Malayalam superstar Mammootty’s upcoming film The Priest will open in cinemas on March 4, 2021. Mammootty took to Facebook to announce the release date. Sharing a new poster of the film, the actor wrote, “The Priest Releasing on March 4, 2021.”

Earlier, there was a strong buzz that The Priest, which was passed by the censor with a U/A certificate, would hit theatres on February 4. However, it did not happen reportedly after the makers felt that the time was not conducive to go ahead with the release plan.

It is said that the makers are not happy with restrictions on early-morning shows and night shows imposed by the Kerala government. Traditionally, fan shows for Mammootty’s biggest films begin as early as 4 am.

While the central government has allowed theatres to function at full capacity, it is highly unlikely to come into effect in Kerala, which has become the highest contributor to new COVID cases. On average, about six thousand new infections are reported daily in the state.

And the ban on the extra shows further stops exhibitors from getting the better of the 50 per cent cap on the occupancy. It is noteworthy that theatres across Tamil Nadu managed to make up for the loss incurred by occupancy restrictions by running extra shows for ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay’s latest film Master.

In fact, Master has seemingly stirred the public’s appetite to visit theatres again.

Billed as a supernatural thriller, The Priest is directed by newcomer Jofin T. Chacko, from a script written by Shyam Menon and Deepu Pradeep. Besides Mammootty, the film also stars Manju Warrier, Nikhila Vimal, Sreenath Bhasi, Saniya Iyappan and Jagadish.