Jishad Shamsudeen, the costume designer and stylist who worked with Mohanlal on Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, has said that three distinct looks he designed for the actor were removed from the film and that a scene featuring Mohanlal in the film’s trailer was trimmed, according to Gulf News, The Print, Variety India and Sacnilk. The complaint came on the film’s opening day, 15 October 2026.
Shamsudeen shared several looks that he designed for Mohanlal’s character, Mathew, on Instagram, and expressed his disappointment, according to the reports. He said: ‘From my experience in cinema, trimming scenes involving a superstar like Mohanlal sir is simply unnecessary.’ He also indicated that he would not return for a possible third instalment of the franchise, according to Sacnilk.
The reports describe the dispute as a claim by one member of the crew. The film’s makers have not responded in the sources reviewed, and the reports do not say whether Mohanlal himself has commented. IndiaX24 does not know how long Mohanlal’s role is in the final cut, and the reports reviewed do not give a running time for his scenes.
The complaint has attracted attention because of the star power involved. Mohanlal is one of Malayalam cinema’s leading actors, and Jailer 2 is a star-studded film with several cameos, including Hrithik Roshan and Vijay Sethupathi, according to a search summary of the coverage. Fans of the Malayalam actor had expected a bigger role, according to Gulf News’s report of disappointment among fans.
The Print’s headline says that the stylist objects to Mohanlal’s reduced screen time. That is the outlet’s summary of Shamsudeen’s complaint. The reports reviewed do not give any numbers of minutes, so the reduction cannot be measured.
Trimming scenes after shooting is common in film-making, since the final length of a film is decided in editing and the director decides what stays. That is a general point about the industry and not a statement about this film, and the reports reviewed do not say why the scenes were cut.
The controversy comes while the film is doing very well at the box office. Jailer 2 earned Rs 59.70 crore net in India and Rs 125.25 crore worldwide on its first day, as IndiaX24 reports in a separate article, and the complaint does not appear to have affected the first-day figures. The reports reviewed do not give any link between the two.
The stylist’s announcement that he will not work on a third film depends on there being a third film, and the reports reviewed do not say that one has been announced. IndiaX24 reads his comment as a statement about his own plans and not as news of a third instalment.
The claim is specific. Shamsudeen says three looks were removed entirely, which is different from saying that scenes were shortened, and he says that a scene in the trailer was trimmed. The reports reviewed do not show the looks in question and IndiaX24 has not verified which scenes are in the film’s final cut or the trailer.
Variety India’s headline describes the stylist as disappointed with the makers over the three looks, and M9 News describes him as questioning the cuts. Those descriptions agree with the other reports, although the articles were not opened in full. The stylist’s Instagram posts are the primary source for his claim, and the reports reviewed quote them only in part.
IndiaX24 will report any response from the film’s makers or from Mohanlal.
Image: Mohanlal (file photo). Photo by Sanu N, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.