The uncertainty over availability of screens has struck another film. The release of the much-awaited ‘Jigarthanda’, Karthik Subbaraj’s second feature, has been postponed by a week.
Following events on social media, it would seem the young director and lead actor Siddharth were caught unaware by producer Kathiresan’s decision to postpone the release from the July 25 Eid weekend. Both of them seemed angry and helpless about the decision.
While both Karthik and Siddharth rallied fans on social networks, saying the film would release as planned, the official announcement of the postponement came in the form of a media statement from Kathiresan. The statement read: “Dhanush’s ‘Velai Illa Pattadhari’ is doing well and I have been advised to push the release by a week to get maximum number of screens and enable the film to reap profits.”
The director said that he knew of the change in plan only through media. “I was hoping that the film would cash in on the Eid weekend,” he said. Siddharth fumed on Twitter, stating the producer had not even informed him or the director about the postponement.
No release calendarOne of the pitfalls in the Tamil film industry, compared to the Hindi one, has been the lack of a proper schedule calendar. While Bollywood has taken the lead in announcing and sticking to release dates, especially around extended festival weekends, there is no such guarantee here.
Well-known film journalist, ‘Film News’ Anandan, noted that just one third of the total number of certified films released last year. This year has seen 103 releases, while 78 movies have been censored and are awaiting release.