If Hollywood has A24, Mollywood has our own Lijo Jose Pellissery, who tries out experimental projects, without any fear of whether it will satisfy the common audiences. One such LJP project was the 2015 film ‘Double Barrel’.Actor Arya has now opened up about ‘Double Barrel,’ one of the most memorable films of his Malayalam career, describing it as a project that arrived before audiences were ready to embrace it.Looking back on the film more than a decade after its release, the actor said the team had immense faith in the project and enjoyed every moment of making it, even though it failed to translate into box-office success.
‘Double Barrel was ahead of its time’
Speaking to Reporter Films about the film, Arya said the team knew from the beginning that they were attempting something different. According to him, everyone involved wanted to create a film that stood apart from conventional commercial entertainers.He said, “It was a very unique and experimental film. Even while making it, we felt it was a film that had arrived ahead of its time. Prithvi and I were deeply passionate about the project. All of us wanted to do something different. It was made in a very stylish way, without compromising on production quality at all. That’s exactly how Lijo wanted it to be.”
Why the film failed during its original run
Although ‘Double Barrel’ generated curiosity before its release, it could not connect with mainstream audiences during its theatrical run. Over time, however, the film found a loyal fan base and gradually earned cult status among movie lovers.Explaining what happened, Arya said, “But when it was released, it turned out to be a film that was ahead of its time. That’s why the audience back then couldn’t connect with it as much. Even so, all of us thoroughly enjoyed making that film.”
Re-release was considered
Arya also revealed that the makers had recently explored the possibility of giving Double Barrel another theatrical outing. According to him, discussions even included making a few changes before bringing the film back to cinemas.Sharing the update, he said, “Recently, we even discussed making a few minor changes and re-releasing the film. But for some reason, it didn’t happen.”
About ‘Double Barrel’
Released in 2015, ‘Double Barrel’ was directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and featured a star-studded cast that included Prithviraj Sukumaran, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sunny Wayne, Pearle Maaney, Asif Ali, Chemban Vinod Jose, Isha Sharvani, and Swathi Reddy. Arya portrayed the character Majnu and was also one of the film’s producers.Meanwhile, Arya has returned to Malayalam cinema after a long gap with ‘Ananthan Kaadu,’ which is scripted by Murali Gopy and is getting good reviews.
