It has been a golden year for the box office with some amazing movies striking a chord with the audience.
The whopping success of Pulimurugan, which has broken all collection records, made it a special year for Malayalam industry.
Mollywood is now awaiting the release of postponed movies–Jomonte Suvishesham, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, Ezra, Fukri, Kamboji, Georgettan's Pooram and The Great Father.
The releases had to be postponed due to the ongoing tussle between film producers and theater owners over revenue sharing. This will have a big impact on box office and film productions will witness a slowdown for the initial four to five months of 2017.
Assuming that these hazards would wither away, let's take a look at the most anticipated Mollywood movies of 2017:
♦ Lucifer
The movie will bring together Prithviraj and superstar Mohanlal, with the former donning the director's hat. According to reports, Lucifer is expected to go on floors by mid-2017. The makers are planning an Onam release. Buoyant fans have already flooded the social media with innovative posters.
♦ Pranav Mohanlal as hero
Mohanlal revealed that his 26-year-old son will make his debut as a lead actor in the upcoming Malayalam movie, to be directed by Jeethu Joseph. The yet-to-be-titled movie, which is said to be similar to the genre of Mohanlal and Jeethu's blockbuster Drishyam, will be bankrolled by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirwad Cinemas.
♦ My story
Prithviraj and Parvathy, one of the most celebrated star pairs of Mollywood, will unite again for My Story. My Story will have a 55-day shooting schedule, including exotic locales of Portugal and Spain. It is also the directorial debut of Roshni Dinaker, who has been working as a costume designer in movie industry for the last 15 years.
♦ Kammara Sambhavam
The movie, which marks the directorial debut of popular ad film-maker-cum producer, Ratheesh Ambat, is written by Murali Gopy. Kammara Sambhavam, which is said to be an out-and-out comical entertainer, features Dileep in the role of a 90-year-old man. Tamil actor Siddharth will appear in a key role in the movie. The filming of the movie is currently progressing at the various in Ernakulam. Kammara Sambhavam is being produced by Gokulam Gopalan, under his home banner, Sree Gokulam Movies.
♦ Poomaram
The Poomaram song from the Abrid Shine directorial featuring Kalidas Jayaram is already a rage. Along with Kalidas, a group of newcomers will also appear in the key roles in the movie. The film, is expected to hit the theaters in February 2017. Kalidas, son of popular actor Jayaram, is familiar to the audiences as a child artist. This would be the first Malayalam movie in which he would play the lead role.
♦ Sakhavu
Sakhavu, the upcoming Nivin Pauly-Sidhartha Siva movie, is one of the most anticipated projects of Mollywood. Tamil actress Aishwarya Rajesh essays the female lead in the movie, which will have former Miss Kerala Gayathri Suresh in a key role. Sakhavu is being produced by B Rakesh for Universal Cinema. If things fall in place, Sakhavu will be released in March 2017.
♦ Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela
Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela starring Nivin Pauly brings back the Premam team once again to the silver screen. It is also the directorial debut of Althaf Salim, who is familiar to the audience through a brief role in Premam. The movie will have senior actor-director Lal in the role of Nivin Pauly's father. Popular actress Shanthi Krishna makes her comeback to the film industry in the role of Nivin's mother. Ahaana Krishna and debutante Aishwarya Lekshmi are the female leads. Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela is being produced by Nivin Pauly himself, under his home banner Pauly Jr. Pictures.
♦ Aby
The first look poster of the Vineeth Sreenivasan starrer Aby has already raised the curiosity. Aby talks about a young boy who dreams big to build an aircraft that he can fly. The movie is the debut directorial venture of ad filmmaker Srikanth Murali and has Aju Varghese and Mareena Michael in key roles. The shooting is currently progressing at Panampilly Nagar. It is slated for an April-May release.
♦ Take Off
Renowned editor Mahesh Narayanan's debut directorial venture has been in news since the days of its announcement. The movie features Kunchacko Boban, Parvathy and Fahadh Faasil in lead roles. Take Off is being produced by Anto Joseph and Shebin Bakker in association with Rajesh Pillai films. The movie is expected to hit the theaters by February 2017.
♦ Honey Bee 2 (2.5)
After the success of Honey bee, the team is back again with another fun film of the same series – Honey Bee 2. The movie will be a peculiar one for it has embedded another flick, Honeybee 2.5, in it. Honeybee 2 is actually two movies, a first in Malayalam cinema. The plot of the movie unfolds in the location of another film, Honeybee 2.5. Its crew is different from Honey Bee 2. Both of them hit screens as different movies. Asif Ali’s will be the lead star in Honey Bee 2 and his younger brother Askar Ali is the hero in Honeybee 2.5.
♦ Oru Mexican Aparatha
Oru Mexican Aparatha, directed by Tom Emmatty will be a campus entertainer. It would be scripted by renowned director Jude Anthany Joseph. Director Roopesh Peethambaran and Neeraj Madhav will be acting in lead roles along with Tovino Thomas.
♦ Role Models
Role Models, which marks the first association of Fahadh Faasil with director Rafi, stars Namitha Pramod in the female lead. Fahadh is teaming up with the actress for the first time. Soubin Shahir, Renji Panicker, Vinay Forrt, Seetha, Vinayakan and Nandu Pothuval are also part of the cast. Gopi Sundar is the music composer and Shamdat is the cinematographer of the project. The movie is being keenly awaited as the first project of Fahadh after the success of Maheshinte Prathikaaram.
♦ Karnan
Prithviraj's historical drama Karnan, which will be directed by R S Vimal, is reportedly going to be made on a budget of Rs 300 crore. The film already has an animated companion piece lined up that will hit screen a few months after the feature film's release. The film will reportedly go on floors soon.
