Even as 3 big films and a small movie are in the race, 'Jailer' and 'Voice of Sathyanathan' are still running to packed houses in Kerala.
Major Onam releases in Malayalam. (Supplied)
Even as Onam is around the corner, a handful of big-budget films are gearing up for a grand release in theatres across Kerala.
Interestingly, Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Dileep are not making any appearance on the silver screen this season. However, Dileep’s Voice of Sathyanathan is still running successfully in many cinema halls across the State.
During Onam 2022, only Pathonpatham Noottandu did decently well, while Oru Thekkan Thallu Case and Ottu failed to put up a good fight at the box office.
This year, three major films — Dulquer Salmaan’s King of Kotha, Nivin Pauly’s Ramachandra Boss & Co, and RDX featuring Shane Nigam, Antony Pepe and Neeraj Madhav in lead roles — are hitting the marquee.
These apart, a small-budget movie titled Achanoru Vazha Vechu (Father Planted a Plantain) is also eyeing box office success.
While hopes are equally running high for the three big-budget movies, the fact that Dulquer Salmaan and Nivin Pauly are known to audiences outside Kerala could be a plus for their respective ventures.
Nivin Pauly enjoys a fan base in Tamil Nadu, thanks to his sensational hit Premam (2015).
During a promotional event, the Malayalam actor stated that he likes doing comedy films and Ramachandra Boss & Co is a pure entertainer.
When asked about the failures and successes of his ventures, he noted, “When a movie is a hit, people would say, his script selection is good. When it fails, they say, his script selection is bad!”
However, Nivin Pauly exuded confidence that the audience would love Ramachandra Boss & Co.
The trailer gave the impression that the movie is an exciting blend of action, suspense, and humour.
Directed by Haneef Adeni, the project is crucial for Nivin as his previous films didn’t do well at the box office; Thuramukham (2023) received rave reviews though.
King of Kotha is being released in five languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi) since Dulquer is a pan-Indian actor.
Dulquer Salmaan recently highlighted the need for bringing out more big-budget films since they play a pivotal role in keeping a balance in the Malayalam industry.
According to him, small content-oriented films can be made only when there are big hits.
The actor-producer also stated that King of Kotha is aimed at people who love watching films in theatres and that’s the reason why it’s being dubbed in other languages, too.
Expectations are already running high on this Abhilash Joshiy’s directorial.
The crew recently visited Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kochi to promote the venture. They are in Dubai on Wednesday, 23 August, for the promotions.
RDX (Ronex, Doney, Xavier) is the third big-budget Malayalam movie releasing this Onam. The trailer gave goosebumps moments to film buffs.
Antony Pepe, Shane Nigam, and Neeraj Madhav appear in prominent roles in this out-and-out entertainer which is aimed at youngsters and family audiences.
Antony Pepe — who is known for his interest in fights — did the action sequences in RDX without any dupes, said a crew member.
Neeraj Madhav said he underwent special training to do the action scenes. The actor is otherwise popular for his songs and dance performances in his works.
Producer Sophia Paul said RDX is a pure entertainer made for a theatrical watch.
Meanwhile, theatres in Kerala are doing good business as Rajinikanth’s Jailer became a huge success.
Indeed, the movie is still running to packed cinema halls. The Rajinikanth-starrer collected around ₹46 crore in the State.
The Aries Plex SL Cinemas in Trivandrum earned ₹1 crore from Jailer within 11 days.
Gokulam Films bought the distribution rights of Jailer for ₹5 crore. They also bought the Kerala theatrical rights of Vijay’s upcoming film Leo and Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan.
According to Saju Johny, owner of Kochi’s Kavitha Theatre which has 1100 seating capacity, around 6,600 people watched Jailer in the movie hall on the first day of its release.
King of Kotha is releasing on 24 August in Kavitha theatre and other major cinema halls like Vanitha, Shenoys, and Savitha besides the multiplexes in Kochi — which is considered a major business centre for Malayalam films.
Another exhibitor from Kochi said they will screen King of Kotha and RDX. But would also screen Jailer and Voice of Sathyanathan, given the tremendous response evoked by the two films.
“We also opened small screens to cash in on the demand for these Onam releases. All the shows for King of Kotha are houseful on the release day,” he added.
Now, let’s wait to see which movie would win the Onam race!
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