'Kantara' star Rishab Shetty confirms that he won't be a part of Mohanlal's 'Malaikottai Vaaliban'

The recent news that producers of director Lijo Jose Pellissery's ' Malaikottai Vaaliban ' had approached Kanatar star Rishab Shetty to play a role in the movie had a lot of fans excited with hope that the actor will be a welcome addition to the project.

However, in a recent interview, Rishab Shetty confirmed that he won't be making his Malayalam debut in the Mohanlal starrer and has instead opted to o a Kannada movie next.

While we do not know the details about the actor's next project, we do know that he is also working on the script for a prequel to Kantara .

Malaikottai Vaaliban is Mohanlal's first collaboration with critically acclaimed director Lijo Jose Pellissery, the movie reportedly has a massive budget and a lot of big stars are rumored to be a part of the project.

There are also rumors that the producers of the movie have approached Bollywood actress Radhika Apte to play the female lead opposite Mohanlal.

If the actress joins the project, this will be her second Malayalam movie after 2015s 'Haram' in which he was paired opposite Fahadh Faasil.

Director Lijo Jose Pellissery did reveal that this movie will be his first attempt at making a commercial cinema and that fans should be excited.

Lijo Jose Pellisery is one of the most talented directors working in the Malayalam film industry. He has consistently delivered back-to-back critical hits.

The director's 2019 movie, Jallikattu was selected as India's official entry at the 93rd Academy Awards, becoming the third Malayalam movie to do so.

The director started off the year with the movie Mammootty starrer 'Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam', which received rave reviews from critics and fans.

Joining Mohanlal the rest of the supporting cast of Malaikottai Vaaliban includes Jiiva, Katha Nandi, Hareesh Peradi, Danish Sait, and Sonalee Kulkarni.

The movie is expected to release in the latter half of 2023.