Hridayapoorvam's Sathyan Anthikad on casting Malavika Mohanan alongside Mohanlal: 'This is not a romantic story'

THe upcoming Malayalam shoot, Hridayapoorvam, starring Mohanlal, had sparked discussions online when Malavika Mohanan was mould in the picture show, with netizens drafting eld comparisons between the veteran star and the younger actress. The film is helmed by Sathyan Anthikad, who is known for his lighthearted but meaningful films. Now, Sathyan Anthikad has talked about casting Malavika Mohanan in the Mohanlal-starrer.Stream Mohanlal’s stellar performance in popular movies such as Lucifer, Grandmaster and more on OTTplay Premium!Sathyan Anthikad on Mohanlal, Malavika Mohanan in HridayapoorvamHridayapoorvam, the 2025 film, is directed by popular Malayalam filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad. In a recent interview with The Cue Studio, Sathyan Anthikad spilled beans about his upcoming film Hridayapoorvam, which reunites him with Mohanlal after nearly a decade. When Malavika Mohanan was announced as a part of the cast of the Mohanlal-starrer, there were a lot of discussions about the over 30-year-age-gap between the actors.Talking about the female cast of Hridayapoorvam, Sathyan Anthikad said that Malavika Mohanan plays one of the women leads.“This is not a romantic story. So, it is not Mohanlal’s heroine,” he explained, adding that actress Sangitha also plays a central women character. “They are the leading women characters,” he added.Further talking about the film’s plot, Sathyan Anthikad said that most of the story unfolds in Pune and Malavika plays a character who is born and brought up there. Even though the character is a Malayali, she speaks Hindi, Marathi and all.For the unversed, the other lead actress is Sangitha, who is best known for her award-winning performance in the Malayalam film Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala. Noted actor-screenwriter Sreenivasan has helmed this film.Hridayapoorvam release plansOn the other hand, Hridayapoorvam is all set to release in theatres in August, ahead of the Onam festival in Kerala. But an exact release date is yet to be announced by the makers.  Apart from Mohanlal, Malavika and Sangita, the film also features Sangeeth Prathap in a key role. Sangeeth Prathap had shot to fame after he played Amal Davis in 2024 hit Malayalam film Premalu, starring Naslen and Mamitha Baiju. Siddique, Lalu Alex, and Janardhanan also appear in other key roles. Expectations are high from Hridayapoorvam as it marks yet another collaboration between Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikad, who have delivered several hit films such as Nadodikkattu that are popular among Malayalam cinephiles to this day.