Jacobinte Swargarajyam
Jacobinte SwargarajyamFacebook

Nivin Pauly's upcoming Malayalam movie "Jacobinte Swargarajyam," directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, is one of the much-awaited projects of the year.

The movie, which went on floors in November 2015, was said to have Tamil director Gautham Vasudev Menon in a pivotal role. However, due to the unexpected rains in Chennai, the filmmaker couldn't join the team and his absence has paved way for a talented artiste to be part of the upcoming movie. 

Ashwin K Kumar, a Dubai-based businessman, makes his acting debut in the Vineeth directorial in the role that was initially allotted for Gautham Menon. "Gautham was originally part of the project. He even grew beard for his role; however, he had to exit due to prior commitments. Ashwin came on board as his replacement. He plays a very interesting role," a source told IANS. Ashwin, who has a close resemblance to Kamal Haasan, is also popular among the Dubai audience as a mimicry artiste who mimics many Bollywood actors and has even imitated Ulaganayagan in front of him during an event.

Vineeth had also revealed on casting the newcomer in the upcoming film, instead of the hit filmmaker. "This is something I wanted to share with everyone ever since we finished shooting Jacobinte Swargarajyam. As many of you guys know, Gautham Menon Sir was supposed to do an important role in our film. We got his dates and the shoot was planned for the first week of December in Dubai.. But then, Chennai Floods happened, airport was shut down and we couldn't bring him in. Rescheduling became impossible after that, due to several reasons," Vineeth posted on his Facebook page.

The actor-cum-singer and director has also praised Ashwin calling him "a brilliant debutant actor," though he missed the chance to direct the talented filmmaker. "Gautham Sir got busy with his new film and we were also running on a very tight schedule. However, by god's grace we got a brilliant debutant actor to play the role that was supposed to be done by Gautham Sir. I missed the opportunity of working with GVM sir. But it created space for an immensely talented actor. I am sure it's all for the good," Vineeth added.

"Jacobinte Swargarajyam" also has Sreenath Bhasi, Renji Panicker, Sai Kumar, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, TG Ravi and Dinesh Panicker in main roles, and the makers had recently released the first look poster of the flick that was well accepted by the movie-goers.

Expectations are sky high from the upcoming film as it marks the comeback of Nivin and Vineeth after the movies "Malarvadi Arts Club," "Thattathin Marayathu" and "Oru Vadakkan Selfie," which made tremendous business at the Kerala box office. Produced by Noble Thomas, "Jacobinte Swargarajyam" is expected to hit the screens in March.

Watch Ashwin Kumar's mimicry performances below: