Entertainment Desk
24 September 2025, 09:07 PM IST
Santhosh T Kuruvilla foresaw box office failures of Gangster & Neerali. He discusses film budgets for Mohanlal, Mammootty, Tovino, and Kunchacko Boban.
Santhosh T. Kuruvilla
Producer Santhosh T. Kuruvilla, who is currently working on the Shane Nigam-starrer Balti, revealed in a recent interview that he had anticipated the box-office failures of Gangster and Neerali, both of which he co-produced, even before their release.
In an interview with Club FM, producer Santhosh T. Kuruvilla admitted, “Before the release of Gangster and Neerali, I knew that both these films wouldn’t succeed at the box office.”
Gangster (2014), starring Mammootty, was directed by Aashiq Abu, while Neerali (2018), featuring Mohanlal in the lead, was helmed by Ajoy Varma.
Kuruvilla recalled attending a pre-release screening of Gangster the night before it hit theatres, along with director Aashiq Abu, actress Rima Kallingal, and several others.
“After the screening, I took a flight and landed in Kochi. I went directly to the house of Anthony Perumbavoor and told him that the film will not succeed. The same happened with Neerali. We watched the screening in Mumbai. We immediately realised the film would not succeed. It is hard to make a failing film succeed… Suchitra chechi (Suchitra Mohanlal) told me after watching Neerali that it would not succeed,” he added.
Kuruvilla also discussed how production costs have escalated over time.
He broke down finances from his earlier films, saying, “For making the film Nna Thaan Case Kodu, it cost me 10.5 crores. Only 22 per cent amounts to Chackochan (Kunchacko Boban) and all the remaining cast. I think around 65 per cent of the expense went into making the film and making the set… “My next project after Balti is Pennum Porattum, which features newcomers and cost around ₹7 crores to make. It involves a lot of animals and nearly 250 new actors. It was a risky shoot and took just as much time to complete as Balti,” Kuruvilla said.
When asked about making films with big stars in Malayalam, he offered rough estimations.
“With Mohanlal or Mammootty, a film can be made on a budget of ₹20 to ₹30 crores,” Kuruvilla said. “For Tovino, who has acted in most of my films, the budget usually falls between ₹15 and ₹20 crores. With Kunchacko Boban, a movie can typically be made for ₹12 to ₹15 crores,” he said.
“Saying this, I don’t really know how much their remuneration is. I am not saying these estimates on the basis of their remuneration. It is based on the subjects they choose. In the case of Maheshinte Prathikaram, when the film was made, it cost around 5.50 crores or something. Today, if I had to make a movie with Fahadh, it will cost more than 20 crores,” he added.
He further revealed that a film made with a 20 crore budget needs to collect more than 55 crores overall to be profitable.
Kuruvilla also spoke of the big-budget Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea, starring Mohanlal. “It had only suffered a loss of 5 crores for a film made in a budget of 85‑95 crores, something which the Malayalam film industry had never seen before,” he said.
Apart from co-producing films such as Da Thadiya (2012), Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), Mayaanadhi (2017), Ee.Ma.Yau (2018), Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 (2019), Virus (2019), Aarkkariyam (2021), and Naaradan (2022), Kuruvilla is now gearing up for the release of his latest production, Balti.
Written and directed by debutant Unni Sivalingam, Balti features a unique ensemble cast including Shane Nigam, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, Preethi Asrani, Alphonse Puthren, and Selvaraghavan in key roles. The film’s music is composed by Sai Abhyankkar, with cinematography by Alex J Pulikkal and editing by Shivkumar V. Panicker. Balti is scheduled for a theatrical release on September 26, 2025.