Mohanlal's L367 becomes Operation Ganga, built on the Ukraine airlift

The Mohanlal film that has gone by L367 now has a name, and a subject to match it. Operation Ganga takes its title from the evacuation India ran in early 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine left thousands of Indian citizens, most of them students, stranded and the government flew them home through the neighbouring borders. Vishnu Mohan, who writes and directs, is building the film on that operation, and the first poster tells you where it is set before any name does: Kyiv’s Motherland Monument rising through cloud, the Ukrainian trident on her shield, a fighter jet banking past. The tagline reads A Nation’s Promise.

The shoot has begun in Georgia without its lead; Mohanlal joins shortly. The plan runs to 180 days across Poland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Delhi, Dehradun and Kochi, which is a long schedule by any measure and a very long one for a Malayalam production. Arjun Rampal, Adil Hussain, Bhagyashri Borse and Parthiban are in the cast so far, with more actors and technicians from Hindi cinema and abroad still to be named. Gokulam Gopalan produces under Sree Gokulam Movies, with Baiju Gopalan and V.C. Praveen co-producing and Krishnamoorthy as executive producer.

It is the crew list that shows what kind of film is being attempted. Shashwat Sachdev composes, fresh off Dhurandhar, and the action director from the same film, Se Young Oh, who also staged Kill, handles the set pieces. Miroslaw Kuba Brozek, who shot both Pushpa films, is the cinematographer. Rajeevan, whose production design covers GOAT, Meiyazhagan, Amaran and Kathanar, builds the sets. Bishwadeep Chatterjee, with Uri, 3 Idiots and Padmaavat behind him, designs the sound, and K.V. Sanjith, the VFX supervisor on Kantara, oversees the effects. Squadron Leader Verlin Panwar, the military advisor on Fighter and Border 2, does the same job here. Shameer Muhammed edits, Melvy J of Lokah handles costumes, Ronex Xavier does makeup and Rinni Divakar is production controller.

Vishnu Mohan is two films into a career that started at the top. Meppadiyan, his debut with Unni Mukundan, won a National Award, and this is his third feature. A geopolitical rescue drama with a largely north Indian and international unit is a considerable jump from there, and Gokulam Gopalan is clearly in an expansive mood: Ottakkomban with Suresh Gopi, Kathanar with Jayasurya and Killer, directed by S.J. Suryah, are all in production under the same banner. For Mohanlal it is the biggest canvas since Empuraan, and the first time he has fronted a film about a real, recent, and still politically live event.