Karan Johar is officially expanding Dharma Productions into the Malayalam film industry. The Mumbai-based studio announced a co-production partnership with Prithviraj Productions on Tuesday for Odiyan: The Age of Illusion.
Directed by acclaimed horror filmmaker Rahul Sadasivan, the upcoming feature stars Prithviraj Sukumaran and Manju Warrier. Set against the folklore of 19th-century Kerala, the narrative centers on a terrifying shape-shifter targeting a powerful matriarchal household.
Johar unveiled the project on Instagram, sharing a first-look poster featuring the skeletal remains of a horned creature inside an intricate oval frame. He is producing the film alongside Apoorva Mehta, Supriya Menon, and Adar Poonawalla. The project marks a major shift for Dharma, which plans a multi-language pan-Indian release across Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil markets.
Johar expressed his long-standing admiration for the Malayalam industry in the official announcement, highlighting the craft and courage of its filmmakers.
“When this story came to us, with Rahul’s vision and Prithviraj at the helm, it felt like exactly the right moment,” Johar stated. “Odiyan: The Age of Illusion is the kind of film that deserves the biggest possible canvas, and I am glad we get to give it just that.”
The film shares its title and mythological core with a previous 2018 Malayalam release. That iteration starred superstar Mohanlal alongside Manju Warrier, who now returns to the shape-shifter folklore in this completely new adaptation under Sadasivan, best known for his recent atmospheric horror features Bhoothakaalam and Bramayugam.