Caught in a match-fixing controversy, tainted Pakistani fast bowler Mohammed Asif who was to debut in a Malayalam film has now been dropped from the movie, according to its director Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri.

Namboothiri told the media today (August 31) that he just can’t go ahead with the project with Asif now.

"He has to be replaced because now I do not want to go ahead with him," said Namboothiri who is making his debut as a director in the film ‘Mazhavillin Attamvare’ in which the lead character is a Pakistani cricketer who arrives as a bowling coach at a cricket academy in Kerala, searching for his roots.

"I will try some other Pakistani cricketer and, if not, I will seek a Pakistani film actor to do the central role in my film, for which shooting starts in the second week of October," he added.

Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a noted poet, lyricist, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist, and performer of Carnatic music. (IANS)