The buzz in Mollywood

Fifteen films to look out for at the turnstiles this year.

January 08, 2015 03:31 pm | Updated 03:31 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Mariyam Mukku

Mariyam Mukku

2015 promises to be an exciting year for Malayalam cinema. Right now, it looks like it’s a mixed bag of genres at the turnstiles and most of the projects seem to be driven by stars themselves. Maybe, this year too, we’ll get to see a few surprises at the box office, given that twists and turns are part and parcel of showbiz. Here is our pick of the top 15 films that are expected to hit the screens during the first half of the year .

Mili

Traffic -director Rajesh Pillai zooms in on the life of Mili, an introvert essayed by the irrepressible Amala Paul. Nivin Pauly stars as a corporate trainer who makes a difference in her outlook. With scintillating music by Shaan Rahman and Gopi Sundar, the film could be an inspirational tale.

Fireman

Mammootty plays a fire fighter, who risks his own life to save others in Deepu Karunakaran’s new film. He works odd shifts and diligently swings into action whenever there is a distress call. Nyla Usha, who worked with Mammootty in Kunjananthante Kada and Gangster , stars as a cop.

Picket 43

Major Ravi delves into a sensitive terrain, where an Indian soldier and a Pakistani soldier share an unlikely friendship, even while guarding their frontiers. Picket 43 has Prithviraj playing Hareendranath Nair, who is posted at a remote Indian picket amidst highly challenging conditions in Kashmir. Javed Jaffrey plays the Pak soldier.

Untitled

Manju Warrier had created quite a storm with her comeback to movies after a 14-year hiatus, last year. Now she teams up with Mohanlal and Sathyan Anthikkad in this untitled film. Mohanlal plays the reporter of a women’s magazine, while Manju is a lawyer. Can the duo recreate the magic of their pairing in cult films like Aaraam Thampuran and Kanmadam ?

Ivan Maryadaraman

A grand set built for debutant director Suresh Divakar’s Ivan Maryadaraman has become the talk of the town. The film, scripted by Siby K. Thomas and Udayakrishna, is reportedly based on the Telugu hit Maryada Ramanna . Dileep teams up with Nikki Galrani, who shot to fame with two hits last year.

Premam

Alphonse Putharen hit the limelight with the music video ‘Yuvvh’. He followed it up with his debut movie, Neram . Though the storyline of Premam is being kept under wraps, it’s reportedly about the romantic life of a youth. Nivin Pauly sports a rather different look in the film, beard and all, and it is slated to be a fun ride.

Double Barrel

Lijo Jose Pellissery is still riding high on praise for genre-bender Amen . After trying his hand at acting in Saptamasree Taskaraha , the director is back at the helm with another quirky film, this time a gun-slinging tragicomedy rumoured to be on the lines of a Quentin Tarantino or a Guy Ritchie film. Produced by Prithviraj’s August Cinema and Lijo’s Amen Movie Monastery, Double Barrel is expected to defy conventions. Arya, Indrajith, Sunny Wayne and Asif Ali play important roles.

Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyaanu

Midhun Manuel Thomas, who wrote the hit rom-com Ohm Shaanthi Oshaana , makes his debut as a director. Jayasurya plays Shaji Pappan, the owner of a tug-o-war team in a high range village and his heroine is a goat, Pinkie, the prize his team wins in a local competition. Friday Film House produces the film.

Bhaskar the Rascal

Mammootty plays the hero in Bhaskar The Rascal , which is being directed by Siddique. Anto Joseph is the producer. Nayantara, who was paired opposite Mammootty in Thaskara Veeran and Raappakal, is back in Malayalam as the heroine after a long break. These are busy days for Mammootty, who is also doing Salim Ahmed’s Pathemari .

Life of Josutty

Jeethu Joseph, whose Drishyam turned out to be one of Mollywood’s biggest grossers ever, is back in Malayalam, after directing Kamal Haasan in the film’s Tamil remake, Papanasam . Jeethu teams up with his My Boss hero Dileep in this comedy Life of Josutty , which is being shot in two schedules. Jyothi Krishna is the heroine.

Laila O Laila

Director Joshiy had made the hit film Run Baby Run with Mohanlal and Amala Paul in the lead. The trio get together again for Laila O Laila , which also marks the entry of Bollywood scenarist Suresh Nair into Malayalam.

Chirakodinja Kinavukal

In the Mammootty-starrer Azhakiya Ravanan , which was released some 20 years ago, Sreenivasan played the character of tailor-cum-novelist, N. P. Ambujakshan. In that film, Ambujakshan had narrated the story of his novel ‘Chirakodinja Kinavukal’.

That comic story finally gets its due on celluloid. Kunchacko Boban and Rima Kallingal play the lead roles. The eponymously titled film is being directed by Santhosh Viswanathan and produced by Listin Stephen.

Ivide

After the much-acclaimed Artist , director Shyamaprasad is currently shooting Ivide , which has Prithviraj, Nivin Pauly and Bhavana in the lead. The thriller, which is being completely shot in the United States, is being produced under the banner of Dharmik Films and has been scripted by Ajayan Venugopalan.

Mariyam Mukku

James Albert, the writer of hit drama Classmates , turns to direction with Mariyam Mukku . The film is set in a seaside village, where Fahadh Faasil, who stars in the lead, plays the role of a fisherman named Felix. Young Felix is in love with Salomy (Sana Altaf).

Nirnayakam

Asif Ali is an NDA cadet who hails from a broken family. He gets involved in certain issues during a visit home from the Naval Academy. V. K. Prakash directs the film, based on the script by Bobby and Sanjay. Malavika Mohanan of Pattam Pole -fame plays the heroine.

Also in the pipeline

Besides these films, there are quite a number of projects which are in various stages of completion. Some of the films are: Mani Ratnam’s bi-lingual Okay Kanmani , starring Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen in the lead; G. Prajith’s Oru Vadakkan Selfie , starring Nivin Pauly; M. Mohanan’s Suresh Gopi-starrer My God ; R. S. Vimal’s Ennu Ninte Moideen , with Prithviraj and Parvathy in the lead; Jenuse Mohamed’s 100 Days of Love , again with Dulquer and Nithya, and Saji Surendran’s She Taxi with Kavya Madhavan and Anoop Menon as the lead pair.

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