July offerings from the Malayalam film industry

Will July bring some pleasant surprises for the Malayalam film industry, already reeling from internal squabbles and a tough fight from the Tamil film industry?

Film lovers will have to wait for at least two weeks to know the fate of the four major releases this month.

Mammootty will hit the screens with ‘Mission 90 days.’ Mohanlal says ‘Hallo.’ Dileep’s ‘July 4’ will come out on July 5. Filmmaker Lal Jose’s ‘Arabikatha,’ with Srinivasan in the lead, takes on the biggies in a keenly fought contest.

At stake is over Rs.10 crore, a fraction of the total cost of Rajnikanth’s magnum opus ‘Sivaji The Boss.’

A Mammootty film may not be able to compete with a Rajnikanth-starrer but they continue to enjoy the advantage of an ‘initial pull,’ a term which the industry uses for the crowds flocking to the cinemas during the first week of release.

Major Ravi is behind Mammootty’s ‘Mission 90 days,’ a story based on the commando operation immediately after the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. It is an acid test for the director, as the audience expectations are high, especially after the runaway success of his debut movie, ‘Keerthichakra.’

‘Mission 90 days’ is said to be action-packed with a racy narrative and slick visuals handled by cameraman Tiru.

Mohanlal plays a lawyer in Rafi Mecartin’s ‘Hallo.’ The cast includes Jagathy Sreekumar, Janardhanan, Ganesh Kumar and Parvathi Milton.

Dileep’s ‘July 4’ is directed by Joshie. Roma plays the heroine in the film. Joshie and Dileep are teaming up after ‘The Lion.’

Lal Jose’s ‘Arabikatha’ tells the story of Cuba Mukundan, played by Srinivasan. Chinese actor Zhang Shumin is the surprise package.

Shot extensively in Dubai, the story and screenplay of the film are by Iqbal Kuttipuram. Nedumudi Venu, Jayasoorya and Indrajith play key roles.