Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 8 (IANS): After superstar Mammootty made headlines for the past two days on account of his 70th birthday, his onscreen arch-rival Mohanlal hogged the limelight on Wednesday by announcing that he is teaming up with one of Malayalam film's first blockbuster directors, Shaji Kailas, for a new project after a gap of 12 years.

Incidentally, it was Kailas' mega hit 'Aaram Thampuran' (1997) which fetched Mohanlal the tag of being the second superstar in Malayalam films after Mammootty.

Following that mega hit, Lal, as Mohanlal is known in the industry circles, did not look back as his career reached greater heights in the subsequent years.

Soon after 'Aaram Thampuran' Lal did a bunch of films with Kailas, the last of which -- 'Red Chillies' -- was released in 2009.

However, after that Kailas found the going tough. He even tried his hands in Tamil films, without much success though.

But after Lal on Wednesday broke the news of teaming up again with Kailas on social media, all eyes are now on Kailas.

"The wait is finally over! It's with great excitement and happiness that I announce my next project with Shaji Kailas which starts rolling in Oct 2021. The film scripted by Rajesh Jayram and produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas has me and Shaji getting together after 12 long years. I am sure it's going to be worth the wait," Lal wrote on social media.

It would be the 56-year-old director's 42nd film in a career that started in 1989.