# Jude Anthany Joseph walked out of Ayushmann film over ‘secondary artist’ remark on Mohanlal 2026-08-09T14:23:01+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph has said he walked out of a proposed Hindi film starring Ayushmann Khurrana after a production house referred to Malayalam superstar Mohanlal as a 'secondary artist'. Jude told Club FM that he had insisted Mohanlal be confirmed for the film before he would complete the script. The production house replied that they would 'think about the secondary artists' only after approving the screenplay. Jude said he found the term insulting for 'one of the finest actors in the country' and withdrew from the project with a non-disclosure agreement. In a subsequent social media post, Jude clarified that the remark came from the producer and not from Ayushmann. Ayushmann responded by calling Mohanlal 'a legend' and said he hoped to work with him someday. Jude added that Ayushmann had liked the script and was not responsible for the project falling through. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bollywood, film controversy, Jude Anthany Joseph, Malayalam cinema, Mohanlal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/jude-anthany-joseph-quits-ayushmann-khurrana-film-over-mohanlal-secondary-artist/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jude-anthany-joseph-quits-ayushmann-khurrana-film-over-mohanlal-secondary-artist/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.