Fox Star studio distributes 'Second Show'

Sreenath Rajendran's 'Second Show' featuring Megastar Mammootty's son Dulqar Salman, has become the first Malayalam movie to be distributed by Fox Star Studio, a movie production and distribution company of Twentieth Century Fox and STAR. The firms owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has started distributing the movie in as many as 50 centres outside Kerala from this week .

 
Fox Star studio which has released many Hollywood blockbusters in India was given the exclusive distribution rights outside Kerala for 'Second Show'. An initiative which is termed to be a much beneficial one for the Mollywood industry to find markets outside Kerala, more and more films are likely to get into the list of the giant firm, which is sure to make an impact on the release patterns of the movies from the state. Fox Star, which started functioning in India in 2008, has also collaborated with Indian production companies to release the movies in International markets.

Meanwhile 'Second Show' has emerged the first upset hit of the year, thwarting the prospects of many biggies including that of 'Casanova' which was released a week earlier. This will not only lay a platform for the star performers of the movie including Dulqar Salman, but will also help its crew which is composed of mostly freshers.

Dad's goodwill gave me a head start: Dulquar Salman

• "Second Show", the debut film of Mammootty's son Dulquar Salman, has hit the theatres and the newcomer says his father's goodwill has given him a head start, but admits that he will have to work hard to carve a niche for himself.
  
  "Without doubt, his (Mammootty) goodwill has given me a head start. I know very well now that I will have to work hard because that is the only thing that will keep going forward," Salman told IANS.
  
  A graduate from the US, Salman has been busy managing his father's money matters before entering acting business. He is currently shooting for his second film, "Ustad Hotel".
  
  "I was getting a few offers and I took the plunge after a lot of thinking. I felt if I should try my luck, so later I do not have any regrets. I am extremely happy that I decided to act as lots of offers are coming my way. I have decided to be in this profession," said Salman.
  
  When asked whether his father has seen his debut film, he replied in the affirmative, adding: "Normally my father doesn't say much." This is true as the superstar has refused to comment on his son's film!
  
  "My biggest advantage is that if I have doubts, I have my father to fall back on. And while working on my debut film, I sought his advice," said Salman who would love to work with his dad, but added: "Don't you think that I have to earn that and for that I have to put in real hard work." 
  
  The actor, who got married to A. Sufia last December, said about his wife: "Language is a barrier for her but half the problem is sorted out because she lives in my home and my parents like her a lot. We have now learned to adjust to the fact that we can't be spending a lot of time together because of my acting commitments."

Newcomers with Mammootty for 'Balyakalasakhi'

Director Pramod Payyanur, famous for his television and theatre productions, has stated that he will be using a plenty of freshers in his debut film 'Balyakalasakhi' based on one of the most famous writings in Malayalam. The movie which will have Megastar Mammootty in the lead as late writer Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer's famous character, Majeed, will have at least 15 new names carefully selected from college students and theatre artistes in various other supporting characters. The selection camp will be held from the 22nd of Febuary at various parts of the state. Those who are interested to don a role in the movie can sent their applications to 'Living art and estheis creations, Media Box Office, 28/630-A, K P Vallon road, Kadavanthra from today.

The announcement of the production of 'Balyakalasakhi' was held recently at Ernakulam, which was inaugurated by Prof M K Sanu.The movie which will be on sets soon, will have music by Shahbaaz aman, and Raghavan master. The movie will be on sets by the month of July.

Mammootty visits Azhikode

After freeing himself from the busy schedules of his son's marriage, Megastar Mammootty visited orator Sukumar Azhikode last day. At Amala Hospital, Azhikode enquired Mammootty about his son Dulqar's marriage.

Azhikode also exhorted the film fraternity to come together for the cause of Mullaiperiyar. He also shared the fun that he had with Sureshgopi, Innocent, Jayaram and Sathyan Anthikkad when they came to visit him. Mammootty wished Azhikode to continue with his saga even while in hospital bed.

Now all eyes are on Superstar Mohanal with whom Azhikode had a verbal fight some time back. Lal has called Azhikode on phone and expressed his sorry about the whole happenings, but remains one celebrity to come and personally visit him at hospital.

Pokkiriraja for a Hindi remake

As director Vysakh is all set to kick off his new movie 'Mallu Singh' by this weekend, his debut film 'Pokkiriraja' is getting ready to go places. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar who has got an immense liking to the film is ready to buy the remake rights of the movie which will be made in the title 'Nam Bhai Boss' in Hindi. Akshay, naturally will be appearing in the role that Mammootty has done immortal in this big hit of 2009.  Theatre model and Pakistani actor Imran Abbas will appear in the role of Soorya that Prithviraj has done in the original. The director of the multicrore multistarrer 'Blue' Antony Dsouza, will call the shots for this remake which will be on theatres by the end of this 2012.

Another interesting development is that Akshay has also bought the redo rights of 'Appadi Podu'... Vijay's hit song from the movie; Gilli- for including in this film. The year end is sure to witness Akshay dancing to the steps of 'Appadi podu..' and speaking the dialogues of Mammootty in this remake of Pokkiriraja.

Mammootty takes a break to prepare for son's marriage

Malayalam superstar Mammootty is very busy -- but not with movies. He has taken a break from acting to make preparations for the marriage of his actor son Dulquar Salmaan with A. Sufia, an architect.

"Yes, I am busy with the wedding and we are all leaving for Chennai Friday. The marriage is in Chennai on the 22nd of this month," Mammootty told IANS.

He added: "Yes, I have taken a break from my job and there will be a reception here on the 26th December and I will rejoin my work on the new year," said Mammootty known for keeping his family life away from prying eyes of media.

After giving a thought, Salmaan followed his father's footsteps and he has just finished the shoot of his first film "Second Show".

It will not be the usual 'filmy wedding'.

Sufia is the daughter of Syed Nizamuddin, who hails from north India, but is settled in Chennai.

The release of Mammootty's latest film "Venice le Vyappari" got delayed, but it is not expected to hit the theatres on the day of his son's wedding.

Mammootty meets Jayalalitha

Megastar Mammootty met Dr.Jayalalitha yesterday at CM's office at Chennai. The megastar was there to invite the CM to his son Dulqar Salman's wedding, scheduled to take place this 22nd.Mammootty had a few minutes chat with the Tamil Nadu C M. It is not yet clear whether Mammootty has talked about the ongoing Mullaiperiyar issue in between. The megastar has already taken leave from the movie industry to be a part of the final preparation of his only son's wedding.

Mammootty takes a break to prepare for son's marriage

Malayalam superstar Mammootty is very busy -- but not with movies. He has taken a break from acting to make preparations for the marriage of his actor son Dulquar Salmaan with A. Sufia, an architect.

"Yes, I am busy with the wedding and we are all leaving for Chennai Friday. The marriage is in Chennai on the 22nd of this month," Mammootty told IANS.

He added: "Yes, I have taken a break from my job and there will be a reception here on the 26th December and I will rejoin my work on the new year," said Mammootty known for keeping his family life away from prying eyes of media.

After giving a thought, Salmaan followed his father's footsteps and he has just finished the shoot of his first film "Second Show".

It will not be the usual 'filmy wedding'.

Sufia is the daughter of Syed Nizamuddin, who hails from north India, but is settled in Chennai.

The release of Mammootty's latest film "Venice le Vyappari" got delayed, but it is not expected to hit the theatres on the day of his son's wedding.

'Vyapari' may come a week earlier

The recent strikes witnessed by the Mollywood industry has derailed the release prospects of at least a dozen of films including the films by the megastars and superstars. 'Venicile Vyapari' and 'Oru Marubhumukkatha' were thus shifted for Christmas.

Initially it was  reported that 'Oru Marubhoomikatha'  which marks the comeback of the biggest ever commercial director created by Mollywood-Priyadarsan, will arrive a week earlier on the 16th of December while 'Venicile Vyapari' will make it to theatres only by the 23rd of this month. But as per the information from the release centres, both these movies are now charted to take on each other on the same day, that is on the 16th of December. The two movies which are already censored carried good preview reports. And if both the movies can open up with good initial collections, it is sure to bring back the sunny days of Mollywood.

As of now 'Venicile Vyapari' and 'Oru Marubhoomikkatha' will get into eighty plus theatres on the same day, for the final fight of the superstar films, this year.

A parade for release dates

As the strikes are almost over, Mollywood is suddenly left with a multitude of films, getting ready to take a go in the theatres within a few weeks. 'Oru Marubhoomi Kadha' (Mohanlal-Bhavana) 'Venicele Vyapari' (Mammootty-Kavya Madhavan) , 'Beautiful' (Jayasurya-Meghnaraj), 'Asuravithu' (Asif Ali-Samvrutha Sunil) ,'Innanu Aa Kalyanam' (Rajasenan) are movies that will be on theaters in a short while.

The producers who had been waiting with these films in their cans for quite some time has already been inflicted by some losses due to inability to go for a right release at the right dates. Movies like 'Oru Marubhoomikkadha' and 'Venicile Vyapari' has already spent lakhs on their pre-publicity which has already went in vain. Now that if they won't propel a different looking campaign at the time of the release, moviegoers are not likely to get the feel of a fresh release.

Anyhow, the balance sheet of the strike will include the constituting of a Joint Consultation Committee (JCC) with members from the FEFKA, AMMA and KFPA which will meet every fortnight. JCC will conduct a pre-analysis of the commercial viability of a movie, to help the producers who are not familiar with production and distribution aspects.
  
The other important outcome is the shifting of the release of the superstar films originally slated for Bakrid, which is likely to upset the release of many more in the future including the big budget flicks 'Casanova' and 'King and commissioner'. Reports are that they will be pushed to January or even March of 2012.

Rasul to unite Mammootty and Big B

One of the best known technicians of Indian cinema, Resul Pookutty, had always expressed his interest in directing films. In fact he had one project going five years ago which got shelved due to financial reasons. Resul was then planning to make a movie out of the famous novel by Anand- ' Govardhan's Travels' with Mammootty as the hero. It was then planned in three languages, but the last minute crisis led the master technician to concentrate back on his sound engineering business.

But now Resul is taking more active steps to realise his dream. This time he will be bringing in Megastar Mammootty and none other than 'Big B'- Amitabh Batchchan for the first time together for his movie. The flick will tell the emotional story about a father -son relationship and will use the best of the technicians from Bollywood. As there are many more international projects coming his way, Resul will start working on his debut directorial venture only after completing his current assignments.

Mammootty to be 'Kallakaamukan'

• Mammootty, and his romantic hero image in Joshy's 'Kuettettan' cannot be forgotten in a hurry.
  
  Now, years after 'Kuttettan', the Megastar gets ready to play a romantic hero of a different kind in Johny Antony's new film that has been titled 'Kallakaamukan'.
  
  Udaykrishna and Siby K Thomas would pen the script of 'Kallakaamukan'. The film would be produced by Milan Jaleel.
  
  Johny is currently busy shooting for the Prithviraj film 'Masters'. The shoot of 'Kallakaamukan' would start by mid 2012.

Release of Mammootty and Mohanlal films delayed by a month!

The strike that had brought the entire Malayalam film industry to a standstill is finally drawing to a close.

However, two films - that of Mammootty and Mohanlal - that were expected to be released in November, have been postponed to December, following the strike.

Mammootty's 'Venicile Vyapari' and Mohanlal's 'Arabiyum Ottakavum P Madhavan Nairum' were to reach the theatres by mid November.

However, both these films have been declared as Christmas releases now. 'Arabiyum Ottakavum P Madhavan Nairum' will be released a week before Christmas, while 'Venicile Vyapari' would be released on Dec.23.

Kaniha to be Mammootty's heroine again

• Lal directed Mammootty film 'Cobra' has remained in the news for several reasons, and one of them has been the film's heroines.
  
  At first it was reported that Padmapriya has been cast opposite Lal and that Lekshmi Rai would be Mammootty's pair in the film.
  
  Later Lekshmi Rai was out of the picture, and Sruthi Ramakrishnan, was rumoured to have been roped in instead of Lekshmi.
  
  And now, Lekshmi Rai is back in the film, and would be Lal's heroine. Sruthi Ramakrishnan is not a part of the project, and Kaniha would be seen opposite Mammootty in the film.
  
  Kaniha and Mammootty were seen together earlier in films like 'Pazhassi Raja' and 'Drona 2010'.

I am not a real superstar

Megastar Mammooty has requested all his fans to stop referring  him as a superstar. Mammootty believes that the word, as of now, has turned a little bit offensive, as many accusations are now inflicted upon the superstars. Megastar Mammooty was answering the actor Tini Tom as he referred Mammooty to be the only real superstar of Malayalam film industry.

In the new scenario,superstars seem to be the cause of all the problems in our industry. They are now blamed for dominating the industry, not allowing younger stars to come up. They are also accused for running after younger heroines on screens, who are half of their age. And so Mammootty like himself to be called as an actor, rather than an superstar.

Mammootty is currently in the sets of 'The king and the Commissioner' at Hyderabad, in which he will be sharing the screens with Sureshgopi after a long time.

Mammootty and Kamal Hassan with Mohanlal in 'Randamoozham'

Hariharan's 'Randamoozham' might be one of the biggest of multi starrers ever produced. 

If rumours are to be believed, along with Mohanlal who would be seen in the key role of Bheeman, Mammootty and Kamal Hassan might also be making special appearances in the film.

Mammootty in all probability would don the role of Karnan, while Kamal might appear in the role of Duryodhan.

The film that is based on a script by M T Vasudevan Nair, would be produced by Gokulam Gopalan.

Film industry strike might be called off soon

• The film industry strike that has almost brought the entire cinema business in the state to a stand still might very well be soon called off.
  
  The Exhibitors Association has agreed to release films from the 25th of this month, if producers agree not to wide release their films.
  
  Liberty Basheer, the President of the Exhibitors' Association says that the want a film to be released only in seventy centers. 
  
  The Producers' Associatio meanwhile had decided to restart the shooting of the films that have been stalled due to the strike.

Malayalam movie industry in throes of crisis

Constant tiffs among film organisations and escalating costs have led to a crisis in the Malayalam movie industry, known for classics like "Perumthachan" and "Ajayan" and stalwarts such as Mammootty and Mohanlal.

The industry can boast of making the first 3D film in India, "My Dear Kuttichathan", and the first cinemascope film in southern India titled "Thacholi Ambu". But after scaling great heights in the 1980s and 1990s, it is now going downhill.

In one sentence, if one has to describe the present status of the Malayalam film industry, the answer is "chaotic".

At the heart of this downfall are strikes and conflicts -- for the past four days shootings have come to a grinding halt. The Kerala Film Producers Association has decided to suspend work after its pleas to reduce cost of production fell on deaf ears.

Suresh Kumar, a veteran producer, who has been in this business for the past three decades, said they have no other option because if the industry has to survive, then costs have to be slashed.

"How many of you know that in this calendar year, out of 70 films that have been released, six ended up in the red, and 30 films have had a collection of less than Rs.1 million? This is the sorry state of affairs of producers," said Kumar.

In 1990, there were 1,400 theatres in the state, but today just 470 cinema halls are operational.

Theatre owners are divided into two groups - Film Exhibitors Federation and the Film Exhibitors Association.

The Federation represents about 295 theatres, located in 70 business districts, and these screen all new movies.

The Association basically has theatre owners who have moviehalls in smaller towns and villages which are not allowed to screen new releases and where there is not too much crowd.

From Nov 1, the theatre owners, who are members of the Federation, have been on the war path after the state government threatened to cancel the service charge of Rs.2 on per ticket sold.

Because of this, the Federation is not screening any Malayalam movie, as a result superstars Mammootty's and Mohanlal's new films, which were supposed to come out last month, have been deferred indefinitely.

The situation worsened after the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), which has 19 organisations under it, including those for drivers and directors, announced they would have to produce films themselves to get rid of the problem.

"We would welcome directors turning producers because it would make them understand the pains of a producer. The crux of the issue is that many established directors prefer to work with first-time producers because then no questions are asked and the new producers act as mere 'cashiers'," said a producer on condition of anonymity.

"I am a producer and I have been in this field for a while and as a producer I question each and every financial transaction."

Incidentally, the industry showed a consensus only when the new Oommen Chandy government assumed office in May and decided to give the film portfolio to actor-turned-politician K.B. Ganesh Kumar.

But Kumar is finding the constant squabbles and ego clashes tiresome.

"We will certainly have a discussion to see how production costs can be cut down and for this I will meet up with the Producers' Association and representatives of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists," said the minister.

He has also made it clear that there would be no discussions with theatre owners till they resume film screening.

But theatre owners, who are members of the Federation, are not happy with the minister's decision to charge an additional Rs.3 on every ticket sold to set up a producers' welfare fund.

"He said if this is not done, he will withdraw the Rs.2 service charge that the theatre owners charge on every ticket. We said it would be unfair to burden us and then face the wrath of moviegoers because the price of the ticket would further go up. If we are pressurised, then we would have no other option but to close down theatres," said a theatre owner on condition of anonymity.

Theatres under the Federation will decide whether to go on indefinite strike at a meeting Nov 19.

A R Rahman to compose the music of 'Randamoozham'

Hariharan's magnum opus in the making 'Randamoozham' has hogged all the news headlines of late.

It has been revealed that the film would be the costliest film ever in the history of Malayalam cinema, and would have the best technicians lending support.

And what more could we ask for when the music of the film would be composed by none other than Oscar winner A R Rahman?

With Rahman joining the crew of 'Randamoozham', the anticipations surround the film have gone up even further. Shoot of the film is expected to start by mid 2012.

'Cobra' starts at Chalakkudy

• Mammootty's new film 'Cobra' that would be directed by Lal has commenced its shoot at Chalakkudy.
  
  Though the shoot has started yesterday, Mammootty would be joining the sets of 'Cobra' only after completing 'The King and the Commissioner'.
  
  Lal would also be seen in a parallel role along with Mammootty in the film. Maniyanpillai Raju, Lalu Alex, Salim Kumar and Kunchan would offer support. 
  
  Padmapriya and Sruthi Ramakrishnan would be the heroines.
  
  Lal hopes to regain his box office success record that was tarnished by his last film 'Tournament', with 'Cobra'.