Lijo Jose Pellissery was last seen directing Mohanlal starrer film Malaikottai Vaaliban. Recent reports suggested that the director was set to make his Bollywood debut with a project titled Vir Hirani.
However, what is the truth behind this? Let’s take a look.
Is Lijo Jose Pellissery making his Bollywood debut?
According to a report by The Cue Studio, Lijo Jose Pellissery has denied these reports and confirmed that he is not ready to make his Bollywood debut. During his interaction with the news portal, the filmmaker said that to his knowledge, he was never a part of the project.
For those unfamiliar with him, several reports claimed that Lijo Jose Pellissery might direct a love story produced under Hansal Mehta’s banner, True Story Films. The film was speculated to star director Rajkumar Hirani’s son Vir Hirani in the lead role, marking his acting debut in Bollywood.
It was also rumored that AR Rahman would compose the music. However, the reports now appear to be incorrect.
Lijo Jose Pellissery’s recent film
Lijo Jose Pellissery recently directed the film Malaikottai Vaaliban, starring Mohanlal. The period action epic featured the story of an undefeated nomadic warrior who becomes a legendary hero in a vast desert region.
As he travels across the country, he meets Chamathakan, a vengeful man seeking to settle personal scores, an encounter that forever changes the lives of Vaaliban and his family.
Apart from Mohanlal, the film had Sonalee Kulkarni, Hareesh Peradi, Danish Sait, Manoj Moses, Katha Nandi, Manikandan R. Achari, Hariprashanth MG, Shanta Dhananjayan, Sanjana Chandran and many others in key roles.
The screenplay was written by PS Rafeeque based on a story by Lijo himself. The film received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office. It is currently available for streaming on OTT platform JioHotstar.
Meanwhile, Rajkumar Hirani last directed the 2023 drama film Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film also had Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Vikram Kochhar, Anil Grover and Vicky Kaushal in an extended appearance.
The filmmaker is next expected to make a biopic film on Dadasaheb Phalke with Aamir Khan in the lead.
ALSO READ: Venkat Prabhu confirms that Sivakarthikeyan film will hit theaters from December 2025
