What if Fahadh Faasil had once come close to working with Alejandro González Iñárritu, the visionary Academy Award-winning Mexican filmmaker behind Birdman, The Revenant and several pathbreaking films? The actor revealed that such an opportunity almost came his way, though it never materialised.
The question was brought forth to Fahadh in a conversation with film critic Maneesh Narayanan for Cue Studio, ahead of the release of his new film Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira (OKCK). The interviewer brought up the incident while discussing Fahadh’s current process of choosing films and striking a balance between offers from other industries and his work in Malayalam. Fahadh immediately quipped, “But he didn’t like me, and I got rejected after the auditions.”
The Kumbalangi Nights actor then offered a more thoughtful explanation: “It wasn’t exactly that he rejected me, but he was concerned about my accent. I was asked to stay in America for three to four months to work on it, and no payment was involved. That is why I stepped away from it, because the commercial side of it did not make sense to me. I did not feel enough fire to put in that much effort just to work on my accent.”
Fahadh also recounted the video call he had with Iñárritu, recalling how the director, after speaking to him, might have sensed almost immediately that he was not the right fit for the role. The actor was quick to add, however, “All the magic in my career has happened through Malayalam cinema.”
Meanwhile, Fahadh’s OKCK, written and directed by Althaf Salim and co-starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, is set to hit theatres on August 29 as one of this year’s Onam attractions. Backed by Ashiq Usman, the eccentric romantic comedy also features Vinay Forrt, Revathy Pillai, Lal, Suresh Krishna, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and others. Interestingly, OKCK enters the festive box office race against two major titles: Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikad’s Hridayapoorvam, and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, headlined by Kalyani herself alongside Naslen.
As for Iñárritu, his next project is already creating buzz, an English-language black comedy led by Tom Cruise with Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, and John Goodman in key roles. Slated for release in October 2026, the film has already set fans speculating whether Fahadh’s revelation hints that the exciting call from Iñárritu was in fact for this very project.