His  eagerly awaited Oru Naal Varum, which released on July 9 in 71 stations  in Kerala, did not take the kind of opening one would associate with a  Lal ettan film.
The film also carries mixed reports and the blame is on Sreenivasan  whose script looks jaded, and somehow it lacked the magic of the duo’s  earlier combination films.
From the trade point of view, the film had a “cold start”, as the fans  could not fill up the theatres and on Monday and Tuesday the collections  have nosedived.
In Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram where Mohanlal films open in  multiple screens, it released in a single screen. In Ernakulam, the  bigger 1180 seater Sarita was only showing it for noon show while  matinee, evening and night shows were screened at the 540 seater  Savitha.
At the 909 seater Sreekumar in Thiruvananthapuram, traditional Mohanlal  citadel with a small balcony (168 seats), there was no pressure on  advance booking, and the hall was struggling to get houseful on a  weekend.
At Kottayam Abhilash, another big screen the film has taken only a 85 percent opening.
The alarm bells are ringing in the trade. Oru Naal Varum, was said to be  the comeback vehicle of Mohanlal, after the disastrous Alexander the  Great.
It had a hit team of Mohanlal-Sreenivasan a combination that has never failed still the film has taken only an average opening.

 
