Director Priyadarshan and filmmaker Mohanlal have done 29 films together.This is an unparalleled cinematic collaboration , far exceeding the numbers of other similar collaborations like Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, and nearer home Rakesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan.
Priyan and Mohanlal are not only close collaborators they are also close friends. When in 2016 Priyan went through a messy divorce it was Mohanlal who pulled him out of severe depression.
The prolific Priyadarshan went to hell and back. The messy ugly divorce played out in the public domain left him shattered, and he felt unable to make films . He credits Mohanlal for pulling him out of depression.Priyan stopped making films for three years. He couldn’t think straight. He felt I had lost my ability to make films.
Mohanlal insisted that Priyan had to get back to work, and not with another comedy. Priyan could have easily done another comedy with Mohanlal . But Mohanlal insisted they do something they haven’t done before.Priyadarshan, chose to do a thriller this time with Mohanlal.That’s how Oppam happened.
When Oppam became a box office hit, both Priyadarshan and Mohanlal breathed a sigh of relief.
It was very important for Priyan to come back with a bang. Priyan’s big moment of vindication was when Kamal Haasan called him and said he couldn’t believe Priyan had made Oppam after what he had gone through in his personal life.