It looks like it’s finally going to be a Mersal Deepavali. Vijay, or Thalapathy as he is affectionately called, and the entire Kollywood film trade have heaved a sigh of relief as Mersal hits the screens. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), granted an NOC to the film, which is necessary for Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant a certificate. The Mersal team had allegedly shot scenes with animals without getting the necessary permissions from AWBI, delaying the certification process.
At the time of writing, there’s still a lot of last-minute tension. Mersal would be the first film that will be released within a few hours of its censor.
If there are no further delays, Mersal will release in a record 3,500-plus screens across the globe on Deepavali and is expected to take an earth-shattering opening.
Starting trouble
For Vijay, these controversies are not new with several of his recent releases facing obstacles upon release. Even his 2013 film Thalaivaa reached Tamil Nadu theatres two weeks after its worldwide release. Vijay even met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisamy though the actor’s publicist insisted that it was to thank the CM for the new ticket rates issued by the State Government.
In Tamil Nadu, the five-day Deepavali weekend is going to give the film a huge opening thanks to new ticket prices. The advance booking, which opened online in a few theatres, saw the servers crashing a few minutes after booking started. Despite Government approving new ticket rates and promising to crackdown on those selling tickets at higher rates, prices outside Chennai city remained as high as ₹500.
Blockbuster opening
G Dhananjayan, a producer and industry tracker, says,“There is a lot of expectation in the trade on Mersal , and it has to release on Deepavali day to cash in on the revised ticket rates.
The Tamil Nadu gross box-office collection for the five–day Deepavali weekend can be anywhere between ₹60 to ₹70 crore. And if the word of mouth is good, it has potential to gross over ₹100 crore in two weeks from the State alone.”
Mersal is said to be Vijay’s costliest film and it is a prestigious project for its producer Thenandal Films as it is their 100th production. It is rumoured to have been marketed by the producers for a whopping ₹125 to 130 crore including all rights. A lot is riding on Mersal , as Kollywood badly needs a hit to regain its confidence among stake holders. It is also the first big film to release after the Government revised ticket prices after 11 years. It will also be a test to see how accepting the audience are of the new prices.
New prices, old problems
A few weeks back, you could watch a film in a Chennai multiplex for ₹120. But from Deepavali day it will cost you approximately ₹207 after adding GST and the new LBET (Local Body Entertainment Tax) introduced by the State Government. In a State like Tamil Nadu, which has the dubious distinction of having the highest piracy rate in India, the new ticket rates may well spell the death knell of the once flourishing industry. The real test would be how smaller films will fare at the box-office after the new rates are implemented.
Along with Mersal , Sarath Kumar’s Chennaiyil Oru Naal 2 and Meyaadha Maan too are releasing today.
