Malikappuram OTT release date confirmed! Disney+ Hotstar to stream Unni Mukundan’s blockbuster on this date

After a stellar run extending over 40 days in theatre, Unni Mukundan’s blockbuster Malikappuram is all set for its OTT release. OTTplay had broken the news that the film’s OTT rights were grabbed by Disney+ Hotstar in its second week of theatrical run and now the streaming platform has announced its release date.

The film, which has Unni Mukundan in the lead, is helmed by debutant Vishnu Sasi Shankar and scripted by Abhilash Pillai, who had previously written the scripts of movies such as Vysakh’s Night Drive, M Padmakumar’s Pathaam Valavu and Amala Paul’s Tamil investigative thriller Cadaver.

Malikappuram revolves around an eight-year-old girl named Kalyani’s relationship with Lord Ayyappa. Her repeated attempts to visit Sabarimala fails due to some family emergency or the other. After a tragedy, she decides to undertake the pilgrimage with just her classmate and neighbour Piyush for company. A stranger (Unni) then joins them to ensure they reach the temple safely, while also thwarting the attempts of other malevolent forces along the way.

The movie has child artistes Devanandha and Sripath essaying the pivotal roles of Kalyani aka Kallu and Piyush, respectively. Renji Panicker, Saiju Kurup, Ramesh Pisharody, Manoj K Jayan, Sampath Ram, TG Ravi and Sreejith Ravi are also part of the movie, which has already emerged as the biggest Malayalam hit of 2023, grossing over Rs 50 crore from Kerala box office alone.

Malikappuram is also one of the few Malayalam films to have a theatrical run of over 40 days post-pandemic. The movie has also had extended runs abroad, in GCC countries as well as the UK.

The movie will drop on Disney+ Hotstar on February 15 in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada. Even after its OTT release, the movie is expected to run in select theatres to ensure that it completes 50 days in theatres and increases its box office revenue.