It will be a triangular contest for Vishu at the box office in Mollywood this year. Three biggies are lined up for release – Mammootty’s Madhura Raja, Fahadh Faasil’s Athiran and Asif Ali’s Mera Naam Shaji.
Madhura Raja is a sequel to the hit 2010 film Pokkiri Raja, which was directed was Vyasakh and starred Mammootty in the lead. Touted to be an action entertainer, the film is bankrolled by Nelson Ipe under his banner on a big budget. While Tamil actor Jai will be seen in a prominent role in Madura Raja, the rest of the star cast include Siddique, Aju Varghese, Anna Rajan, Anusree, Nedumudi Venu, Vijayaraghavan, Salim Kumar, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Bala, Bijukuttan and Manikuttan. Prithviraj Sukumaran will be seen in a cameo role in this flick with Sunny Leone roped in for a dance sequence. The technical crew of the film includes Gopi Sunder for music, Shaji Kumar for cinematography and John Kutty for editing.
Athiran, directed by debutant director Vivek, stars Fahadh Faasil and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles. Written by PF Mathews, the technical crew of this film includes music director Jayahari for soundtrack and Ghibran to score the background music. PF Mathews had recently stated in an interview that the film is a thriller set in a mental hospital located in a hill station and that Fahadh Faasil plays the role of a doctor.
Mera Naam Shaji is a multi-starrer that has three actors in the title role. Asif Ali will be seen playing Cochin Shaji, while Biju Menon plays Calicut Shaji and Baiju will be seen as Trivandrum Shaji. The comedy entertainer is directed by Nadirshah and produced by B Rakesh under the Universal Cinemas banner. Nikhila Vimal plays the female lead in the film and veteran actor Sreenivasan will be seen in a pivotal role. The movie is written by Dileep Ponnan, while music is composed by Emil Muhammed.
While fans of all three actors wait eagerly for the festival releases, it remains to be seen which film will rule the box office.
(Content provided by Digital Native)