While Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan has already established itself as the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, his latest film Thudarum, which has been released to largely favorable reviews and appears poised to be the actor’s second film to surpass at least Rs 50 Cr this year, JioHotstar appears to be the biggest beneficiary from these.

The streaming service, which had previously secured the OTT rights for Empuraan, the second part of the Lucifer franchise, at a record price, has also acquired the streaming rights for Mohanlal’s Thudarum. However, the deal for the latter seems to have been obtained by the platform at a significantly lower price.

JioHotstar acquires the OTT rights for Thudarum

The producer of the film, M Renjith, was said to have engaged in talks with the platform last year and had chosen to transfer the rights to JioHotstar while the Disney-Reliance merger was occurring. During this period, the streaming market value for Mohanlal’s films had significantly decreased, as the actor’s last successful project dated back to December 2023 with Jeethu Joseph’s Neru. Both Malaikottai Vaaliban and Barroz did not manage to enthrall audiences in cinemas or on OTT platforms.

This compelled the producers to pursue discussions with alternative streaming services and postponed Thudarum's release, which was initially scheduled for the end of January. The film’s rights were sold for a minimal price compared to earlier Mohanlal films by the conclusion of 2024.

Nonetheless, with the film now receiving favorable responses, this has benefited JioHotstar. Recently, the creators of most Malayalam films have been delaying the sale of digital streaming rights until after their theatrical release. For films that became box office successes, this strategy allowed for higher prices for their OTT rights, but if the films fail, it implies that the rights may not even be sold.

Thudarum is set to hit OTT platforms soon

Empuraan was made available on the streaming platform four weeks following its release in theaters, and based on current trends, Tharun Moorthy’s Thudarum might also debut by the end of May on JioHotstar. The film, which premiered in cinemas on April 25, features Shobana, Binu Pappu, and ad filmmaker Prakash Varma in prominent roles, with Mohanlal portraying the main character Shanmugham, a taxi driver.

Co-written by KR Sunil and Tharun, the drama-thriller centers on the sequence of events that affect Shanmugham’s family after his beloved Ambassador car is seized by the police.

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