The screen time given to Malayalam superstar Mohanlal in Rajinikanth’s latest release ‘Jailer 2’ led to fan discussions that his scenes were reportedly removed from the final cut. Now, action director Chethan has responded to a fan’s query about whether Mohanlal performed the climax car scene himself or used a body double.The discussion began under Chethan’s recent Instagram post thanking cinematographer Vijay Kartik Kannan for making the stunt sequences look impressive.

Action director on Mohanlal’s ‘Jailer 2’ scene

One fan asked whether Mohanlal’s introduction scene had been trimmed and whether the actor himself appeared in the climax car sequence, amid rumours that a dupe had performed it. Chethan did not comment on the reported trimming of Mohanlal’s introduction, but he answered the question about the car scene directly.“It’s him,” the action director replied, confirming that Mohanlal himself appeared in the sequence.

Talking about Mohanlal’s character, the Malayalam veteran reprises his role as Mathew, the flashy smuggler and friend of Rajinikanth’s Muthuvel Pandian. The character was first introduced in the 2023 film Jailer and returns in the sequel, appearing during its climax.

Buzz around Mohanlal’s screen time

On the other hand, a few days ago, Mohanlal’s personal stylist and costume designer for ‘Jailer 2,’ Jishad Shamsudeen, criticised the makers over the actor’s limited screen time. He claimed that three distinct looks created for the Malayalam superstar did not make it into the final cut.Jishad also questioned the decision to reduce the screen time of an actor of Mohanlal’s stature and said he would not be part of a possible third instalment.“From my experience in cinema, trimming scenes involving a superstar like Mohanlal Sir is simply unnecessary,” he stated.

‘Jailer 2’ nears Rs 500 crore worldwide

Despite the debate surrounding Mohanlal’s role, ‘Jailer 2’ has continued a phenomenal theatrical run at the box office. According to trade tracker Sacnilk, the Rajinikanth-starrer collected Rs 42.35 crore net on Day 5 across 15,215 shows. The worldwide gross collection has reached over Rs 477.75 crore.The action-packed sequel has also outperformed several popular Tamil films in terms of its reported box office performance.