Rest for One and for the Rest it is Tests

After the mega success of Chanthu Pottu, Christmas season comes as a lull period for Dileep.
But the other stars, that is the rest of the super variety, are very much present at the big screen.

Mammootty in Bus Conductor, Mohanlal in Thanmaathra and Suresh Gopi in Tiger are all casting spells- or at least trying to cast- on their fans. And this season, all these films are much important for the respective stars.
As for Mammootty, he could afford anything but a poor performance of the Conductor. The reasons are not difficult to figure out. Mammootty is still considered to be a sure bet in Malayalam cinema. There need not be any doubt regarding that.
And the latest film Rajamaanikyam was a sure hit. But that was not the case with a handful of films post Rajamanikyam. Vesham and Rappakal were flops- to put it straight. Black only just managed to be a break-even.
But these realities were systematically being kept hidden from the public- Mammooty still has enough clout to make media paint him only in nice colors.
But the industry is not the public. The people who invest the money know- or should know- things like these much too well. And Swargachitra Appachan was forced to reveal the truth in public- at least on one occasion.
However, the success of Rajamanikyam did change the situation for good.
And that made things a little more difficult for mamootty- ironically.
After Rajamanikyam and the regained confidence of the industry, he could not afford the luxury of sliding down again. That is why Mammootty cannot even imagine a failed Bus Conductor.

The situation Thanmatra's director Blessy and Mohanlal find themselves in is somewhat similar. After many flops the successful Kazhcha came and Blessy could even manage to gain some stardom too.
After a series of flops, Mohanlal must be praying in all earnest to get things right again with Thanmathra. And here we should remember one thing- Even when the star's films turn out to be failures, Malayali viewers never write Mohanlal off. He always is the super one.
But the crucial thing now for him is proving to be equal to Mammootty. And if Thanmatra manage it, Blessy becomes the Super Director who does it right with both Super stars!

Bharathchandran IPS was was a rebirth for Suresh Gopi, the superstar who began to fade out. The film set the stage for a splendid coming back for the action hero.
But to stay on, Suresh Gopi has to see to it that Tiger too is a tremendous hit. A weak Tiger could implicate that what Bharatchandran was riding on were sympathy waves.

And it still a surprise of the sort that, Dileep has no films this season. Fast Track and Lion are only in pipeline.