'Rs 100 crore deals, 10 films a year': Panorama Studios' massive Malayalam cinema push begins with Drishyam 3

Drishyam 3 is no longer just a sequel It will set new standards for the reach of Malayalam cinema beyond Kerala says Kumar Mangat Pathak founder of Panorama Studios which has made one of its biggest strategic bets yet on the Malayalam film industryThe studio has entered Malayalam cinema with scale strategy and what could be one of the most aggressive investments the industry has seen starting with Drishyam 3Drishyam 3 Hindi and Malayalam to tell different storiesPanorama has acquired the theatrical and digital rights of filmmaker Jeethu Josephrsquos muchawaited thriller while simultaneously developing its Hindi counterpart But unlike previous adaptations the Hindi version will not be a remakeldquoWe have been developing our script for the last one or two years nowrdquo says Abhishek Pathak son of Kumar Mangat Pathak who directed Drishyam 2 and will also helm Drishyam 3 HindildquoAnd we also have our own take on how the story will grow Both are two different tracks moving forward So Hindi and Malayalam this time are going to be very different storiesrdquoHe adds that while both films begin from where Part 2 ended they will branch into entirely different emotional and narrative territories ldquoThe palette is the same in terms of the core emotion of the family but they are two different approaches to how the story will growrdquoFor Kumar Mangat and Abhishek the decision to invest in the Malayalam original came after reading Jeethursquos script The conviction was instant and so was the ambition The film will be dubbed in Tamil Telugu and Kannada and released in territories where Malayalam cinema has traditionally struggled to penetrateldquoI donrsquot think any Malayalam film has been released at this levelrdquo says Kumar Mangat ldquoEven if only 2000 people live in a city we are showing films there as wellrdquoThe numbers back that ambition Panorama plans to scale Malayalam releases from roughly 150 screens outside Kerala to nearly 800 across India a leap that could fundamentally alter how Malayalam cinema travelsPanoramarsquos investment in Malayalam cinemaBut Drishyam 3 is only the beginning Panoramarsquos Malayalam slate already includes six films this year with two projects Tikitaka starring Asif Ali and Wamiqa Gabbi and Unmadham starring Kunchacko Boban already in motionldquoWe have planned everythingrdquo Kumar Mangat says with unmistakable certainty ldquoThis year apart from Drishyam 3 we are making six more films Four more films are lined up which will be completed in the next three to four monthsrdquoTheir vision for Malayalam cinema is longterm ldquoEvery year we are thinking of doing 10 to 12 films We are making films worth Rs 2 crore and Rs 100 crore We will be working with all actors as wellrdquo The studio is also optimistic of the industry having its own panIndia level moviePanoramarsquos shift in focus towards Malayalam cinema comes from the industryrsquos willingness to experiment says Abhishek ldquoAs a Hindi audience we are getting shocked by their content It can be a good shock what an interesting subject Thatrsquos why we wanted to go there experiment with the content and be part of it Thatrsquos whatrsquos different about Malayalam cinema They donrsquot follow the typical tick marks that other industries dordquoldquoThey experiment with stories subjects and screenplays which might not look very conventional on paper But when it comes out itrsquos really interesting to watchrdquo he addedWill Malayalam cinemarsquos rootedness get diluted with scaleThe larger question however is whether ldquogoing globalrdquo risks diluting the rooted cultural identity that has made Malayalam cinema one of Indiarsquos most respected storytelling industriesAbhishek doesnrsquot think soldquoGoing global is only about the reachrdquo he says ldquoItrsquos not that the story will become very different from what they have been making Thatrsquos what is working Thatrsquos what will work globally nowrdquoHe points to European cinema as an example of local stories finding universal audiencesldquoThere are so many countries in Europe where they tell rooted stories of their culture but they are going global Thatrsquos the whole idea make the story based on what your culture stands for and it will eventually reach everywhererdquoldquoWe donrsquot change the format of storytelling We just want to be part of structuring the whole process of filmmaking till exhibitionrdquoPanoramarsquos Rs 100 crore deal with Nivin PaulyAs part of that longterm strategy Panorama has also struck a Rs 100crore multifilm collaboration with Nivin Pauly a move that surprised many given the actorrsquos recent boxoffice struggles barring Sarvam Maya Kumar Mangat however sees far more than star valueldquoHe is an actor whose production house wants to make filmsrdquo he says ldquoSo it will be easy for us because there is a creative person who understands Malayalam cinema someone who delivered a blockbuster like Premam early in his careerrdquoldquoIf he is with us it will be a support for usrdquoWith Drishyam 3 as the first move Panoramarsquos bet is clear take Malayalam cinema everywhere without changing the very thing that makes it special