Nivin Pauly is tired of the constant postponement of LCU film Benz' shoot; couldn't change look since 1 year

Benz was announced in 2024 with Raghava Lawrence as the protagonist. Nivin Pauly was announced as the antagonist in 2025.

The Malayalam film industry is well known for having shorter shooting schedules and lower budgets than other South Indian film industries. Now, actor Nivin Pauly, who’s soon to star in his second Tamil film, is frustrated with the makers of Benz. He spoke about having to maintain his hair and beard for multiple Malayalam films now, due to the Tamil film’s postponed shoot.

Nivin Pauly plays Twin Fish Walter in the upcoming Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe film, Benz.

Nivin Pauly is tired of Benz makers

Nivin promoted his recent Onam release, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, on Rekha Menon’s YouTube channel. The host mentioned that the actor maintained the same look in the last few films, asking if it was the ‘Nivin Pauly factor.’ He replied, “It’s not like that. I can’t change my look due to my commitment to Benz, the Tamil film. There was a proper agreement for it that I had to maintain my appearance. We began shooting for it last year, and it keeps getting postponed.”

When the host pointed out that he had Malayalam releases in the meantime, out of which two have also become hits, he laughed and added, “Now, for Bethlehem Kudumba Unit and another recently launched film, I couldn’t change my look because I still have 30-35 days of shooting left. Nothing seems to be moving. I’m tired of calling them about this. Guys, at least after watching this interview, please make a decision and complete the film.”

Nivin has maintained the same look in Sarvam Maya, Baby Girl, Prathichaya and Bethlehem Kudumba Unit so far.

Nivin Pauly’s upcoming work

Benz is part of the Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe (LCU) and is the first film in the franchise to be directed by someone other than Lokesh. The film to be directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan was first announced in 2024 with Raghava Lawrence as the lead. Lokesh, Sudhan Sundaram, and Jagadish Palanisamy are producing it.

In 2025, the makers released a video introducing Nivin as the antagonist, Twin Fish Walter. The film will follow Kaithi (2019), Vikram (2022), and Leo (2023) as part of the LCU. In May this year, it was announced that Ravi Mohan has also joined the cast. Samyuktha also stars in the film, which has yet to receive a release date.

Nivin is also currently shooting a Malayalam film with Rukmini Vasanth and Aju Varghese. The yet-to-be-titled film is directed by Nashid Famy. He also has Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai lined up in Tamil with filmmaker Ram and actors Soori and Anjali. His film Dear Students, directed by George Philip Roy and Sandeep Kumar with Nayanthara, is also yet to be released.