Media365
4 min readKochiSep 28, 2026 05:56 PM IST
Considering that it marked Mohanlal’s first collaboration with Lal Jose — renowned for helming critical and commercial hit movies like Meesa Madhavan (2002), Classmates (2006), Arabikkatha (2007), Diamond Necklace (2012), and Ayalum Njanum Thammil (2012) — there was immense hype surrounding Velipadinte Pusthakam (2017) ever since its initial announcement.
However, even Lal Jose didn’t expect his movie to become a global talking point in the run-up to its release. Yet, that’s exactly what happened. Its single, “Entammede Jimikki Kammal,” composed by Shaan Rahman, penned by Anil Panachooran, and sung by Vineeth Sreenivasan and Renjith Unni, became an internet sensation and drew worldwide attention.
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How ‘Jimikki Kammal’ became a global craze
Even renowned American television host Jimmy Kimmel gave it a thumbs-up as the song transcended boundaries and became a global sensation, inspiring hundreds of videos of people recreating its dance steps and even performing them at various events. In a way, “Jimikki Kammal” was to 2017 what Anirudh Ravichander and Dhanush’s “Why This Kolaveri Di” was to 2011-12, with the former’s official video earning over 115 million views on YouTube.
However, Velipadinte Pusthakam couldn’t translate this popularity into box office earnings, and the movie flopped, marking the first in a subsequent string of failures for director Lal Jose. It earned just about Rs 15-20 crore, according to Forbes India. In a recent interview, the director admitted its failure despite the movie featuring an “international subject” and explained why.
Lal Jose on why Velipadinte Pusthakam failed at the box office
“Many factors influence a film’s financial success. My movies have always been path-breaking rather than following established trends. Seeking new paths carries risks. My last five movies — Velipadinte Pusthakam, Thattumpurath Achuthan (2018), Nalpathiyonnu (2019), Meow (2021), and Solomonte Theneechakal (2022) — didn’t perform well,” he shared while speaking to Santhosh George Kulangara on a Safari TV chat show.
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“In the past, people had immense trust in me. Producers agreed to ideas readily, and actors joined simply by hearing their character sketches. Back then, we often started filming before the script was completed. Then we got into the hurry of filming, and the final product may end up differing from our vision,” he said.
Lal Jose added, “Velipadinte Pusthakam also faced similar issues. The core idea of an actor getting trapped in a role he played was an international concept. But when we conceived it as a film, people didn’t feel the same. Meanwhile, the song ‘Jimikki Kammal’ created massive, unintended expectations. It was just a fun campus song that went viral globally. This popularity created a certain prejudice. My biggest challenge is often living up to my previous major hits.”
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Why senior directors struggle to secure big budgets
Lal Jose also revealed that his next project would be the film adaptation of KN Prasanth’s novel Ponam. He said he initially wanted to make it an OTT series since it was very large and had so many characters, but as the novelist wanted it adapted into a movie, he went ahead with that plan.
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Pointing out that they have been working on its script for the past three years, Lal Jose shared that it has become difficult for senior directors to secure big budgets. “Ponam would require a budget of Rs 30 crore. New directors easily get budgets of Rs 50-100 crore, but producers don’t trust directors of the previous generation that much anymore.”
