Rishab Shetty to direct MT’s 'Randamoozham': Reports

Kannada superstar Rishab Shetty, known for directing the blockbusters ‘Kantara’ and ‘Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1’ will reportedly direct MT Vasudevan Nair’s magnum opus ‘Randamoozham.' The official announcement of the movie is likely to be made in 2026. Meanwhile, the movie is expected to have a dream star cast.

It is learnt that MT Vasudevan Nair’s family approached Rishab, considering his stature as a proven pan-Indian filmmaker. The film is planned as a two-part project, in line with MT Vasudevan Nair’s original vision. MT had initially hoped that legendary filmmaker Mani Ratnam would direct the adaptation and had even waited for over six months for him to come on board. However, Mani Ratnam eventually opted out, citing the need for more time to do justice to a project of such scale and canvas. It is also said that Mani Ratnam himself later suggested Rishab’s name for the project.

Five months ago, MT was admitted to a hospital just as Rishab was preparing to visit Kozhikode for preliminary discussions. The meeting, however, did not take place as MT’s health condition continued to fluctuate thereafter.

Although several major production houses have attempted to adapt MT’s ‘Randamoozham’ for the screen, the project has remained unrealised so far. Earlier, filmmaker Shrikumar Menon had acquired the rights to the screenplay, but MT later approached the court to cancel the contract due to prolonged delays. Subsequently, MT entrusted the screenplay to his daughter, Aswathy V Nair, urging her to initiate the project at the earliest.

‘Randamoozham’ is now set to be jointly produced by Rishab’s production company and a banner involving MT Vasudevan Nair’s family. The latter recently produced ‘Manoradhangal,’ an anthology film based on nine short stories by MT Vasudevan Nair, which was released on an OTT platform.  Sources close to MT’s family reveal that the filmmaker is expected to visit the family in Kozhikode soon, following which the film will be officially announced jointly.