Dileep, Ramaleela, Prayaga Martin
Dileep in RamaleelaRamaleela movie/Facebook

Ramaleela, the Malayalam movie that hit a major roadblock following actor Dileep's arrest in connection with a sensational actress assault case, finally saw the daylight on Thursday, September 28. The political thriller had a humongous opening on 129 screens all over Kerala amid controversies surrounding the Janapriyanayakan.

BREAKING: Actor Dileep gets conditional bail in actress assault case

Check Ramaleela review by audience

Even before the makers announced its release date, a section of the audience had decided to boycott Ramaleela, just because Dileep plays the lead role. Nevertheless, breaking all the negative factors, the debut directorial venture of Arun Gopy had a flying start with positive reviews all over.  

Also check: Ramaleela celebrity review

What worked well for Ramaleela?

The negative campaign against the movie has somehow benefited its producer Tomichan Mulakuppadam as viewers were seen flooding to theatres resulting in housefull and extra shows across the state. Many celebrities also came forward to support the film, considering that it is not just Dileep's film, but that of hundreds of others who depend on cinema. Dileep's ex-wife Manju Warrier too came in support of the big budget entertainer requesting audience not to destroy the cinema.

Read Manju Warrier's FB post on Dileep's Ramaleela

The massive appeal against the boycott campaign worked well as apart from ardent Dileep fans, many who sincerely love cinema too decided to watch Ramaleela just to show their solidarity.

Ramaleela's plot has strong parallels with Dileep's real life?

Also, in the movie's teaser, Dileep's character Ramanunni is heard saying "looks like somebody deliberately wants me to be named an accused" and in one of the posters, he is seen performing someone's death anniversary rituals under police escort.

Soon, the viewers felt the 'real-life connection' with the recent incidents that happened in the actor's life raising curiosity on what exactly the movie is all about.

And the result?

Ramaleela had a terrific opening at the Kerala box office making it the best so far in Dileep's acting career spanning 25 years! It has even given a tight competition to Manju's family entertainer Udaharanam Sujatha.

According to trade analysts, the film has grossed approximately Rs 2.10 crore on day one to become the highest first-day grossing movie of the actor.

The opening day collection of Ramaleela at the five multiplexes in Kochi alone is said to be Rs 6.87 lakh from 21 shows with an average theatre occupancy of 94.05 percent.

The thriller, which also has Prayaga Martin, Radhika Sarathkumar, Vijayaraghavan, Renji Panicker, Kalabhavan Shajon and Mukesh in significant roles, will be released in rest of India theatres on Friday, September 29. 

Meanwhile, many Mollywood celebrities also watched the Dileep-starrer in theatres on day one and they took to their social media pages to comment about it and there seem to be ONLY positive reviews for Ramaleela.