The makers of Baahubali – The Conclusion will apparently be facing a problem on the film’s release on April 28th, 2017. The film is getting ready for a massive release worldwide but looks like it will have a problem hitting the theatres in Karnataka.
Vatal Nagaraj, the President of the Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha, has called for a bandh on April 28th against the release of Baahubali – the Conclusion. According to Vatal Nagaraj, the film starring Sathayraj in one of the prominent roles should not be released in the state as he had made some derogatory statements about the Kannadigas in the Cauvery issue.
Sources have it that Vatal Nagaraj has planned a big rally from Town Hall on the day of the film’s release and his protestors will stage a protest in front of every theatre and multiplex screening the film. Speaking about this, he is reported to have told that the distributors should not pick up the rights of the magnum opus until Sathyaraj apologises for his unsavoury remarks made during the Cauvery issue. Vatal Nagaraj alleged that the actor not only made derogatory statements about the Kannadigas in general but also call him “Periya Joker” which means Big Joker in English.
Several groups, including Sa Ra Govindu, the President of the KFCC and the Dr Rajkumar Fans Association, have extended support for the protests called by Vatal Nagaraj.
Asha Krishnaswamy reports for Deccan Herald that no distributor has so far claimed the theatrical rights for the film in Karnataka.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce President Sa Ra Govindu on Wednesday said: "Till now neither the actor nor the producers have approached the Chamber to discuss the issue. Unless the actor apologises, the screening will not take place in Karnataka. He has insulted Kannadigas.”
Meanwhile in Tamil Nadu, a film distributor has approached the Madras High Court seeking a stay on the release of the film. The distributor ACE Media based in Chennai, has asked for a stay in the release of the film, citing unpaid dues to the tune of Rs 1.18 core.
The company as filed a civil suit claiming that M S Sharavanan of Sri Green Productions had bought the exhibition rights for the film (Tamil) for the state of TN. According to the distributor, Sharavanan had approached them in January last year, asking for a loan to be paid to Prabhu Deva Studio Pvt Ltd. The deal at the time was that Sharavanan would return the amount with an additional Rs 10 lakh before the release of the film.
Baahubali – the Conclusion, the sequel to Baahubali – the Beginning is getting ready for release on April 28th. The film will be out in Telugu and Tamil on the same day. The prequel was a big hit raking in huge profits at the box office and the sequel is expected to follow suit.
Directed by SS Rajamouli with music by MM Keeravani, the film has Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tammannah, Sathyaraj, Nasser, Ramya Krishnan and others in the star cast.
(Content provided by Digital Native)