Well how does one call a movie big? Well it can be due to the budget of the movie or it can depend on the number & names of the stars associated apart from the director etc.
For all those who’ve seen & admired SRK’s act of getting a lot of the bollywood celebs in a song for “ Om Shanti Om” , then let me tell you that Malayalam Cinema has pushed the envelope even further. Some time in 2007 it was decided by AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) that they needed to generate funds for their activities.
Entered Dileep, one of the leading Malayalam actors who suggested that they make a movie with the best of the talent available. Dileep agreed to produce the movie for AMMA & Joshy was roped in as the director. Joshy has been always popular for his racy entertainers like New Delhi, No.20 Madras Mail, Nair Saab, Runway, Lion etc.In terms of acting, almost all the actors being members of AMMA, everyone pledged their services for free.
The condition laid was Dileep was to pay AMMA a sum of Rs.1 crore as the fund raiser & whatever the movie would make (if it did make) over 1 crore as profit, it would go to Dileep.Now for those who are wondering whats the big deal about Rs.1 crore, let me tell you that in Malayalam cinema even the big budgeted movies hardly exceed Rs.5 crore as an overall budget.Hence keeping this in mind this was a good sum of money indeed.Dileep knew he was taking a risk- a calculated risk.
The scripting was entrusted to the dependable duo- Uday Krishna-Sibi K Thomas. And thus the project underwent filming in Dec, 2007.The casting included almost all the well known names of the Malayalam film industry- Mammooty,Mohanlal,Suresh Gopi, Dileep,Jayaram,Mukesh, Prithviraj,Kunjacko Boban, Indrajit,Jayasurya,Bhavana,Gopika, Nayanthara etc & thus began the saga.Of course Joshy knew he had a major task, that of ensuring that the movie has a proper shape and does justice to all the people on board.
Just like any other mega project, this one too faced its own share of hurdles, most of which are mentioned below:-
At the very beginning veteran actor Thilakan, claimed that AMMA was ostracizing him & that was why he was not a part of the movie. This did not hamper the movie at all.
Meera Jasmine started throwing a lot of tantrums & was not adhering to the schedules & finally producer Dileep couldn’t take it any more & replaced her promptly with Bhavana as the heroine opposite him.
Dileep & AMMA wanted to release the movie in a record 120 centres but then
they faced objection from the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation ( KFEF) who
were not in favour of allowing such wide releases. Eventually KFEF also gave in
to the industry sentiment.
When the first publicity stills were released it created a furore in Kerala. Mohanlal fans felt that their hero was sidelined as Mammooty featured in the centre of the poster which had Mamooty flanked by Mohanlal & Suresh Gopi on either side & Jayaram & Dileep on the extreme corners.Lal’s fans even threatened to boycott the film & finally to pacify the fans, there were special posters brought out before the movie released with Lal featured prominently.
The final problem faced was on the day of the release.Exhibitors in places like
Ernakulam & Trivandrum hiked up the rates for the movie.There were protests of boycott, but the very next day the rates were back to normal as per the court order.
The movie was released on 5th November,2008 to a thunderous response.And surprisingly has been accepted by all the film enthusiasts in Kerala. Both Mammooty & Mohanlal fans are happy.Joshy has seen to it that their biggest fear that one superstar would gain more prominence over the other, has not materialised. The film is not only a showcase of the continuing power of both Mammooty & Mohanlal at the box office; it also shows that Suresh Gopi can also hold his own provided the script supports him.
At this point of writing this, the 1st week collections are out. The estimates show that from 120 screens, it has grossed a mind blowing Rs 7.54 crore in the first week.Its a record in Kerala across all lanuages.The distributors share of Rs 3.65 crore is the highest ever for a film in its first week.So a question now for the hindi,tamil & telugu film industries- the 3 big film industries in India- any lessons to be taken from Twenty: 20???
Disclaimer- I am only a lover of cinema & have no connection with Twenty:20 whatsover!!!
( originally published in Passion for Cinema- refer link below)
http://passionforcinema.com/twenty-20-%e2%80%93-indias-biggest-movie-ever/#more-9128
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