KOCHI:Having lost out on plenty of business as raging floods pulverised Kerala, the Malayalam film industry is back into “action” mode. The shoot for some big movies, stalled due to flash floods, resumed on Monday.
Given its meagre success rate at the box-office during the first half of 2018, it will be difficult for Mollywood to rebound in the remaining four months of the year. The film bodies plan to complete the release of movies originally scheduled for August and Onam by September.“We hope the crowd will be back at the theatres by the first week of September,” said Kerala Film Distributors’ Association president Ziyad Koker.
“We can’t predict the exact time needed for recovery as it directly depends on how well these movies perform at the box-office.”As per the new schedule, Prithviraj-starrer Ranam and Tovino’s Theevandi will be the first two major releases after the floods. They will hit the screens on September 7. Mammootty’s Oru Kuttanadan Blog will be released on September 14 along with Biju Menon’s Padayottam. Fahad Fazil’s Onam release Varathan will be released on September 20 while Mohanlal’s Drama — originally scheduled for September — will see light on October 2. According to the film bodies, theatre owners have suffered losses to the tune of Rs 30 crore because of the floods.
Exhibitors pinning hope on biggies to lure cinema buffs back to theatres
The exhibitors are now pinning their hopes on some biggies expected to bring masses back to the theatres.
“Big-budget movies like ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni’ are also rescheduled. As per the initial plan, the movie will hit screens in October. Those movies need a wider release so as to recover the production cost. Another biggie ‘Odiyan’, which was actually planned for October, is expected to be released in November,” said Koker.
Meanwhile, the shoot for some of the big-budget movies was also affected because of the floods. Mammootty’s ‘Madhura Raja’, which will see the superstar’s successful character Raja (Pokkiriraja) return to the screen, resumed its shoot in Cherai on Monday. The movie’s shoot was stopped 10 days back, with the sets being damaged partially.
“Rescheduling after a break itself will result in a minimum loss of Rs 5 lakh to the producer. Along with that, the cancellation on room bookings, the reorganising of the crew, the date clash of the actors... all these will result in additional expenses,” said Aroma Mohan, production controller. Kunchakko Boban’s ‘Allu Ramendran’ also began in Thodupuzha on Monday. The movie was originally scheduled to begin on ‘Chingam’ 1. However, the makers were forced to postpone the shoot after the Thodupuzha region too was affected by floods. The other major locations where shoot was disrupted are Munnar, Wagamon and Ernakulam. The closure of the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery has also affected the shoot. Mohanlal’s ‘Lucifer’, directed by Prithviraj, is also progressing in Thiruvananthapuram.