Yes, fasten your seat belts and get ready for the star war this Christmas Eve, at the Kerala box office- that’s what die-hard fans of Mammootty and Mohanlal seem to say, and something that leading film magazines and television channels seem to endorse.
Well, to be frank, it’s going to happen. Mammootty’s ‘Chattambinaadu’, directed by Shafi, and Mohanlal’s ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, directed by Rosshan Andrrews, are all set to hit screens on the same day, December 24th. It’s after a long gap that both the superstars are having releases on the same day, and hence, it’s news for film lovers as well as film journals.
Whether it will be real war at the box office this year is, to be honest, quite uncertain. That Mammootty looks dashing as the Kannada landlord that he plays in ‘Chattambinaadu’ is notable. That Mohanlal and Rosshan Andrrews had earlier given us the mega-blockbuster ‘Udayanaanu Thaaram’ is worth remembering.
On the one hand, youngsters are eagerly awaiting the release of ‘Chattambinaadu’ to catch their own Mammookka (for whom some of them undoubtedly have in their hearts admiration
mixed with envy, courtesy his looks and charm) in that dashing get-up. At the same time, on the other hand, news that ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’ brings together people like director Rosshan Andrrews, scenarist James Albert (of ‘Classmates’ fame), actor Mohanlal and veteran actors Thilakan and Kaviyoor Ponnamma (who play Mohanlal’s parents after a long gap of time) gives scope for the hope that the film could be a good one, with a good storyline and a well-written script and good performance from key players.
This is just one side of the picture. There’s another side to it.
Shafi, who had made hits after hits, somehow failed to make a big impact at the box office with his last film, ‘Lollypop’, which was greeted with the loudest of boos. That suggests or rather proves that Shafi being the director or the film being a colourful entertainer or Mammootty appearing in a dashing role would have no significance at all at the box office. The mix of ingredients should be well balanced; the packaging should be perfect and the performances should be timed well for ‘Chattambinaadu’ to be a hit.
Coming to ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, the name itself could deter youngsters and even fans from coming to see the film. Youngsters, who have their own sway at the box office, nowadays don’t like such titles. For them the title should either be short or trendy and peppy. Moreover, though ‘Udayanaanu Thaaram’ was a hit, the credit, to a great extent, goes to Sreenivasan too (who scripted the film and acted in it too), though Rosshan did his role perfectly well. Similarly for scenarist James Albert, though his debut film ‘Classmates’ was a hit, the credit for that goes, to a great extent, to Lal Jose too. Incidentally Rosshan’s second film (‘Notebook’) and James Albert’s second film (‘Cycle’) turned out to be rather unimpressive too. Added to all this, Mohanlal playing a down-to-earth farmer, with obviously no punchy one-liners for his fans could go against ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, which would have to depend a lot on word-of-the-mouth publicity to make it at the box office.
Anyway, since ‘Chattambinaadu’ is a colourful entertainer and youngsters are already bowled over by Mammootty’s looks, the film would no doubt get a decent opening. As for ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’, since it’s Antony Perumbavoor who’s the producer, there would be no stone left unturned as regards publicity, the film may get a smooth take off. But the ultimate fate of the two movies (or for that matter any movie) happens to be unpredictable.
I do understand that I sound rather cynical making such an analysis and sharing such thoughts. But given the rather whimsical and unpredictable nature of film-goers in Kerala and taking into consideration the current trends in Malayalam Cinema (which would baffle the best of analysts), I may be pardoned for sounding a bit cynical, or to be precise, a bit concerned. This because in my heart of hearts I wish that both these films, or for that matter all films that hits screens, eventually emerge triumphant, for the sake of Cinema as an industry, for the sake of the many people whose lives and fates are tied to the film, for the sake of all film-lovers.
So, let’s hope ‘Chattambinaadu’ and ‘Ividam Swargamaanu’ eventually end up being hits, big hits.
