Movies rejected by Mammootty that became all-time blockbusters

With back-to-back hits and a handful of highly anticipated movie projects, the legendary superstar Mammootty is indeed in the golden phase of his career. But there was a time when the actor’s films underperformed at the box office and he was also trolled for his wrong selection of scripts and also for making the mistake of rejecting those films that later became box office hits. Let's take a look at those films rejected by Mammootty that turned out to be all-time blockbusters.

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Mammootty was reportedly asked to essay the role of superstar Hareendran in Jr Lal’s ‘Driving Licence’, later when Mammootty rejected the role for some unknown reasons, Prithviraj Sukumaran essayed the character in the film. Late director Sachy who scripted the movie ‘Driving Licence’ revealed during an interview with an online media that it was Mammootty’s face that came into his mind when he thought of the plot for the movie as Mammootty was known for his passion for driving which is essential for the character Hareendran in the movie. Sachy reportedly said that Mammootty rejected the role solely because of the reason that his stardom would affect the character and won’t be convincing to the audience.

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Mani Ratnam’s ‘Iruvar’ is undoubtedly one of the well-crafted movies in the Indian film industry and there are several memorable characters in the film played by the popular actors Mohanlal, Aishwarya Rai, and Prakash Raj. According to the sources, Mammootty was supposed to play the role of Tamilselvan based on M. Karunanidhi’s life. For some unknown reasons, Mammootty rejected the role and Tamil Selvan was later played by the actor Prakash Raj in the movie. Mammootty had already worked with Mani Ratnam for the superhit film ‘Thalapathi’.

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According to the sources, the Malayalam director Jeethu Joseph first approached Mammootty to play the character George Kutty in the superhit suspense thriller ‘Drishyam’. Although Mammootty rejected Jeethu Joseph’s request to play the lead character in the movie, the legendary actor was supportive of the project and even suggested that it would be perfect if the actress Meena played the female lead in it. George Kutty was later played by Mohanlal and the film along with its sequel turned out to be superhits.

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Before the film ‘Drishyam’, Jeethu Joseph had reportedly approached Mammootty to play the lead drunkard cop Sam Alex in the thriller film ‘Memories’. Reportedly Mammootty rejected the offer citing the reason that the character Sam Alex in the film lacked maturity and won't be convincing for the viewers if he took up the role. Later Prithviraj Sukumaran portrayed the character and the film turned out to be an all-time blockbuster. The film is still lauded by the audience as the best thriller in Mollywood.

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