The second week of May was the week we were going to see Fahadh Faasil‘s ‘Malik’, Nivin Pauly‘s ‘Thuramukham’ and Mohanlal‘s ‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea’ all release together – the set date being May 13th (during Eid). But due to the rise in Covid cases within Kerela (and around the country), Mohanlal’s aforementioned historical epic is getting pushed ahead by another three months. This should also push the film theatre associations to shut down cinema halls for a set amount of time.
‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea‘ was initially expected to by the second week of March, but due to the delay in the announcement of night shows by the State Government, the film producers decide to push the official release date by another 2 months. Well now, we are going through the second wave of coronavirus, which is happening around the world with multiple states setting up lockdowns, ironically around the “first anniversary” of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has prompted the release date to be pushed to August.
With theatres in Kerela already undergoing severe restrictions and now this new announcement on Mohanlal’s upcoming action thriller, Kerela’s film associations are expected to close down major theatres around the state. With the removal of second shows earlier this month, many theatres have been unable to gain profits due to the lack of people coming to theatres. Normally, theatre owners would protest this decision, but with the ongoing increase in Covid-19 cases, even if they were to complain, there will be no logical argument that can be made to change the minds of the film producers or the Government officials. However, one thing they can and should do is appeal to the State government for financial support till this “second wave” calms down.
And ‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea’ isn’t the only film that is shifting its release date, with Chiranjeevi’s ‘Acharya’ and John Abraham’s ‘Satyameva Jayate 2’ being two other high profile films which have postponed their release dates from May, indefinitely. With May 13th being an important release date, due to the occasion of Eid, we are sure there will be other films releasing during this date, but we do not expect any other big-budget films to stick to this date, especially after this surge in Covid cases.
The previously mentioned ‘Malik’ and ‘Thuramukham’ are expected for release in theatres on May 13th 2021. But with the way things are going, we expect that release date to be changed soon.
‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea’ has changed its theatrical release date to August 12th 2021.