Neerali Malayalam FDFS Public Review and Response – Video Ft Mohanlal, Nadhiya

Neerali was financed by Santhosh T. Kuruvilla under his company Moonshot Entertainments, and co-produced by Praveen Kattukaran and Mibu Jose Nettikadan. It was written by Saju Thomas. Ajoy Varma makes his directorial debut in Malayalam cinema with this film, having earlier worked as an editor and director in Bollywood. The then-untitled film was officially announced by lead actor Mohanlal on 3 October 2017. Filming was said to begin soon after he finished his work in Odiyan. When asked, Varma told The Times of India that the film is a “drama-thriller” set in Mumbai, Pune, and Sri Lankan locales, and that principal photography would take place between December 2017 and January 2018. Mohanlal’s character and the rest of the cast was not revealed.[10] The film’s title was revealed on 27 January 2018 along with a title poster.

Mohanlal was approached for the role right after the scripting was finished. In November 2017, a casting call was released seeking male actors the age groups 50–60 and 30–35, and female actors between the ages of 25 and 30. Varma offered Parvatii Nair a role after he spotted her on the sets of Nimir.[13] She was cast only a few weeks before filming began, and plays an urban character. By the start of filming, only Mohanlal, Parvatii, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Saikumar, and Dileesh Pothan were cast. The rest of the cast was filled out as filming progressed.[14] Suraj plays Veerappa, Sunny’s chauffeur. Mohanlal and Suraj take up the most screen space in the film. Nadhiya and Nassar were cast in February 2018. Nadhiya and Parvatii play two of the film’s important female characters. Nadhiya portrays Sunny’s wife Molly Kutty. Megha Mathew confirmed her part in February.

Principal photography began on 9 January 2018 in Mumbai, India, with Santosh Thundiyil serving as director of photography. Director John Matthew Matthan was invited to the first day of filming, and officially performed the switch on of the movie camera. Filming schedules were planned to meet a May 2018 release date (later postponed). Sandeep Narayan and Arun C. Thampi are the executive producers. Parvatii was present on the first day of shooting. Mohanlal joined the set by the fourth week of January. He allotted 15 days dates for filming. Stunt scenes were choreographed by Sunil Rodriguez. Serena Tixeria was the make-up artist. Costumes were designed by Himanshi Nijhawan, while Udai Prakash Singh oversaw the art department. Location filming continued in Mumbai into February in locations including: Bhandup, Powai, and Mira Road. Nadhiya’s scenes were shot in early February after her sudden casting that month. Filming was completed in 36 days and wrapped in Mumbai on 15 February 2018. The film was made on a budget of ₹11 crore.