The megabucks question worrying the Malayalam film industry after Dileep’s arrest is whether the court will allow him some time to wrap up his reel commitments. If not, many almost-done films will be left in limbo and producers, who had bet on the charisma of a man who was once a box-office darling, will be in dire straits.
In fact, several of them are looking up the Sunjay Dutt case when the court allowed the aging hunk to complete his commitments. Dutt had to cool his heels behind bars when the Supreme Court sentenced him to five years in jail for his involvement in the 1993 ammunitions case. Likewise, the big question bothering Mollywood now is whether Dileep too will be granted parole to complete the many projects riding on him.
However, legal circles point out that the two cases are totally dissimilar. If the actor does not get a release to complete the projects he is involved in now, the producers are sure to incur heavy losses. It’s said the industry is riding on an estimated Rs 50 cr over the films Dileep is involved with. If the satellite rights too are to be added, it would be a quantum leap into a void from which scrambling out would be unthinkable. The arrest has left the fate of three of his hero-oriented movies weighing in the balance.
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The major movie is Ramaleela, which was slated for a July 7 release, but was put off to July 21, due to unsavory reports and rumors regarding the actor’s involvement in the case. The Rs 14 cr-Ramaleela, produced by Tomichan Mulakuppadam is director-aspirant Arun Gopi’s debut venture.
Kamarasambhavam, the big budget Ratheesh Ambatt-directed film, is just halfway through. Dileep was called in for questioning from its location in Theni, forcing the director to call a halt to further shooting. But the arrest came when the movie’s second schedule to be held in Thiruvananthapuram, was all set to roll. Kamarasambhavam is also a first baby for director Ratheesh Ambatt.
For ace cinematographer, Ramachandra Babu, Prof Dinkan, is his first as director. The movie shot into infamy at the outset itself just because of the presence of DGP Loknath Behera at its pooja. That the top cop could associate with a movie whose lead actor was under a cloud of suspicion was fodder enough for rumor mills to speculate on the outcome of the police probe. These three movies are right now staring at a bleak future with finance being the most decisive factor. Though the turn of events may not affect a cinematographer of Ramchandra Babu’s fame, things may not be so rosy for the debut aspirants.
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Tomichan Mulakuppadam quite stoically says he has not lost faith in moviedom. “Actors have their private lives,” he says. All said, it’s to be seen how many will turn up to watch the release of the fallen hero. The production company chose not to comment on the issue. As for Ramaleela, it’s been a five-year uphill drive for Arun Gopi. The 3-D Prof Dinkan too has a multi-crore commitment riding on it and had just about completed a week’s work. Though the movie was set to be shot in foreign locations, the team could not make it as Dileep was denied permission to leave Kochi.
The Gokulam Gopalan-funded Kamarasambhavam was slated for an Onam release and its shoot had been proceeding as per schedule. The movie had Dileep in three different get-ups to a script by Murali Gopy. It was to have to its credit another first - Tamil heartthrob Siddarth’s Malayalam debut.
Going by industry standards, Dileep was the next Colossus in Mollywood after the two “M”s, Mammootty and Mohanlal. As per satellite fame, the actor was third in line again, next to the two superstars. Industry sources aver that the arrest will definitely have its adverse impact on the Malayalam movie business.
For eight-time producer Dileep, Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan was his last venture. The future of his long-time pal and director Nadhirshah, who had been toying with the idea of casting Dileep as hero in his next looks pretty blurred. As for Valayar Paramasivam who had been nursing dreams of a part two Runway, the ride may be quite bumpy.
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Dileep had been working on an image makeover in the wake of a series of flops. In the period between 2015 to mid 2017, of the nine Dileep movies, only three could be called hits of some sort. All except Two Countries, King Liar and Chandrettan Evideya bombed at the box office and he had ditched his comic image for character roles in the movies he was working on.
Though cinematographer Jomon had announced The Legend with Dileep as an out and out action hero, the movie never materialized.
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