The father seems to have gained a slight edge over the son in their face-off at the box office this weekend.
Filmmaker Siddique’s Mammootty-starrer Bhaskar the Rascal is one step ahead of Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani ( OK Kanmani ) with Dulquer Salman in the lead role, going by the response from representatives of the trade bodies of exhibitors and distributors in tinsel town.
“ Bhaskar the Rascal is a complete family entertainer from actor Mammootty after a long time. The first half rocks, while the second half drifts to a different line,” said P.V. Basheer Ahamed, president of the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation, the apex body of ‘A’ class cinemas in the State.
Suresh Shenoy, managing partner of Shenoy’s Cinemax Group, said the initial opening for OK Kanmani could not match the expectations. “It’s an average movie. The film lacks a strong story line,” he said after the first screening of the film here on Friday.
Giving a thumbs-up for Bhaskar the Rascal , Siyad Kokker, president of the Kerala Film Distributors Association, said the film earned good collections on its first day of release State-wide.
Asked whether the Vishu festival and summer holidays had turned in favour of Mollywood, Mr. Basheer said Vishu always brought joy for the cinemas compared to other festival seasons. “People seem to be interested in going out and enjoying a movie with their families this time going by the footfalls in theatres over the last two days,” he said.
However, Mr. Shenoy said the Vishu festival season this year had turned out to be a dampener except for the continuing rush for debutant G. Prajith’s Oru Vadakkan Selfie . “ Bhaskar the Rascal may be a notch above OK Kanmani but its collections are not that attractive,” he said.
Bhaskar the Rascal and OK Kanmani evoked mixed responses among the Twitteratti and the netizens. While many praised OK Kanmani for its stunning visuals and brilliant music and songs, others referred to it as old wine in new bottle. Some movie buffs said Bhaskar the Rascal ended Mammootty’s dry run at the box-office while many criticised it for being run-of-the-mill.
G. Krishnakumar
