DYK Vidya Balan Has Worked With Mohanlal In Shelved Malayalam Movie Chakram?

Vidya Balan made her acting debut in 1995 with a popular TV show Hum Paanch. However, she took a break from the film industry to complete her studies and then made her comeback with the 2003 Bengali film Bhalo Theko and then made her Hindi debut with the hit 2005 movie Parineeta, co-starring Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt. However, not many know that the actress was supposed to make her debut in the movie world with a Malayalam movie.

Vidya Balan was supposed to star in Mohanlal's shelved film Chakram

In an interview with Galatta Plus a few years ago, Vidya revealed that she was supposed to make a debut in Mohanlal starrer but it got shelved. The Dirty Picture actress shared that she learnt a "very important lesson" from the Malayalam superstar which is he won't read a book or anything in between, even if he had to spend a lot of time waiting. “I’ve learnt a very important lesson from Mohanlal on set was that he would not read a book or anything in between, even if we had to spend a lot of time waiting," she said.  

"I don’t want to be reading the script either, but I wanna be present for this. The director calls for action; I want that magic to happen,” Vidya added.  

Mohanlal always supported the team: Vidya Balan

The actress went on to praise Mohanlal and shared how he supported the team during the filming. Giving an example, the actress told the portal that if someone was taking the focus of a shot on the other side then he would help hold the tape. This action made Vidya realise that if a superstar like him can do such things then the process of filmmaking is bigger than the star.

Why original star cast of Chakram were removed?

In 2003 film Chakram, starring Prithviraj Sukumarana and Meera Jasmin. However, they were not the original cast. Initially, it was planned with Mohanlal, Vidya Balan and Dileep in the lead roles, while Kamal helmed the film. The first schedule of the film was shot, but later the makers shelved the project. Only to revive it in 2003 with a new star cast including Vijeesh, Binoy, Aniyappan, Chandra Lakshman and many more in critical roles.