The Malayalam film industry is expecting a bonanza at the box office this Onam after losing a chance to cash in on the festival collections owing to the pandemic crisis over the last two years.
Four films have been lined up for release amidst hopes that the movie buffs would turn up in good numbers during the Onam revelry. Debutant Sangeeth P. Rajan’s Palthu Janwar; scenarist-turned-filmmaker N. Sreejith’s Oru Thekkan Thallu Case; senior director Vinayan’s Pathonmbatham Noottandu; and Alphonse Puthren’s Gold figure among the festival releases, as per the film trade bodies.
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“This Onam is special,” says K. Vijayakumar, president of the Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala. “The pandemic situation had dashed the hopes of the industry since 2020 and this festival marks the return of normal times to the theatres in the State. We hope that people would lap up the Onam releases,” he says.
The industry is riding high on the runaway success of the two recent releases, including Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval’s Nna Thaan Case Kodu and Khalid Rahman’s Thallumala. “Both the films had earned a Kerala gross in the range between ₹30 crore to ₹50 crore each. The films are still running in theatres. Its success has reiterated the fact that audiences would throng cinemas to watch movies with good content,” says Mr. Vijayakumar.
B. Rakesh, treasurer of the Kerala Film Producers’ Association, said that the pandemic had taken a toll on the lifeline of the Malayalam film industry. “The signs of recovery emerged after the authorities relaxed the restrictions. This Onam festival remains key as it comes at a time when the industry has come back to its normal times in a full-fledged scale,” he said. The Onam releases would reach cinemas from September 2 onwards.
