Tamil Nadu came to a standstill after the demise of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Dec 5 but it looks like its life and business as usual in Kollywood. Rumour mills were abuzz with the postponement of the release of three films – Venkat Prabhu’s Chennai 600028 II: Second Innings, Ma Ka Pa Anand-starrer Atti and Luthfudeen Basha’s Parandhu Sella Vaa — that were scheduled to hit theatres this Friday (Dec 9). Industry wallas are not clear whether they will be released as per the initial plans. When City Express contacted the crew members of the films, however, they had different things to say.
Venkat Prabhu, who helmed the Chennai 28 sequel, said the team hasn’t decided about the release yet. “Only after tonight, it will be clear. But the final call lies with the theatre owners and distributors,”
he added.
Though Atti director Vijayabhaskar told us he’s looking forward to releasing the movie the same day, a source from the film unit said it’s highly unlikely. “There’s chaos everywhere. Big films will not have any issue, but small-budget films will have to consider the current situation. We need to re-think about the number of people expected to come to theatres this Friday. When tension eases up a bit, it’s fine.
But still, there would be a small element of fear in everyone. At least, I think it would take a week’s time for everything to settle down,” explained a source from the industry.Parandhu Sella Vaa director Dhanapal Padmanabhan said the final decision will be taken by the producers. “We had locked the release date sometime ago, and did our promotional campaign.
A release date is crucial for the success of a film. The life of any film today is just a week. As of now, situation also looks unfavourable… but I am not sure of anything,” he shared.
We tried reaching Kalaipuli S Thanu, who’s releasing Parandhu... but there was no response. So who actually decides the date of a film? It partially depends on the actors and/or the producer. Over all, it has a lot to do with the influence of the distributors, too. Jazz Cinemas, one of the biggest multiplexes in Chennai, owned by a close associate of AIADMK, has cancelled online bookings for Monday.
Meanwhile, a little birdie tells us that around 30 films are yet to be released by end of 2016. Thanks to demonetization, many films have been stalled due to the shortage of funds. Financial settlements couldn’t be made on time. Naturally, the release dates have gone for a toss!