PremiumExclusive! Pawan Kumar’s Fahadh Faasil-led Dhoomam to be a Malayalam-Kannada release on June 23?
The dubbed versions in other languages will be in theatres a week later, depending on how well the film does at the box office
Last Updated: 12.50 PM, Jun 20, 2023
Hombale Films is officially stepping into Malayalam cinema this week, with director Pawan Kumar’s Dhoomam, which has Fahadh Faasil in the lead. Set to be in theatres on June 23, the film was announced as a pan-India release, with versions in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi as well. In fact, a Kannada version was a big ask from audiences, given that the production house and director are from the state and that the film was initially meant to be made in the language.
But a source now tells us that come June 23, Dhoomam will release in Malayalam only across the nation. The release plans of the dubbed versions will be decided based on how Dhoomam fares at the box office. Interestingly, this is a similar strategy to the one the banner had for Rishab Shetty’s Kantara, which was released in Kannada only initially, with the dubbed versions pushed into the market a couple of weeks later once the film took on a life of its own at the box office. Should Dhoomam fail to meet certain business metrics, it could be that the other language versions may only be made available for its OTT release.
Dhoomam, which also stars Roshan Mathew, Aparna Balamurali, Vineeth Kumar and Achyuth Kumar, among others, is a film that Pawan wanted to make as a Kannada film called C10H14N2 (the chemical formula of nicotine), but he was never able to convince actors or producers in Sandalwood and that is how it eventually ended up being a Malayalam film.
Just over a week ago, when the trailer of the film was released in all languages, Kannada audiences were far from pleased with the quality of the dubbing, which, director Pawan had said would be rectified in the final version. Audiences, though, will have to wait till the end of the month, if and when Hombale Films decides to release the other language versions of Dhoomam in theatres.