Prithviraj Sukumaran has backed out of Mohanlal’s directorial debut Barroz owing to a clash in dates. The shooting of Barroz was delayed due to lockdown, which resulted in the clash of schedules for Prithviraj. The actor, who is currently on the sets of Shaji Kailas’s Kaduva, will soon join the shoot of Aadujeevitham to complete the remaining portions of the Blessy movie. Owing to this tight schedule, Prithviraj has opted to back out of Barroz. Reports also suggest Shayla McCaffrey, a teenage actress based in the US, known for her roles in Christmas Land and Extinct, has been replaced in Barroz. Maya, an Indo-British actor will instead do the role earlier assigned for Shayla.
Billed as a children’s fantasy drama, Barroz is set against the backdrop of the maritime history of Portugal, Spain, Africa and India. It is the big-screen adaptation of filmmaker-writer Jijo Punnoose’s story of the same name. The film revolves around a mythical figure called Barroz, who has been guarding Vasco da Gama’s treasure for over 400 years and he will hand over the treasure to only the true successors of Gama. Mohanlal on Sunday released the teaser of the film. The promo begins with Mohanlal getting a final check on lights and camera before calling ‘action.’ And in front of the camera, he walks in wearing full costume and make-up of Barroz and introduces himself as the Guardian of D’ Gama’s Treasure. Then the director Mohanlal shouts ‘cut.’ He applauds the actor Mohanlal and says “Excellent.” But, he contemplates for a second and decides to do one more take of the scene. And the actor Mohanlal obliges the director’s request without any question.