Mohanlal's cameo Summer in Bethlehem is considered one of the film's highlights, especially for its surprise factor as the makers did not reveal it before the film's 1998 release. However, do you know that he was not director Sibi Malayil's first consideration for the role? As the 1998 entertainer is set to hit theatres again in a 4K format with Dolby Atmos sound on December 12, the filmmaker talked to the media about the film. Sibi Malayil revealed that his film's writer Ranjith wanted to have an actor with greater stardom and popularity at the time as compared to Suresh Gopi and Jayaram for the cameo role. Explaining the choice, he said, "Manju Warrier's character loves someone who is above both Jayaram and Suresh Gopi's character, so that actor had to have a greater stature. We considered many names, including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. However, like everyone would say, "swarnam veetil vachitu enthinu" (why look for gold elsewhere if you already have it at home), we thought why should we consider another actor considering the availability of Mohanlal here."
The filmmaker added that he and Ranjith met Mohanlal to talk about the role while he was going through some wellness treatment in Bengaluru. "He told us, 'Why not? It is your film only', and signed up for the film." The director also said that Mohanlal had grown a beard and was in a peaceful mental state as part of his treatment at the time. "We asked him to come directly to the shooting spot from Bengaluru. His state of mind helped enhance the character," Sibi Malayil signed off.
