With the Tamil film industry strike coming to an end on Wednesday, theatres will finally screen Tamil films once again. On April 20, Karthik Subbaraj's Mercury, a silent thriller, will hit the screens.
This is the only film from the Tamil industry which will release this weekend. There was some uncertainty on the Telugu film Bharat Ane Nenu releasing in Tamil Nadu because of the strike. However, since the theatres, DSPs, and the Tamil Nadu Film Producers' Council have reached an agreement, BAN will also hit the screens as scheduled.
Mercury released on the April 13 outside Tamil Nadu, including in foreign countries. Language was not a barrier since there are no dialogues in the film. The story is about five friends who have to confront a deadly enemy and there is a social message in it, too. Prabhudeva plays the antagonist and is visually impaired. The film opened to mixed reviews, with several critics calling it a gimmicky attempt.
However, Karthik Subbaraj is held high in esteem by Tamil audiences, given his past films Pizza, Jigarthanda and Iraivi have been critically acclaimed. So, Mercury may well become a hit in Tamil Nadu.
Although the film does not have any dialogues and there are only news clippings displayed in regional languages according to the state where it has released, the film did not open in Tamil Nadu. When Karthik Subbaraj made the announcement that Mercury would release on April 13 since it was a silent film, others objected to it. The filmmaker, however, clarified that the film would not release in Tamil Nadu and that he was only speaking of outside state release. He further appealed to people not to leak the storyline or the film and to wait till the film released in theatres.