thanks to Dileep’s improvisation.

“We had a dialogue written for him in the script, but Dileep added his own flavour of humour during the shoot and improvised the line. He then asked Hari to deliver it in that style, which made the scene even funnier,” Lal said.