Confirmed! After Dulquer Salmaan’s Salute, Mammootty and Parvathy Thiruvothu’s Puzhu to release on Sony LIV

While there were rumours that Mammootty and Parvathy Thiruvothu’s upcoming film Puzhu will be a direct-to-OTT release, it was confirmed on Tuesday that the movie will drop on Sony LIV. The announcement comes in the wake of the Kerala theatre exhibitors body, FEUOK, deciding to take a non-cooperation stance against Dulquer Salmaan and his production company Wayfarer Films, which has opted for a straight digital release of Salute on Sony LIV.

Both Salute and Puzhu will mark the first direct-to-OTT releases of Dulquer Salmaan and Mammootty, respectively. Salute, which is helmed by Rosshan Andrrews, is a police procedural revolving around a once upright and fiery cop, who is now aching for a shot at redemption. The movie, scripted by Bobby and Sanjay duo, is set for a March 18 release on the OTT platform.

Puzhu, which is directed by debutant Ratheena PT, is touted to be a family thriller, which will have the megastar essay a character with grey shades. It revolves around the relationship between a father and son and underlying trust issues between them. The movie also marks the first collaboration between Parvathy and Mammootty.

Also read: Salute: Check out the stills from Dulquer Salmaan’s first full-length outing as a police officer 

In a press statement issued by Sony LIV, Mammootty, whose movie Bheeshma Parvam is running to packed houses in theatres, said that the story of Puzhu had excited him the most. The film was very much in line with his aim of reinventing himself and it marks a step in this direction.

While Salute is produced by Dulquer’s Wayfarer Films, Puzhu was to be distributed by the company. On Tuesday, the Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) had announced that it would not co-operate with Dulquer or Wayfarer Films as a sign of protest for opting to release the movies on OTTs. A spokesperson from the production house, meanwhile, told us that Salute’s OTT deal was in place first, even before they decided to release it in theatres, and they had to honour the agreement.

Also read: Exclusive! Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films responds to FEUOK’s stand, says Salute’s OTT deal was signed first