'Tired'; will retire after 100th film: director Priyadarshan

Kochi: Filmmaker Priyadarshan said that he is ‘tired’ and announced that he is going to retire after completing his 100th film. The maker of a number of entertainers from Kerala is currently shooting his upcoming Hindi movie Haiwaan, based on his Malayalam superhit “Oppam”, starring Mohanlal. Priyadarshan was talking to OnManorama at the sets of Haiwaan in Kerala’s Kochi.

“Once I complete these films, I hope to retire. I’m getting tired,” he told OnManorama.

Haiwaan features leading Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar, and Mohanlal is set to don a cameo role in it.

Though he said he is planning to retire, he added that he will do sequels, including Hera Pheri 3.

On Manorama quoted him, “I don’t usually revisit my original films with sequels — it’s not my preferred style of working. But I will definitely make Hera Pheri 3, as the producers have been requesting it for a long time.”

Priyadarshan then talked about Mohanlal’s character in Haiwaan, saying that his cameo appearance will be a surprise for moviegoers.

Further, he said that his next directorial project will be his 100th and last, which will feature Mohanlal in the lead role.

Mohanlal and Priyadarshan are childhood friends, and the former worked in the latter’s debut as a director in the 1984 flick, Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, though they worked together in the 1978 film Thiranottam. Mohanlal played the lead while Priyadarshan was the assistant director. The film, however, was released only in 2005.

Haiwaan is produced by KVN Productions and Thespian Films on a massive budget, featuring actors like Shriya Pilgaonkar and Saiyami Kher in key roles.