Exclusive! Dulquer on convincing Mammootty to release Puzhu on OTT: As actors, both of us want to experiment

Director Ratheena PT’s Puzhu, which will release on Sony LIV, marks the megastar’s first direct-to-OTT release

Dulquer Salmaan and Mammootty

Since the pandemic, even as several leading stars in Malayalam opted to release their films on OTT platforms, Mammootty had refrained from doing so, throwing his full support behind theatrical release. However, with his upcoming movie Puzhu, which is directed by Ratheena PT and co-produced by Dulquer Salmaan, the megastar will be making his OTT debut.

The thriller will be a direct-to-OTT release on Sony LIV, which is currently also streaming Dulquer’s first OTT release Salute. In a recent exclusive interview with OTTplay, the young star talked about what went into convincing Mammootty to release his film Puzhu on OTT, especially when he has been vocal about his support for theatres in the past two years.

“I think he sort of understands that there are certain kinds of cinema right now that would make sense for the OTT viewer, who has the luxury of time and is in the mood to watch that kind of film,” Dulquer tells us.

In the past few months, Dulquer had released two of his productions in theatres – Srinath Rajendran’s Kurup and Arun Vaiga’s Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan. However, his decision to release Salute on OTTs did face flak from the Kerala theatre owners’ organisation FEUOK.

“Not everything we do will be for the wide audience. As actors, both of us want to experiment, we want to do different roles and be part of all kinds of cinema. I think he understood that with Puzhu,” says Dulquer. “Also, because both of us hadn’t done any direct-to-OTT movies, we were open to doing a few of those and leave our marks there also.”

Puzhu, which has the megastar in a role with grey shades, revolves around the changing dynamic between a father and a son and their underlying trust issues. The film is expected to release soon on Sony LIV. Meanwhile, Mammootty will have a theatrical release coming up with CBI 5: The Brain, rumoured to release on April 7. His latest film Bheeshma Parvam has already gone on to gross over Rs 75 crore in box office revenue worldwide.

Read the entire interview: Exclusive! Dulquer Salmaan: Want actors to have courage to do all kinds of films once OTT-theatre clash sorts out

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