Less than a month since Jailer 2 released in theatres and had a successful run at the global box office, speculation has risen about a third part to the action-comedy film franchise headed by superstar Rajinikanth.
Actress Mirnaa Menon, who plays the daughter-in-law of ‘Tiger’ Muthuvel Pandian, Rajinikanth’s character in Jailer and Jailer 2, hinted at the possibility.
“I would like Jailer 3 to be more intense,” the actress told the Indian entertainment news portal Cinema Express in an interview. I think we can go darker, with more intense action scenes.”
Such speculations gained ground, especially after the open ending to Jailer 2, with Muthuvel Pandian—after vanquishing all but one of his adversaries who were after his family—getting a text message in the final scene and a leading actor handing him a smartphone with a smile. The survivor, fans claimed on social media, could play a key role in the third part.
Menon, however, was quick to add a caveat. The Big Brother and Ugram actress told the website that she didn’t expect to be cast in Jailer 2 until she was called, and hopes to be surprised again.
On Mohanlal’s trimmed portions
During the interview, Menon also broached the topic of Mohanlal’s portions being trimmed in Jailer 2, saying that a lot of thought would have gone behind the casting and editing process.
“I don’t think they would have brought in a legend like Lalettan (Mohanlal) thinking they might cut his portions,” Menon, who has starred with Mohanlal in 2020’s Big Brother, told Cinema Express.
Mohanlal’s role as Mathew in Jailer was one of the reasons behind its box office success and outrage erupted on social media in the days following the release of the sequel over the Malayalam screen legend’s reduced screen time. The actor’s close associate and business partner, Antony Perumbavoor, too, weighed in, saying the move came as a shock to them.
“That isn’t (something) happy for us Malayalis,” he said at an event in Kochi last week. “We share that unhappiness too.”
Menon, however, said she didn’t expect Mohanlal to bother much about it. “I’m sure Nelson (Nelson Dilipkumar, the director) had strong reasons, and more importantly, I don’t think a star like Lalettan would even be bothered by all this,” she told Cinema Express. “As far as he is concerned, it was just a couple of days of fun shoots with friends like Rajini sir.”
Produced by media baron Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Pictures and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, Jailer was about Muthuvel Pandian, a retired jailer, who finds himself all at sea after his son Arjun, a police inspector, goes missing. As Pandian investigates his son’s disappearance, he encounters an idol-smuggling gang. Jailer 2 took off from where the first instalment ended, with Muthuvel Pandian encountering newer, and more formidable, foes.
Apart from Menon, the film features SJ Suryah, Vidya Balan, Mithun Chakraborty, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu and Mirnaa Menon. Mohanlal, Shivarajkumar, Jackie Shroff and Hrithik Roshan play cameos.
The second instalment released to largely favourable reviews on October 15 and has since collected Rs 8.12 billion globally, according to data from the box office tracker Sacnilk.
Source: Khaleej Times