Its Mohanlal vs Mammootty vs Jayaram this week

Finally, the standoff in Malayalam film industry is over and today will see three major films hitting the theatres -- Mohanlal's Alexander the Great, Mammootty and Prithviraj's Pokkiri Raja and Sathyan Anthikkad's Kadha Thudarunnu.

Alexander the Great, produced under the banner of Anugraha Cine Arts by VBK Menon, and directed by Murali Nagavalli was supposed to be Mohanlal's Vishu release. It now has become his big summer release. He plays Alexander Varma in the film. Hindi film actress Meenakshi Dixit is the heroine

Alexander the Great was shot extensively in Dubai and Mumbai.

Directed by debutant Vysakh, Pokkiri Raja has Mammootty and Prithviraj playing siblings.

According to Prithviraj, "Pokkiri Raja is all what the viewers of Mammootty and me would expect, when we two team up. There is everything to entertain the viewer from comedy, romance, dance to action."

While the elder one (played by Mammootty) has left home years back and is by now the don of Madurai, the younger one (Prithviraj), idolizes him and is all set to follow in his footsteps. Tamil heroine Shriya Saran makes her entry into Malayalam as Prithviraj's love interest.

Nedumudi Venu plays a retired school teacher and the father of the duo who guides almost all of his students on the right path, but when it comes to his own sons, he fails and the two become noted pokkiris.

The film has been scripted by the hit pair, Siby K Thomas and Udayakrishna, who earlier wrote multi-starrers like Twenty 20.

Pokkiri Raja is being produced under the banner of Mulakupadam films by Tomichan Mulakupadam. Shaji cranks the camera and Jassie Gift is the music director.

Sathyan Anthikkad had joined hands with Jayaram last year, to make the super hit film, Bhagyadevatha.

In his latest film, Kadha Thudarunnu, the writer-director who is known to vibe with the family audiences well, says the story is about a lady named Vidya Lakshmi and her young daughter.

Mamta Mohandas who plays Vidya Lakshmi believes that "this could be the role I was looking forward to in Malayalam and surely among the best I have done so far."

Jayaram plays an auto rickshaw driver, Preman who meets Vidya under certain peculiar circumstances. Asif Ali plays the man with whom Vidya had eloped.

Sathyan is one of the few directors who makes films from the point of view of women and Kadha Thudarunnu is one such film. Sathyan was looking for a fresh face but later decided on Mamta, who was absent from Malayalam cinema for some time now.

Kadha Thudarunnu is produced by Thankachan Immanuel under the banner of True Line Cinema. The cinematographer is Venu and music director is Ilaiyaraja.