BIFFes 2026: Mahesh Narayanan on working with Mammootty and Mohnalal in ‘Patriot’

Speaking at an interaction with Vishal Shinde during the Bengaluru International Film Festival, Malayalam filmmaker and editor Mahesh Narayanan said that his upcoming film Patriot is aconscious departure from star-centric filmmaking. The movie reunites stalwarts Mammootty and Mohanlal, apart from having Fahadh Faasil, Kunchacko Boban, Nayantara, and Revathy.

The highly-anticipated movie is set to hit the screens on April 23, 2026. Describing his experience of working with the two Ms of Malayalam cinema, Mahesh said, “I didn’t cast them just because they are stars. I approached them because those actors were right for the story I wanted to tell. They, too, come to the set as dedicated artists.”

The C U Soon director added that the film’s narrative demanded an approach where performance and perspective took precedence over image. He noted that Patriot was not initially planned as a multi-starrer, but gradually evolved as several well-known actors became part of the project, drawn organically by the story.

Mahesh said he does not carry the “baggage of big stars” into the writing or staging of a film, choosing instead to view each actor purely through the lens of the character they inhabit. While describing Patriot as a space for experimentation in both form and genre, Mahesh said that the film has been mounted “in the best way a commercial film can be presented,” combining scale with a distinct visual and narrative style.

Mahesh also underlined the film’s political dimension, stating that the story goes beyond action or mass moments to engage with ideas and contemporary realities. “It is not just about spectacle,” he said, indicating that the espionage backdrop serves as a framework to explore broader concerns affecting society.

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Patriot brings together superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal in significant roles after nearly two decades, marking a collaboration that has drawn considerable attention within the film industry. The reunion of Mammootty and Mohanlal recalls their earlier shared screen presence in films such as Harikrishnans (1998). Mahesh revealed that the two actors worked together for nearly ten days, with those scenes expected to be among the film’s highlights.

Produced by Anto Joseph, with C.R. Salim and Subhash Manuel as co-producers, Patriot has cinematography by Manush Nandan and music by Sushin Shyam, while its editing is handled by Mahesh along with Rahul Radhakrishnan.