No M&M this Onam

The Mammootty-Mohanlal clash, which has been an annual Onam feature at the box office for years, won’t happen this time
Malayalam actors Mammootty and Mohanlal - Express Photo by Rajeev Prasad.
Malayalam actors Mammootty and Mohanlal - Express Photo by Rajeev Prasad.

KOCHI: Onam is a time which usually sees some major fireworks at the box-office. Historically, both superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal have always kept their date with Onam, releasing at least one of their films respectively, making it an exciting time for cine buffs. It’s been a high decibel season for years with the public being treated to some much-hyped films.

However, this year will see no clash of the titans. The trend of Mammootty- Mohanalal clash during Onam started in 1986 when five Mammootty films- 'Avanazhi', 'Nandi Veendum Varika', 'Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal', 'Nyayavidhi' and 'Sayamsandhya' locked horns with Mohanlal’s 'Sukhamo Devi ' and 'Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal'.

Since then, both the stars have generally ensured they have a movie around the Onam season.

Mammootty’s big budget movie '1921' and 'Thanthram' took on Mohanlal’s 'Aryan' in 1988. In 1989, Priyadarsan’s Mohanlal starrer 'Vandanam' was released against Mammootty’s 'Jagratha' (CBI Diary Part-2) and Joshy’s 'Nairsab' during the Onam season.

Both superstars had two releases each during the Onam season in the next three years. Mammootty’s 'Iyyer The Great' and 'Oliyambukal' were 1990 Onam releases while Mohanlal had 'Indrajalam' and 'Arhatha'. Mohanlal’s 'Kilukkam' and 'Uncle Bun' competed against Mammootty’s 'Anaswaram' and 'Azhakan' (Tamil) in 1991.

The year 1992 saw a superb clash between the stars in which Mammootty had 'Pappayude Swantham' 'Appoose' and 'Kizhakkan Pathrose' in his Onam kitty while Mohanlal had 'Yodha' and 'Adwaitham'.

From 1992 onwards, the actors grew more selective. Still they reserved at least one big release each for the Onam season. The major Onam releases include: 1993: Mammootty’s 'Dharthiputra'(Hindi) and Mohanlal’s 'Gandharvam' . 1994: 'Sainyam' (Mammootty) and 'Minnaram'(Mohanlal). 1995: 'No:1 Snehatheeram Bangalore North' (Mammootty) and 'Manthrikam' (Mohanlal).

1996: 'Indraprastham' (Mammotty) and 'The Prince' (Mohanlal).

1997: Mammootty’s 'Kaliyoonjal' and Mohanlals’s 'Guru' and 'Chandralekha'. In 1998, both superstars acted together in 'Harikrishnans', which was a major Onam attraction. Mammootty also had another release, 'Ilavankodu Desham'.

In 1999, 2000 and 2002, Mohanlal did not come up with any Onam special while Mammootty had 'Pallavoor Devanarayanan' (1999) , 'Valyettan' (2000) and 'Karmegham' (Tamil) and 'Kaiyethum 'Doorathu'(2002). 'Rakshasarajavu and Ravanprabhu' (2001), 'Balettan' and 'Pattalam' (2003), ‘Kazhcha’ and 'Natturajavu' (2004) 'Nerariyan CBI' and 'Naran' (2005), 'Bhargavacharitham Moonnam Khandam' and 'Mahasamudram' (2006) were other major Onam clashes.

Since 2007, the Onam season that clashed around Ramzan, saw the stars coming up with major releases for the Ramzan period. This year, too, the industry expected a major star war with Mammootty’s 'The King and the Commissioner' against Mohanlal’s 'Pranayam'. But 'The King and the Commissioner' was postponed and the fans have surely missed the spice and fireworks that generally accompany a Mammootty- Mohanlal clash.

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