April to be an Eventful Month for Malayalam Cinema

It seems April is going to be an eventful month for Malayalam Cinema. During the first quarter of the year we had just one film which had a satisfactory run at the box office, namely Cycle. With the Lal Jose-directed Dileep-starrer Mulla faltering, everyone now seems to be pinning their hopes on the Vishu releases lined up for the coming weeks. In all likelihood there will be five releases this month, and at least a couple of them are expected to do good business. The releases slated for the month are Innathe Chinthavishayam, Annan Thambi, De Ingottu Nokkiye, Parthan Kanda Paralokam and Positive.

The Satyan Anthicaud-directed Mohanlal-Meera Jasmine starrer Innathe Chinthavishayam, which has an impressive line-up of artists including Mukesh, Sukanya, Innocent, Mohini, Muthumani, Mamookoya, Vijayaraghavan, Ashokan, Vanitha etc, is produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Ashirwad Cinemas. Like all other Satyan Anthicaud films, this is expected to turn a hot favourite especially with the family audience. Innathe Chinthavishayam is slated for release on April 11th.

After Innathe Chinthavishayam it would most probably be De Ingottu Nokkiye that would find its way to the theatres. The film, which is being directed by Balachandra Menon, has Jayasurya, new face Sarah, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salim Kumar, the late Bharath Gopi etc as part of the cast. The film is almost ready and as reported, is the story of a Chief Minister falling in love. Produced by A.V. Anoop under the banner of AVA Productions, the film is slated for release on April 12th.

There are two releases lined up for April 14th, the Vishu day. The Anwar Rasheed-directed Annan Thambi is one of them. The film has Mammootty in a dual role. The Anil-directed Jayaram-Mukesh starrer Parthan Kanda Paralokam is the other one.

Annan Thambi, produced under the banner of Marikkar Films, is scripted by Benny P. Nayarambalam, and tells the story of two brothers Appu and Achchu, one of them dumb. Mammootty will be playing Appu and Achchu, while Gopika and Lakshmi Rai will be the leading ladies. The film will also have in the cast Siddique, Janardhanan, Hairsri Ashokan, Suraaj Venjaramoodu, Salim Kumar, Rajan P. Dev, Cochin Haneefa, Kunjan, Manianpillai Raju, Bijukuttan, Master Monu, Master Sonu, KPAC Lalitha, Urmila Unni etc and is expected to be a colourful entertainer, intended to rock the theatres.

Parthan Kanda Paralokam, directed by Anil (of the Anil-Babu duo), is produced under the banner of Screen Entertainment Company and tells the story of a man called Parthasarathy who has had close encounters with death. He is said to have come back more than once from the nether world. Jayaram plays this character while Mukesh too has a pivotal role, that of Parthasarathy's friend Madhavan. The female lead roles are done by Sreedevika and Sona, while the cast comprises of other popular artists too. Scripted by Rajan Kiriyath, this light veined film is expected to do good to Jayaram's acting career, which at present is on a downswing.

The last film to be released in April will be Positive directed by V.K. Prakash, with Skanda (Suraj), Ramesh Pisharody, Manikuttan, Ayilya, Vani and Jayasurya in key roles. This is a youthful flick with music as the backdrop. The film also has elements of suspense in it. Also in the cast are other popular actors like Jagathy Sreekumar, Saikumar, P. Sreekumar, Boban Alummoodan, T.G. Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Augustine, Mala Aravindan, Bindu Panicker etc. Songs by Vayalar Sharath-Alex Paul team would be a highlight of the film. Positive will be released on April 25th.

With such an impressive line-up, it is expected that April would be an eventful month for Malayalam Cinema this year, with at least a couple of these making it big at the box office. And then perhaps the films slated for release in May like Pachchamarathanalil, Bullet and Thalapaavu will take the success story forward. Here's hoping for the best.