Ajith Pillai, who rarely gives a miss to any “good movie”', had been scoffing at the idea of watching Pulimurugan, the latest release of superstar Mohanlal, till recently. “If I want to see Telugu style mass entertainer, I had better go and watch a Telugu film. Why watch a Malayalam film which is trying to imitate mass Telugu films with its over the top action scenes and slick animation,'' Ajith, an engineer by profession, had said two weeks back .
But today, after being kind of “compelled'' to watch the movie following its stupendous success at box office, Ajith has a different take. “I did not expect this. But I quite enjoyed the movie. I would not mind watching it again'' he said.
Though he stuck to his earlier argument that it is a replica of a Telugu mass entertainer, Ajith says it was “great fun’’ watching Pulimurugan.
It was people like Ajith who helped the Vysakh-directed film reach the much hyped Rs 100 crore club – the first Malayalam film to cross that mark. That it touched the Rs 100 crore ribbon on the 30th day of its release is a big thing considering the comparatively smaller size of Malayalam film market.
“The success of Pulimurugan is a miracle. It touching the 100 crore mark has given a never before confidence to the Malayalam film industry. It has raised the bar and I am very happy about it,’’ Vysakh told THE WEEK.
He said the confusion following government's demonetisation decision on Tuesday night had not affected the collection.
“We had already crossed the 100 crore mark last Sunday. And there has been no slump even yesterday (Wednesday) despite the demonetisation and the ensuing confusions,’’ he said.
Pulimurugan, with spectacular fight sequences and punch dialogue, is about the relationship or lack of it between a man and a tiger. Mohanlal, who has given one of his best performances in this movie, plays a village hunter who fights with tigers with a vengeance. The film was made at a budget of Rs 25 crore—making it the costliest film ever made in Malayalam.
Pulimurugan has had the maximum number of release for a Malayalam film with it getting released on 328 screens across the country. It is also the first Malayalam film which has collected Rs 5 crore in first five days.
M.Renjith, secretary of All Kerala Film Producers Association is elated about the success of the movie. “Its a great sign that people are again coming back to theatres. It is good for the entire industry,’’ he said. Renjith attributes the success of this movie to the “repeat audience.’’
“There are many viewers, especially youth, who have seen the movie at least 5 times. They are behind the success of the movies,’’ he said.
He also felt that Malayalam film industry has made a huge leap on the technical side. “Malayalam films, despite being strong on content and acting, have always been lacking on technical front. With Pulimurugan, we have achieved that too,’’ he said.
But there are a few who believe that Malayalam films should not lose its identity just for the heck of joining the 100 crore club.
“Malayalam films have been noted for its content and strength of film making. It need not imitate other film industries and lose its essence in the process. I am scared Pulimurugan will set a wrong trend in that manner,’’ said a veteran film producer. He did not wish to be named as he is in the process of making a film starring Mohanlal and did not want to upset the actor.
But Vysakh says that he believes in mass entertainers like Pulimurugan. "Different people may have different dreams about films. Pulimurugan is my kind of film,’’ he said.
According to him, the success of Pulimurugan proves that the films which are made with passion and commitment will succeed. “It took two years to make it perfect. There is a lot of pain behind this success,’’ he said terming the success as “God’s gift.’’
G. Sureshkumar, President of Kerala Film Producers Association, however, has a word of caution to all those who want to imitate Pulimurugan.
“Now there will be a bevy of directors and script writers who will want to make a big budget movie like Pulimurugan. They should remember that Pulimurigan is a one off a kind of film. Every film made on these lines need not succeed and it could pose huge risk to Malayalam film industry,’’ he said.
