KOCHI: Moving into the second half of the year without much to shout about, Malayalam cinema had pinned hopes on Ramzan releases for some big box office success. But the Nipah scare has forced some of the big releases to be postponed this Ramzan.
The spread of the virus infection had an adverse impact on the industry, especially in the Malabar region where nearly 50 per cent of Malayalam cinema’s collection is garnered from. Postponement of new releases became imperative after a huge fall in the turnout in many areas in Malabar.
Much to the disappointment of Mohanlal fans, Neerali — earlier slated for a Ramzan release - is among those postponed. While his last major Malayalam release was Villain released last October, the makers of Neerali decided to play it safe.“Just like Travancore and Cochin, Malabar is also a major market for the distributors,” Sandeep Narayan, executive producer of the movie, told Express.