Filmmaker Sakkir Madathil’s upcoming Malayalam film Jailer, starring Dhyan Sreenivasan, has become the victim of an unusual circumstance. On August 10, the film will clash at the box office with yet another film named Jailer — the big-budget Rajinikanth film directed by Nelson.
Now, ahead of the release, Sakkir has alleged that theatres in Kerala are allocating more screens to the Tamil superstar’s film and that his film is being rejected. He also reportedly said that Malayalam movies are being suffocated due to the release of Tamil films in Kerala.
Sakkir, who claims to have registered the title of Jailer with the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) in 2021, has been raising the issue of both films releasing in Kerala theatres under the same name for quite some time now. Earlier, he requested Rajinikanth and producers Sun Pictures to change the name of the film in Malayalam, however, nothing changed after this.
Sun Pictures has moved to the Madras High Court regarding the issue and Sakkir has filed a countersuit as well. The matter is said to be heard today.
In an interview with Cinema Vikatan, Sakkir explained why he cannot shift the release date of his film from August 10 to avoid the clash. The filmmaker, who also produced the film, has said that he had to mortgage his house and his daughter’s jewellery to fund his film and that the distributors have said that the film won’t work if he releases it after the Nelson-directed Jailer.
Sakkir has also stated that he thought of committing suicide due to the immense financial pressure and has requested the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce and Rajinikanth to sort out the issue.
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