Mammootty’s Puzhu releases on OTT hours before its planned release date, here’s where to watch the thriller

Malayalam audiences, who have been excited about Mammootty’s OTT debut film Puzhu, were in for a surprise, with the makers dropping the movie almost six hours before its expected release time on Sony LIV.

The film, directed by Ratheena PT, is scripted by Harshad, Suhas and Sharfu, and also marks Mammootty OTT debut. It’s his first direct-to-OTT release and also has him playing a full-length negative role after a long gap.

The movie, which is a thriller, revolves around a father and son who have trust issues and explores the complex dynamics between the duo. Parvathy Thiruvothu plays the female lead in the movie, which is co-produced by Dulquer Salmaan and S George.

In a recent interview with us, the film’s director Ratheena told us that the makers of the film have not tried to whitewash Mammootty’s negative character in the film by trying to justify his action just because it’s played by a star.

The filmmaker said Harshad had first bounced off the idea of doing a film told from a negative character’s perspective to Mammootty during the shooting of Unda. The megastar asked if it will have good scope of performance and asked Harshad to go ahead.

Incidentally, Mammootty, Ratheena and Harshad were first supposed to team up for a road movie that was to be mounted on a big scale. However, the pandemic restrictions made that impossible, leading to team working on Puzhu instead. The movie wrapped up its shooting last year.

While Puzhu wasn’t initially conceived for an OTT release, Ratheena said that after the film shaped up, its producers felt that it wasn’t made for the wider audience or Mammootty’s die-hard fan base. Releasing on an OTT platform, especially during the pandemic, ensures that more people get to watch the movie, said the filmmaker in the interview.