The ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in India to curb corruption and flow of black money has affected the normal life of the public with many struggling to meet their day-to-day requirements. The demonetisation has also troubled filmmakers as it has hit the box office collection of the recently released movies.
Malayalam movies Pulimurugan and Aanandam, which opened to a tremendous response from the audience, were performing well at the box office till November 8 before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the historical decision of the government. The Mohanlal-starrer, which had earned Rs 4.82 lakh and Rs 5.11 lakh on its 33rd and 34th day, respectively, has witnessed a huge drop on the next day at the multiplexes in Kochi.
This bank transaction slip cites Narendra Modi as the 'reason/purpose of payment'
The action thriller, helmed by Vysakh, could only make a business of Rs 2.93 lakh, falling short of more than Rs 1.5 lakh than over its previous days at the five multiplexes in the city. It had only witnessed a 28.74% theatre occupancy on the 35th day, raking in a total of Rs 3.4 crore in more than a month of its release in Kochi.
Campus entertainer Aanandam has made a business of Rs 2.07 lakh with a theatre occupancy of 25.61% on its 21st day, earning a total of Rs 1.23 crore from five multiplexes in Kochi. Though the 20th-day collection of Vineeth Sreenivasan's production venture is not out, the movie made a business of Rs 2.99 lakhs on its 19th day. The Ganesh Raj directorial, which has been gaining good reviews from family audience and students, stars seven newcomers in the lead roles.
Meanwhile, the makers of the upcoming Malayalam films Kattappanayile Hrithik Roshan and Ore Mukham have postponed the release date to November 18 from November 11 due to the rupee ruckus in the country.
