There has been some confusion over the release of Vishal-Keerthy Suresh-Varalaxmi Sarathkumar starrer Sandakozhi 2. Touted to be the actor’s biggest release yet – with confirmed screenings in over 1000 theatres – the Lingusamy directed film is a sequel to the 2008 Sandakozhi.
The confusion stems from Vishal’s decision to not allow Tamil films to release in cinema halls that were used to illegally record movies. Vishal, in his capacity as President of the Tamil Film Producers Council, had urged Qube Cinema Technologies to not supply the Key Delivery Message (KDM) – a prerequisite to screen movies, to theatres blacklisted by the union.
The TFPC had also issued a circular asking the other producers to stand by the decision.
Of the nine identified theatres, seven are from Tamil Nadu and two from Karnataka. They are Krishnagiri’s Murugan Theatre (Said to have allowed piracy of Manushana Ne?), and Nayanthara Theatre (Goli Soda 2), Mayiladuthurai’s Gomathi Theatre and Karur’s Ellora (Oru Kuppai Kathai), Arani Chetpet’s Padmavathy (Mr Chandramouli), Karur’s Kavithalaya (Thodaraa and Raja Ranguski), Bengaluru’s Sathyam (Imaikaa Nodigal), Viruthachalam’s Jai Sai Krishna (Seema Raja) and Mangalore’s Cinepolis (Seema Raja). A police investigation has been initiated against these theatres.
According to a report in The News Minute, Qube responded to TFPC’s request saying it could not decide on the issue of KDMs unilaterally. “If any producer or authorised distributor authorises us to screen any particular movie in the theatres mentioned in your letter/press releases, we are obliged to comply with such requests unless the theatre has been restrained to do so on any written orders of any judicial, police or regulatory bodies,” said the statement released by the company.
The makers of the film announced that Sandakozhi 2 will not be allowed to release in these theatres. Dhanush’s Vadachennai did not release in these as well.
Following this, Meenakshi Sundaram, the leader of an association of theatre owners from Trichy and Thanjavur, said today that Sandakozhi 2 would not be allowed to release in their districts. Around forty theatres from the two districts had announced that they would not screen Sandakozhi 2.
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An emergency discussion was reportedly called between the Sandakozhi 2 team and the theatre owners. Following this, the theatre owners have agreed to release the film in the area. “Sandakozhi 2 will release tomorrow without any complications,” the spokesperson for the film told Silverscreen. “All the issues have been resolved. There was a minor dispute and it has been ironed out to the satisfaction of all parties involved,” he added.
According to sources close to the TFPC, a meeting has been scheduled between the members of the Producers Council and the owners of the theatres in the blacklist.
Vishal won the Producers Council election on the promise of abolishing piracy from the industry. While he has made several attempts to do so, it has not paid off thus far.