Kollywood actor Vijay met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday night urging Tamil Nadu government’s help ahead of the release of his next movie Master. The movie starring Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Andrea Jeremiah, Malavika Mohanan and Arjun Das, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Xavier Britto, is slated to be the biggest release in Tamil post the pandemic.
According to reports, Vijay asked the CM to allow 100% seating capacity at the theaters. In a private meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence, the actor along with others from the movie’s team requested the Chief Minister increase the capacity as against the current capacity of 50% seating at theaters.
The Tamil Nadu government recently reopened theatres and allowed 50% seating capacity by following physical distancing norms post complete lockdown due to the spread of coronavirus. Master’s release was also postponed due to the lockdown induced by the coronavirus spread. Vijay’s contemporary Suriya chose an OTT release for his movie Soorarai Pottru, however it’s been known from the beginning that Vijay wanted only a theatrical release for his movie.
But since the film is now slated for release in theatres and has crores riding on it, a 50% seating capacity will act detrimental. Amid predictions that the release of the movie with 50% capacity will not yield the required profit, the actor has requested the Chief Minister for the boost.
Master is expected to hit the screens on January 13 ahead of the Pongal festival. The movie was earlier scheduled to release in April 2020 and the delay has already affected the production of other movies under the banner.
Even as many movies are getting released on OTT platforms due to the financial crunch faced by production houses, the team behind Master made an announcement stating that the movie will get a theatrical release. However, the movie will also get a slightly delayed OTT release.
Visiting a theatre is considered to be a high risk activity since it is a closed area with air-conditioning, making it conducive for the coronavirus to thrive. However, for the film industry that has suffered major losses in the last year, getting people back to the theatres seems vital for survival.