Bramayugam is Kerala's Kantara as trends nationally

From what we hear from trade circles in Kerala ands Tamil Nadu, Mammootty Brahmayugam is all probability going to be what Kantara was for Kannada filmdom and Rishab Shetty. This will be the first Rs 100 crore film for Mammootty says a trade analyst. This outlook is not based on the first four day collections within Kerala but the trends that are showing in other regional language industries and the audience. Even though the producers had planned to dub the film in Tamil and Telugu and also Hindi and have a release in all languages. The film was touted to be a costly venture and that too in a B&W format. After Valiban hit dirt, the makers cut the hype and talk veered around the costumes of Mammootty being only four dhotis. The posters too did not help either. It was Mammoootty at his worst looking. A week before releases a low budget Premalu and in no time is turning out to be a blockbuster The situation was such that if Brahmayugam failed to average at box office, theatres would increase Premalu shows. With Premalu breathing down the neck and a cynical crowd waiting to see if Brahmayugam was another Valiban, the rest as they say is history. The other day we had reported how the film was doing in Tamil Nadu in first four days. So was the case in Hyderabad. Now Sithara Entertainments has picked the film for two Telugu speaking States. From what we hear is that the film’s Hindi opening is on the cards. We were not able to ascertain whether the OTT deal was clinched before theatre release. As Nanpakal of Mammootty got quite a good response on OTT, in all probability the deal would have closed before release. Sashikanth had in the past made his money through out of the box subject films and made on a limited budget. So far Irudhi Suttru could be termed a money spinner for the banner, Sashikant with Brahmayugam would get into Rs 100 crore club. The word-of-mouth publicity and media reviews are positive, it is only matter of time before the film becomes another iconic film.

Vetrimaaran - Vijay film on Shoes of the Dead book - Mammooty Black and White film cuts hype

Many think that Maalaikottai Valiban overhype went against, Mammootty's Bramayugam Producers are playing downn costs.After the failure of Maalaikottai Valiban of Mohanlal, the next film of Mammootty and highly expected is Bramayugam , a Black and White film. The producers YNOT Shasikanth of Tamil Padam fame and Chakravarthy has so far said that being a B&W film is not a cheap affair, but costs close to Rs 36 crores in production. Publicity costs etc will take it to Rs 50 crores. So, in short, a B& W film that costs as much as a grand scale Malaikottai Valivaban. Now Valiban that costs Rs 50 crores after 11 days has collected Rs 11 crores. Bramayugam Producers have now changed the cost factor. They say that only 11 white dhotis were the cost of Mammootty costumes. Now the total cost is Rs 25 crores, they say. Lal fans say that scaling down of cost is to escape from flop as this experimental film looks very unappealing. To avoid another flop in Mollywood, all big and small films released on February 15th have been postponed giving Bramayugam a clear run. Meanwhile Mohanlal after Valiban flop is taking time to relax in Mexico with Producer Vijayakumar and Asianet Madhavan. Right from Joshi to Vineeth Srinivasan, there are 15 projects lined up for Mohanlal. After Valiban writer said that he is working on a sequel, Lal fans asked whether it has the actor’s nod. For your info, Lal put out a photo of him posing near a Mummy (Egyptian grave/ tomb). Symbolic !!!.

Vetrimaaran has given the book Shoes of the Dead written by Kota Neelima to Thalapathy Vijay to read. As per GoodReads, the book is like this. Crushed by successive crop failures and the burden of debt, Sudhakar Bhadra kills himself. The powerful district committee of Mityala routinely dismisses the suicide and refuses compensation to his widow. Gangiri, his brother, makes it his life’s mission to bring justice to the dead by influencing the committee to validate similar farmer suicides. Keyur Kashinath of the Democratic Party - first-time member of Parliament from Mityala, and son of Vaishnav Kashinath, the party’s general secretary - is the heir to his father’s power in Delhi politics. He faces his first crisis every suicide in his constituency certified by the committee as debt-related is a blot on the party’s image, and his competence. The brilliant farmer battles his inheritance of despair, the arrogant politician fights for the power he has received as legacy. Their two worlds collide in a conflict that pushes both to the limits of morality from where there is no turning back. At stake is the truth about ‘inherited’ democratic power. And at the end, there can only be one winner. Passionate and startlingly insightful, Shoes of the Dead is a chilling parable of modern-day India. A book that will make you stroll through India’s corridors of power and politics with a perfect portrayal of how its consequences creep into the lives of the farmers forcing them to commit suicide. About Author : Kota Neelima is a political author and has been a journalist for over 22 years. She holds a Master’s degree in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and was Senior Research Fellow, South Asia Studies at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA. She is a former political editor for The Sunday Guardian and writes on farmer suicides, rural women, and electoral reforms in India. Her bestselling books include Shoes of the Dead, Death of a Moneylender, and The Honest Season. Neelima lives in New Delhi. As we are conveying this news that Director Vetrimaaran and Thalapathy Vijay have been in talks over the next film of the latter, we heard that the director has also met DVV the maker of RRR too. DVV is bank rolling the film that will be the last of Vijay after he takes to full time politics. On the sidelines, we hear that a top hero who has been making noises about the Union ministry policies and went quiet after he got what he wanted from Modi sarkar is likely to take the plunge into politics. He has a network ready and a string of social activists' groups too. The actor shares a personal relationship with Vijay and whether this would take him to the new party is not clear. Vishal is another Kollywood actor that will pledge his backing to Vijay.