Mohanlal’s 'L366' To Be Directed by ‘Thudarum’ Director Tharun Moorthy

After several deliberations and changes, the director of Mohanlal’s 366th film will be Tharun Moorthy, who had directed last year’s blockbuster action movie Thudarum. The film is being produced by Ashiq Usman, and it was originally meant to be directed by first-time director Austin Das Thomas. The initial poster even featured a police officer uniform hanging on one side, with rumours confirming that he will be seen playing a cop after a long gap. The film’s director, Tharun Moorthy, posted a photo of X of the film’s script book confirming the film. A photo of the film’s team at the Vaikom Temple was also released. The film is expected to go on the floors soon, with reports of Binu Pappu too joining the film as a co-director.

Tharun Moorthy’s film with Mohanlal had become the second-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time after its release. It currently holds the record for being the highest-grossing Malayalam film for Mohanlal in Kerala. Speaking to THR India, before the film’s release, Tharun had said, “I started feeling tense about the process of shooting, [of saying] ‘Action and cut!’, to a stalwart like Mohanlal,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India. “Even giving suggestions to an actor like him gave me an inferiority complex.”

The project, initiated by veteran producer Rejaputra Renjith after watching Moorthy’s Saudi Vellakka, came with both opportunity and baggage. The script, which had been in development for nearly eight years, was now being entrusted to a relatively new director. “They could have gone to any filmmaker,” Moorthy said. “I still don’t have a clear answer to ‘why me?’” But he suspects it was partly because of his ability to write and direct with emotional depth. “Renjith felt that younger directors weren’t handling emotions well. He liked how I dealt with them.”

Tharun Moorthy also has Operation Cambodia and Torpedo as his upcoming projects, which he will move on to after L366.