Mammootty, the megastar of Mollywood is currently awaiting the release of his new movie 'Madhura Raja'. The film is being directed by Vyshakh, and it is being apparently made with a mammoth budget. As Mammootty fans are eagerly waiting to see their favourite star gracing the screens in style, we present you a throwback story where a Mammootty film made with a huge budget bombed at the box-office after locking horns with a Suresh Gopi flick.
Dinesh Panicker, the producer of this flop movie recently revealed how 'Stalin Sivadas', Mammootty's political action thriller flopped even after getting released with huge pre-release hype. The film was directed by TS Suresh Babu, and was released on May 01, 1999. Stalin Sivadas was loaded with an ensemble star cast including Kushboo, Maniyanpillai Raju, Saikumar, Madhu, Jagadeesh and Captain Raju.
Upon release on Friday, the film garnered mixed reviews, and it got a decent initial collection. However, on Saturday, Dinesh Panicker got a call stating that Suresh Gopi's 'Pathram' is releasing on Sunday. It should be noted that no movies used to get released on Sunday, but makers of 'Pathram' decided to release amid controversies.
The release of 'Pathram' negatively impacted the collection figures of 'Stalin Sivadas', and finally, it ended its theatrical run after 25 days. In the meantime, 'Pathram' emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office, and it ran in more than 100 days in almost all the centres.
"Pathram is undoubtedly a good movie. The film had its hype due to controversies, and Suresh Gopi was at full swing at box-office during those times. The unexpected release of Pathram affected my movie drastically. Usually, movies used to get good collection figures on Sundays, but in the case of 'Stalin Sivadas', things were different. Even though this film was not profitable for me, it played a crucial role in affirming my warm relationship with Mammootty," said Dinesh Panicker.
