SURIYA’S TAMIL FILM PONMAGAL VANDHAL SOLD TO AMAZON FOR DOUBLE THE PRICE FOR BEAMING BEFORE THEATRICAL RELEASE

By Jyothi Venkatesh

The Tamil super star cum producer Suriya Sivakumar has achieved the impossible. During the current lockdown when every other film maker is crying hoarse because he is not able to release his film in theatres even though his film is complete and ready thanks to the sordid corona virus pandemic striking the theatres heavily, he has been successfully able to sell his latest Tamil Ponmagal Vandhal directed by J J Frederick for a price of rupees nine crores to Amazon Prime Video, by by passing the traditional theatrical mode of distribution, because it is expected that films can now be released nore before September this year the world over and he stands to lose heavily if he waits for September for his release. The film Ponmagal Vandhal is touted to be a courtroom drama, featuring K Bhagyaraj, R Parthipan, Pratap Pothen and Pandirarajan in important roles.The film was actually slated for release on March 20 earlier this year but could not be released.As a result all the exhibitors all over Tamil Nadu have risen against Suriya and decided to boycott the release of his next Tamil film Soorarai Potru if Suriya’s film is dropped in Amazon Prime Video before it is released all over Tamil Nadu and the world.

Ironically, the Vaibhav Reddy and Sana Althaf stasrrer RK Nagar, which was lying in the cans for a couple of years, released on Netflix on April 28. The film, produced by Venkat Prabhu, faced a great deal of struggle to see the light of the day last year. Last year, RK Nagar was made available on Netflix even before its theatrical release, but within a few hours, the film was taken down citing some misunderstandings. The associations of theatre as well as distributors have revealed that no Tamil films should release on OTT platforms before 100 days of its theatrical release. This has caused a huge uproar in the industry between producers, theatre owners and distributors. While producers stand united saying that they need to keep their business afloat during the lockdown, theatre owners and distributors are trying to get every film to the big screens. The stalemate continues and last week, the Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association have announced that they will not release any films involving Suriya (the producer of Ponmagal Vandhal) or his production house, 2D Entertainment.

However, on the brighter side, over 30 popular producers have backed Suriya's decision to release his upcoming production venture directly on OTT. They have released a joint statement saying that the trend might help the producers of small and medium budget films to recover their investments.Their statement reads, "With the development of OTT technology, many new films started coming out worldwide directly on this platform. Post the lockdown due to corona in the country, many OTT platforms have started acquiring small and medium budget films for direct OTT premiere, which we all have to welcome wholeheartedly. We must request OTT players to acquire many small and medium budget films, which are struggling to release or stuck due to this lockdown."

Directors like Bharathirajaa, TG Thyagarajan, K Muralidharan, T Siva, Lyca Tamil Kumaran, S Sashikanth, G Dhananjayan, SR Prabhu, CV Kumar and other film producers have also argued that the makers have all rights to sell their film to any platforms in order to recover the loss. Also, they added that Hindi, Telugu and other languages producers have already started to explore this venue, which is worth it."For the film industry to operate smoothly, the three key stakeholders (producers, distributors and theatre owners) must work together in unison and take decisions in the best interest of the industry. We strongly request that no individual film trade association should take any decision and announce it unilaterally, which may hurt the interest of a film producer, who is trying to protect his business. Post lockdown, all of us should meet, discuss and arrive at a feasible solution for all the issues before us, including direct OTT release of new films, for the benefit and welfare of not only the Tamil film industry, but also the Hindi and Telugu film industries" they aver.

A couple of days ago, R Panneer Selvam, the general secretary of Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association, condemned the actor, saying "Seeing the news reports of Ponmagal Vandhal's release in digital platforms has shocked the Theatre and Multiples Owners Association. It pains to know that the film will not release in theatres. We have a rule that the films which are made for big screens should release in theatres first followed by a digital release. We condemn the producer who has decided to sell the streaming rights. We contacted Suriya and requested him to not release the film in OTT platforms, but it fell on deaf ears. So, we have decided to not release any film involving Suriya or his production house."

However, Suriya Sivakumar, Jyothika or Suriya Sivakumar, actor-father Sivakumar, of 2D Entertainment, the producers of Ponmagal Vandhal, is yet to make an official announcement regarding the film's release, after which the fireworks will start. This will actually decide the course of action fo all other big films whether in the South or for that matter in Bollywood where big films like Sooryavanshi, Laxmi Bomb etc are awaiting release.