Theatres are opening in Kerala at 50% capacity, by the end of this month, and needless to say, theatre and cinema hall owners in the Southern State are very excited for the “silver screens” to finally open. More excited than filmgoers, even (which, makes sense, all things considering). Preparations for the reopen date are currently underway, with one major big-name film expected to premiere on the same day as theatres open in Kerala. While it has not been officially confirmed, ‘Ajagajantharam’ is expected to be the first Malayalam film to premiere in Kerala theatres since the “second lockdown”.
With multiple film producers and production houses hesitating to be the first company to release their film, ‘Ajagajantharam’ has become a beacon of hope for cinema hall owners. With a stellar cast, a good crew and decent production value – we expect Malayalam theatres to give this movie its full backing; likely going as far as giving the film an exclusive week-long release (at least). While the other film owners might not be happy with this decision, it will still help them gauge the current perception of theatres from the audience viewpoint.
Calling ‘Ajagajantharam’ a beacon of hope for Malayalam cinema is a bit of a stretch, but the box office collections of this movie will determine the profit margins of other films for the next six to eight months. The Antony Varghese starrer faced many delays in production due to the second wave of the coronavirus and it was expected to release on OTT platforms before the theatre reopening got announced. Still, with theatres expected to open in Kerala by October 25th 2021, we wish this film luck and hope to see it on a streaming platform soon after.