Director Girish AD spoke about the shelving of Premalu 2, starring Naslen and Mamitha BaijuDirector Girish AD has publicly expressed frustration over the shelving of Premalu 2, revealing that the team spent an entire year working on the sequel before the project was scrapped and calling the decision unnecessary.“We wasted an entire year on the sequel. There was absolutely no need to shelve it. A year’s worth of work has gone in vain. Such a waste when the sequel never needed to be scrapped in the first place,” Girish said at the success celebration of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.What happened to Premalu 2Premalu, released in February 2024, was a romantic comedy produced by Bhavana Studios, the production house backed by Fahadh Faasil, Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran. The film became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time and the fourth highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2024. The film’s success was built on its relatability, its humour and the chemistry between Naslen and Mamitha Baiju as Sachin and Reenu, a couple whose awkward, stumbling courtship struck a chord with audiences across languages.A sequel was announced shortly after the original’s blockbuster run. Girish and co-writer Kiran Josey began developing the script. The plan, according to Girish, was to release Premalu 2 during Vishu 2026, roughly two years after the original.However, in April 2026, producer Dileesh Pothan officially confirmed that Premalu 2 had been shelved. In an earlier interview, Girish had attributed the decision to his “gut feeling,” saying he “couldn’t convince myself about the sequel’s story” despite numerous discussions with Kiran Josey and Dileesh Pothan.What came afterInstead of Premalu 2, Girish pivoted to a new project. Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, a standalone romantic comedy, was produced by Bhavana Studios with the same core technical team, including co-writer Kiran Josey, cinematographer Ajmal Sabu, editor Akash Joseph Varghese and music composer Vishnu Vijay. Mamitha Baiju returned in the lead, this time paired with Nivin Pauly, who replaced Naslen as the male lead. The film released on August 21, coinciding with the Onam festival season.Also Read: Made for Rs 25 cr, Nivin Pauly-Mamitha Baiju’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit earns 13x its budgetStory continues below this adBethlehem Kudumba Unit became a massive box office success, collecting over Rs 330 crore worldwide on a budget of Rs 25 crore, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. The number dwarfed even Premalu’s impressive run and made it one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films ever, validating Girish’s standing as one of the most commercially reliable young directors in Indian cinema. At the success celebration in Kochi, he acknowledged that the idea for the film had existed before Premalu’s success, but that the sequel’s commercial logic had pushed it to the back of the queue. “Since Premalu had been a huge hit, the idea of Premalu 2 came along and we decided to pursue it,” he said.Girish noted that Bethlehem Kudumba Unit was completed quickly after the setback. “Bethlehem was released three to four months after the Vishu window Premalu 2 had been targeting,” he said.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.Tags:Malayalam Cinema