Minnal Murali: Tovino-starrer clinches a record deal for its digital rights

Tovino Thomas’ movies are in demand! After the success of Kala, which is streaming on multiple OTT platforms and in multiple languages, reports are rife that the digital rights of the Malayalam star’s upcoming film Minnal Murali was snapped up for a record price. 

The Basil Joseph directorial’s digital rights were sold much before Kala had hit theatres early this year. Sources from the production team tells us that the movie’s OTT rights were sold to Netflix for a price between Rs 10Cr-Rs 14Cr, the highest for a Malayalam movie that releases in theatres first. 

As of now, Mohanlal’s Drishyam 2, which was a direct-to-OTT release on Amazon Prime Video, fetched the highest price for a Malayalam movie with a sum closer to Rs 20Cr. Mohanlal’s upcoming movies, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, Bro Daddy and 12th Man – all of which are produced by Aashirvaad Cinemas – are expected to be bought at higher prices. Recently, there were also reports that the production company had signed an OTT deal worth Rs 60 Cr. It’s unclear whether Marakkar was included as part of the deal. 

Meanwhile, Minnal Murali will be the first superhero film in Malayalam and is already made on a big budget and will be released in several languages. The film, produced by Sophia Paul, also has Guru Somasundaram, Aju Varghese and Harisree Ashokan in pivotal roles. The movie was initially set for an Onam release in 2020. However, the pandemic delayed the movie’s shoot. 

Tovino has also completed the shoot of Manu Ashokan’s Kaanekkane and Aashiq Abu’s Naradhan.