‘Pazhassi Raja’, the most expensive film ever made in the Malayalam film industry, was released simultaneously in 130 cinema houses in Kerala on Friday.
The film, which was made on a budget of Rs 27 crore, tells the story of the legendary king of Malabar region who locked horns with the British 50 years before the Sepoy mutiny of 1857.
Starring Southern superstar Mammootty in the lead role, the film has 2000 artists, including some from abroad in various roles.
While the Malayalam version was released today, the Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu releases would be released by the end of this month, Sri Harilal, General Manager of Sree Gokulam Movies, the makers of the film, told PTI.
There was a huge crowd in front of theatres across the State with fans queuing up from 7 am for the first show at 9.30 am.
Huge cut outs of Mammootty had been put up in front of various theatres at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Thrissur and ecstatic fans poured milk on cut outs signifying the release.
In Thrissur, a cut out of Mammootty was placed atop an elephant and amidst the beating of drums and other percussion instruments, the first show began.