Early on Wednesday, Vishal's 25th film Sandakozhi 2 ran into hot water in certain districts of Tamil Nadu, with the Thanjavur and Trichy theatres owners association deciding not to screen the film. This decision came close on the heels of the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council's (TFPC) decision to blacklist theatres in the district that were accused of abetting piracy. However, the issue was resolved, albeit temporarily, after discussions between the concerned parties.
"The film will be releasing in these districts as planned. But on Tuesday, there is a meeting scheduled between theatre owners and TFPC to iron out these discrepancies," said distributor Tiruppur Subramanian.
Vishal, President of TFPC, had earlier asked Qube Cinema Technologies to refrain from supplying the Key Delivery Message (KDM) to theatres blacklisted by the union. Though Qube had responded by saying it was not a unilateral decision and that it is ultimately the producer's decision to give the green light to send the KDM to any theatre. Meanwhile, TFPC's decision to tackle piracy with an iron fist came under scrutiny as theatre owners found this action to be uncalled for, especially considering the case is still sub judice.
"We cannot be held responsible for an individual's action in our theatre premises. We do not accept this blacklisting," said Subramanian.
With the issue being resolved for now, it is easy tides for Vishal, who is also the producer of the Lingusamy-directed Sandakozhi 2. The film that co-stars Keerthy Suresh, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Rajkiran will be released worldwide today on the occasion of Ayudha Pooja.