'Twenty 20' breaks Kerala box-office record

Kochi, Nov 10 (IANS) Malayalam movie "Twenty 20", which brings together top stars Mammooty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Jayaram, was released last week and has broken the box-office record in the state.

"Though released only in 115 theatres Wednesday, the opening day collection crossed Rs.10 million. It remains strong. Now, instead of worrying about repaying debtors, I can laugh all the way to the bank and plan future strategy on the basis of this successful formula," actor-producer Dilip told IANS.

Dilip produced the movie on behalf of Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) in the capacity of being its vice-president.

Virtually the entire Malayalam film industry worked for "Twenty 20".

However, the film had a few blushes.

Many of the fans of Mohanlal, AMMA's general secretary, initially boycotted the film because their icon was "not accorded adequate importance in the publicity material".

"We were angry that Mammooty was given the pride of place in the posters at the centre while the bigger draw Mohanlal was featured at the edge in the pre-release posters. That irked us initially. But when we saw that Mohanlal was given equal importance in the film, our feelings were assuaged and we have endorsed 'Twenty 20' in a big way," said Hemachandran Nair, a fan based in Trippunithura near Kochi.

Over 400 cinema halls in small towns and villages of Kerala have refused to touch the film due to distribution hiccups.

Veteran director Joshy made the film, which was scripted by writer duo - Uday Krishna and Shibi K. Thomas.

The movie was launched in December 2007 by Dilip with an initial investment of Rs.10 million. It took almost 11 months to complete - an unusually long period for a Malayalam film.

The film also stars Kavya Madhavan and veteran actor Sukumari.

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Twenty 20