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Big budgets, yet big struggles: How Malayalam Cinema found the winning formula

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The trend of attempting big-budget films has seen a big rise recently in the South Indian Film Industry, along with Bollywood. Naturally, Tollywood, Kollywood, and Bollywood had an upper hand over the rest of the Film Industries in terms of big budgets and large-sized markets.

But, surprisingly, when it comes to the theatres, Mollywood has been doing great for its exhibitors while the rest of the Film industries are suffering. These respective Film Industries are even failing to attract minimum audience and are also struggling to maintain the theatres.

But Mollywood has been continuously witnessing big success, and the main reason is also Mollywood stars. Most of the Actors have been working in multiple films, which are being released every year.

Sharwanand and Anupama Parameswaran re-unite for a big budget Pan India film

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Tollywood Actor Sharwanand scored a blockbuster with Shatamanam Bhavati, co-starring Anupama Parameswaran. The film, released as a Sankranthi venture, attracted most of the audience and grossed more than 50 crores worldwide. The combo of Sharwanand and Anupama Parameswaran earned great praise. Many complimented their chemistry in the film as well.

But the duo never collaborated after Shatamanam Bhavati and they are now joining together for a film under the direction of Sampath Nandi, as per sources. The film will be produced by Radha Mohan and Bheems Ceciroleo will compose the tunes.

The film is said to have a periodical rural backdrop involving a heavy mass violent setup in 1960s border of North Telangana and Maharashtra. It is also learned to be made with a huge budget, and the film’s regular shoot will commence from the month of April and will be released in multiple languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi as a Pan India biggie.

Ram Charan’s wax statue unveiling: Time and date confirmed

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Tollywood Actor Ram Charan is set to have his wax statue displayed at Madame Tussauds in Singapore. The Actor will be the fourth star from Tollywood to get a wax statue at the renowned Museum. The event for the unveiling of his wax statue is set to happen on 9th May 2025 in London.

Previously, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, and Allu Arjun had wax statues in various Madame Tussauds around the world. Now, Ram Charan will join this elite list soon. Fans and Audience have been waiting eagerly for this event and the announcement is a cracker for them.

Ram Charan will participate in the event and will unveil his wax statue himself. The statue unveiling and photo session will be from 6:15 PM to 7:15 PM. An interaction with the media will also happen from 7:15 PM – 8:15 PM.

Mangalavaaram Sequel Will Be Different

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Mangalavaaram, starring Payal Rajput in the lead role and directed by Ajay Bhupathi, was released with good expectations, and despite the film having good content and receiving decent WOM, it did not work as big as it was expected at the box office. Ajay Bhupathi is planning a second part for the film, and the Mangalavaaram sequel will be different from the first part.

The bad release date is also one of the reasons for Mangalavaaram’s disappointing box office performance, but after the OTT release, the film’s reach gets much bigger. As said above, director Ajay is working on the sequel project now, and the script work is said to be completed.

The Sequel of Mangalavaaram will be much different to the first part

According to the director, the Mangalavaaram sequel will be different from the first part. The first part of the film had adult themes, but in the sequel, the director is said to have aimed at all sections of audiences with no adult content, and mainly it is said to have devotional elements as the backdrop.

Payal Rajput is not the lead actress in Mangalavaram Part 2. The team is in discussions with a few top actresses to play the lead role in this film, and once the casting is finalized, the film will be announced officially and will immediately go on to the floors.

Chiranjeevi Inspires Suriya, Who Inspires Vijay Deverakonda

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Suriya’s next film, Retro, is releasing in theaters on 1st May. The Telugu states’ rights to the film were bought by Sithara Entertainments. Vijay Deverakonda appeared as the chief guest for the Retro’s Telugu pre-release event and said he was inspired by Suriya, who is inspired by Chiranjeevi.

During his speech at the Retro Telugu pre-release event, Vijay Devarakonda said that as an actor and as a person, Suriya has inspired him a lot for a long time. According to Vijay, Suriya’s Agaram Foundation inspired him a lot, as it provides education to thousands of people.

The Arjun Reddy actor even said that with that inspiration, he is also starting something on education and will announce it in the next 2 months. He stated that education will change the lives of a person and family.

Chiranjeevi Sir inspired me – Says Actor Suriya in Retro Pre-Release Event

On the same stage, Suriya told about Megastar Chiranjeevi and how he inspired him to start the Agaram Foundation. Chiru’s blood bank inspired the Ghajini actor, and he started the Agaram Foundation for students. In a nutshell, Chiranjeevi inspires Suriya, who inspires Vijay Deverakonda.

Also, during the pre-release event, Suriya officially confirmed his next film with Venky Atluri under Sithara Entertainments banner, and the shooting will start next month.

Thudarum Day 2 Box Office: Huge 50 Percent Growth Over Opening Day

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Mohanlal’s Thudarum is surpassing all the expectations at the box office. The film was released in theaters worldwide on April 25 and received unanimous positive responses from audiences and critics. Thudarum’s Day 2 box office sees a huge 50 percent growth over the opening day.

As said above, Tharun Moorthy’s directorial received positive WOM, and it had an excellent start at the box office with 16.5 Cr. The film became the all-time 5th biggest opener ever in Malayalam cinema.

Mohanlal’s Thudarum Box Office: Massie Jump on Day 2

As the WOM is unanimously positive, the family drama-thriller witnesses a massive 50% jump over day 1. The fans are excited as Mohanlal’s Thudarum Day 2 box office sees a huge 50 percent growth over the opening day.

On day 2, the worldwide estimates of the film are in the range of 25 Cr. Putting Empuraan aside, this is the single biggest day for Malayalam cinema, and a low-budget film collecting such huge numbers is truly a sensational feat.

The trade is in awe of the film’s box office performance, and at this pace, Thudarum is even on track to gross 150 Cr in its full run.

Thudarum Movie Review: A Decent Family Thriller With a Few Flaws

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Movie Name: Thudarum
Rating: 2.75/5
Cast: 
Mohanlal, Shobana, Prakash Varma, Binu Pappu, and others
Director: Tharun Moorthy
Produced By: 
M. Renjith
Release Date: 26th April 2025

Thudarum (transl. To be continued) is the latest film from Mohanlal after Empuraan. The film is directed by Tharun Moorthy, who wrote the screenplay with K. R. Sunil. The film received good reviews from Malayali audiences, and today it has been released in Telugu. Let’s find out how the movie, Thudarum, has been shaped up.

Story:

The film tells the story of a taxi driver, Shanmugham, aka Benz (Mohanlal), whose car is taken away by police in a small case. He tries hard to retrieve it, but his efforts uncover an unexpected truth, and the rest of the film is about how Benz handles the troublesome situation.

Performances:

Mohanlal delivers a fine performance as Shanmugham, aka Benz. The way he conveys his emotions through his eyes is fantastic. Shobana makes her presence felt, though her character has a limited scope. Prakash Varma and Binu Pappu portray the evil roles with perfection, while Thomas Matthew and Amritha Varshini are apt.

Analysis:

Mohanlal’s Thudarum tries to be an intense and emotionally powerful movie. Director Tharun Moorthy starts the film with an intriguing moment that captures our interest for the first five minutes. Then after he establishes Benz’s character and his family relationships. The proceedings look ordinary for a while, but after a slight turn in the tale, he successfully creates tension leading up to the interval and effectively stages the action scenes in the second half. Tharun uses the eyes of Mohanlal in crucial scenes very well, and the legendary actor lives up to his potential and shows his prowess as an actor, especially in the last half hour.

However, the director lacks sensitivity in depicting police brutality. Although the goal is to evoke pain, the portrayal is overly disturbing with numerous close-up shots of torture and harassment. The well-rooted narration in the first half gets stretched in the second half, as the predictability affects it. The film drifts away from the thriller route to revenge mode, and one can expect the outcome from hindsight itself. Also, the director could have put in a few family scenes that could have raised the emotional factor. 

Positives:

  • Mohanlal’s Performance
  • First Half’s Screenplay
  • Last Half an Hour

Negatives:

  • Hard Hitting Police Brutality Scenes
  • Less Focus on showing the Family Bonding
  • Predictable Feel in the Second Half

Thudarum Movie Review and Verdict:

Mohanlal’s Thudraum is a decent family thriller with a few flaws. Mohanlal’s excellent performance, sincere first half, and mass moments driven in the last half hour work well for the film, while the hard-hitting/melodramatic scenes and the predictable nature in the second half work against it. 

Thudarum 1st Day Worldwide Box Office Collections: Fantastic Start

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The legendary actor Mohanlal is having a superb time as a hero. Just 4 weeks back, the actor released a big-budget film, Empuraan, and yesterday, his latest film, Thudarum, was released. Thudarum’s 1st day worldwide box office collections are off to a fantastic start.

Empuraan and Thudarum: Mohanlal scores two back-to-back hits at the Box Office

It is not easy to pull audiences immediately for 2 films, but Lalettan (fans fondly call Mohanlal) has done it. His latest film, Thuudarum, has been the least promoted film, and because of the genre, the film did not carry much buzz. 

However, as said above, Mohanlal’s stardom made sure that the film opened with good occupancies for the early shows, and as the film received unanimous positive reviews and WOM, it started picking up collections with each show.

Thudaruam off to fantastic start at the Worldwide Box Office

Mohanlal’s Thudarum’s 1st day worldwide box office collections are off to a fantastic start. The film has collected 5.2 Cr gross in Kerala on day 1 and close to 1 Cr gross in the rest of India. The thriller gathered around 1.25M USD from overseas, which takes the total worldwide opening day gross to 16.5 Cr.

Directed by Tharun Moorthy, the family thriller became the 5th all-time biggest opener of Mollywood. The film is trending above day 1 on day 2, with a good jump in all areas. The trade expects the second day’s collection to go beyond 20 Cr, and it is expected to have a huge run at the box office.

Low buzz for Retro in Telugu

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Kollywood Actor Suriya is gearing up for his upcoming film, Retro directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The Actor has put high hopes on the film with his previous venture, Kanguva becoming a big disaster at the box office. Retro, likewise attracted the fans and audience with its content and song released till now in Kollywood circles. But, the film has a very low buzz in Telugu States.

Retro is scheduled to release on 1st May worldwide, and this posed a clash with Hit 3 starring Nani which is also set to release on the same day. Now, this will impact Retro in the Telugu States. Producer Naga Vamsi has bought the rights of the film for nearly 9 crores, and the film must collect a double-digit share in the Telugu States to emerge as a hit.

But, as said, the buzz is not enough for Retro here in the Telugu version, and the pre-release event, which is planned today, must raise the hype. Tollywood Actor Vijay Deverakonda has been invited as the chief guest for the event, which will happen in Hyderabad.

Chiranjeevi leaks to Naga Chaitanya

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Tollywood Actor Naga Chaitanya recently scored a big hit with his Thandel. The film provided him the much-needed relief from a series of flops and now he is on to his next project. This film is being planned on a massive level and nothing has been announced officially. But, Naga Chaitanya leaked the title of his next film to be Vrusha Karma.

It seemed that Naga Chaitanya followed the path of Chiranjeevi who used to leak few interesting things before his films, which also became popular on social media platforms as Chiranjeevi leaks. Naga Chaitanya said that his next film is going to be a mythical thriller with top notch VFX works included.

This film is his 24th venture and will be directed by Karthik Dandu, fame of Virupaksha. This will be jointly produced by BVSN Prasad and Sukumar jointly with more than a budget of 100 crores – a first for Naga Chaitanya. The film shoot has also commenced recently and the makers are aiming for the summer season next year for release.