Mohanlal’s Aaraattu theatrical release deferred due to COVID-19 restrictions in Kerala?

The Sunday lockdown and shutting down of theatres in districts that have been classified in C category in Kerala will have an immediate impact on the big releases such as Mohanlal’s Aaraattu and Mammootty’s Bheeshma Parvam – both of which are set to hit cinema halls in February.

According to rumours, the makers of Mohanlal’s ‘mass’ entertainer Aaraattu, which is currently set for a February 10 release, are reconsidering deferring its release date by a week to February 18. Last week, theatres in Thiruvananthapuram were shut due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the district.

This meant that movies such as Pranav Mohanlal’s Hridayam weren't screened in cinema halls despite the bookings being sold out in the majority of the theatres in the district. The weekend lockdown, which will continue this week too, has irked theatre exhibitors, who had approached the High Court against the restrictions but to no avail.

Aaraattu, which is a big budget movie touted to be made on a budget exceeding Rs 30 crore during the pandemic, had wrapped up production in 2020. The makers had opted against OTT release even as other Mohanlal-starrers including Drishyam 2, Bro Daddy and 12th Man took the streaming route.

The film marks Mohanlal’s second big budget theatrical release after Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham. Aaraattu revolves around a real-estate tycoon named Neyyattinkara Gopan who travels to Palakkad to check the land he has purchased, only to get embroiled in deeper issues. Scripted by Udaykrishna, the B Unnikrishnan-directorial also has Shraddha Das, Nedumudi Venu, Renji Panicker and Saikumar in pivotal roles.

In an interview with OTTplay earlier this month, after the release of Dulquer Salmaan’s Salute was deferred due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, Unnikrishnan had told us, “We are still aiming to release the movie on February 10. But with theatres in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, which are revenue centres for Malayalam cinema, being adversely affected due to the latest lockdowns, there could be changes.” The filmmaker, who has also produced the movie, said that he would take a call on Aaraattu’s release only later this month.

Meanwhile, if Aarattu does finalise on a February 18 release, it could have an impact on the release of Mammootty-Amal Neerad duo’s Bheeshma Parvam, which is set to hit theatres on February 24.

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