The Tamil film industry is on an indefinite strike over rates charged by Digital Service Providers (DSPs). Meanwhile, rumours that Pa Ranjith’s Kaala, which stars Rajinikanth in the lead role, will not hit the screens on April 27 as announced earlier, spread like wildfire on Wednesday.
Following this, Lyca Productions, the film’s distributor, took to Twitter to clarify that no decision has been made on postponing the film’s release date yet.
@LycaProductions has not conveyed anything to anyone regarding #Kaala release date. We are not responsible for any statements arising on release date speculations
— Lyca Productions (@LycaProductions) March 21, 2018
This has resulted in several fans expressing their disappointment over the uncertainty of the film’s release date.
The Tamil film industry has been hit severely by ongoing strikes - first by the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council (TNFPC) against the rates charged by the Digital Service Providers (DSPs) and then the theatre owners' strike, barring Chennai multiplexes, which has resulted in an indefinite shutdown starting from March 16 over the local body tax and the government’s rules regarding seating, license renewal and theatre maintenance.
Following this, several films that were slated for release this summer have been put on hold. Further to this, the Producers’ Council upped the ante by declaring that there will be no shooting schedules from March 16. While some producers who are shooting outside the state have been given permission to do so till March 23, all others have been asked to stop. There have also been murmurs about the special treatment given to certain films which have been permitted to shoot despite the strike.
On December 12, Wunderbar Films, Kaala’s producer, announced on Twitter that the film will hit the screens on April 27. The teaser for the Rajinikanth starrer Kaala was released on March 2 and immediately went viral.
The film is Rajinikanth’s second collaboration with director Pa Ranjith, who delighted fans with Kabali in 2016. Kaala is about the oppression of Tamil people in Mumbai and Rajini is reportedly playing a don in the film. In Kabali, too, Rajinikanth had played a don but the film was set in Malaysia and revolved around the lives of Malaysian Tamils.