The highlight of the recently released teaser for Hridayapoorvam is a scene where a character tells Mohanlal’s character that he is aware of Malayalam cinema and is a fan of Fahadh Faasil. “I love FaFa. Aavesham, Kumbalangi Nights… What a performance!” says the character. In response, Mohanlal's character tells him, “But we have good senior actors also.” When the other character suggests that his awareness of Malayalam cinema is limited to Fahadh Faasil alone, Mohanlal walks away from him by quipping “Only FaFa? Okay.”
The hilarious moment encapsulates a nuanced understanding of the growing popularity of Malayalam cinema since the start of the streaming revolution in the 2010s mid. Fahadh's films such as Kumbalangi Nights lead the way in bringing plenty of attention to Malayalam cinema and, alongside his other recent ventures, played a big part in cementing his stature as a star known across India. The Hridayapoorvam scene has gone down well among both sets of fans and the film fraternity. However, the film’s director Sathyan Anthikad initially had some hesitation regarding it. In a recent interview with Kaumudy, the director said that when Anoop Sathyan cut the film’s teaser and sent it to him, he asked his filmmaker son to re-edit it and try another teaser. However, his eldest son Arun Sathyan convinced him that it is a moment worth putting in the teaser, determining it as the “attraction” of the promotional content.
The filmmaker mentioned that among his sons, Arun Sathyan, a businessman by trade, who is not interested in filmmaking, is the biggest film critic and film lover with the best understanding of humour. He also revealed that Fahadh Faasil is only mentioned in the teaser but is not part of the cast.
Speaking of which, Hridayapoorvam stars Sangeeth Prathap and Malavika Mohanan, too, and is slated for an August 28 release. Also releasing on the same date are Fahadh Faasil, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Althaf Salim's Odum Kuthira Chadum Kuthira as well as Kalyani and Naslen’s Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra.
