Asif Ali’s Kunjeldho sticks to theatrical release despite OTT pressure

While several big Malayalam films and ones with stars have opted for direct-to-OTT release, the team of Asif Ali-starrer Kunjeldho have announced that their movie will release in theatres in Kerala on August 27.

Kunjeldho, which marks the directorial debut of RJ Mathukutty and has Vineeth Sreenivasan as its creative directorial, was set to hit theatres just before the pandemic lockdown in 2020 was announced. 

Despite the pressure for an OTT release, the makers have decided to hold the film till theatres re-open. They shared a new poster of the film that has Asif’s character looking outside as rain subsides, an allegory to the pandemic and lockdowns, while announcing - “After a long vacation, in theatres, during Onam”. 

The movie, which also has Gopika Udayan, Siddique, Rekha and Vineeth Sreenivasan, was initially set to be a Valentine’s Day release in 2020 but was then pushed to April for an Easter release. However, the nationwide lockdown meant that the post-production works of the movie had to be suspended till the restrictions were eased. The team had completed the dubbing of the movie after the restrictions were removed. 

Incidentally, Vineeth has been vocal about theatrical release. OTT platforms had approached the producers of Vineeth’s directorial Hridayam, which has Pranav Mohanlal, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Darshana Rajendran in the lead, for its digital rights but the team had rejected the offer, aiming at a wide theatrical release. 

Vineeth and Pranav have also reportedly not taken remuneration for the movie and are willing to wait till it hits theatres.