CHENNAI: After a squally morning, theatre owners agreed to release Vijay's Kaththi, despite attacks on two theatres, on Monday night.
TNTOA Joint President Abirami Ramanathan confirmed the same in a statement, which AGS multiplexes' Archana Kalpathi tweeted, "Advance booking for Kaththi to begin in 10 mins. Can't wait to get my FDFS ticket."
This came a little after Vijay broke his silence and issued a statement to the effect that 'all is well'. Just like he did when his previous film Thalaivaa was caught in a quandary, he profusely thanks AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa for her assistance in reaching an amicable settlement in the matter.
Vijay and director A R Murugadoss have been keeping a measured silence as producer Lyca Productions and the Tamizhar Vazhvurimal Katchi have been locked in combat. Hours after they announced that they had conceded, Vijay's statement reinforces their stance, albeit with a more diplomatic tinge than reality would suggest, "A few days ago, Tamil groups had asked that Lyca Productions' name be removed from the posters. Acceding to their request, Lyca Productions has agreed to remove their name from the film. Thus the matter has been solved amicably. All the fans and lovers of cinema who have been eagerly awaiting the release of Kaththi for Deepavali can go watch the film and enjoy it safely."
Safety, was a matter of contention here. On Monday, a little before midnight, two groups of unidentified vandals pelted stones and old bottles at the swanky Sathyam Cinemas (SPI Cinemas) and also at Woodland Theatre - both in Chennai's Royapettah area. Woodland is an old haunt for Vijay fans and often hosts 'Rasigar Mandram' shows on the morning of a film release.
Even as Lyca and Vijay are patting each other on the back, the protestors stood firm. Though incommunicado since Monday night, T Velmurugan sent a statement through his associates calling lyca's claims of the matter being laid to rest as "lies". When contacted, theatre owners admitted that they were on the fence, "Lyca has acceded. So we will honour our part of the agreement and release the film with police protection. The only stand-off now is that Lyca does not want to be portrayed as an anti-Tamil organisation just because they are removing their name from the title card and publicity material," said a source.
With all the hype generated from the protests, advance bookings are expected to be rapid and the film will at least have a good run for the next 10 days, regardless of SRK's Happy New Year releasing on Friday