Putting an end to the long wait on the DTH release of his magnum opus, 'Viswaroopam ', actor Kamal Hassan has announced that it will be premiered on the platform on February 2, a day after the theatre release of the film's Hindi version.
The Tamil and Telugu version of the movie will be also on the DTH platform the same day
While the Hindi version is set to hit the silver screen on February 1, the Tamil and Telugu would be released on January 25 itself. With his announcement on Monday, Kamal has brought the curtains down on a controversy surrounding the fate of the Rs.95 crore film.
Now, it is official, since the versatile actor himself had come out with a statement on behalf of his production house, Rajkamal Films International, which bankrolled the movie after PVP films of Hyderabad stepped out of the venture midway through. PVP was among the firms which had made an unsuccessful attempt to secure the IPL T20 team of Hyderabad.
Though Kamal could not keep his initial word on the DTH release, he has somehow salvaged his prestige with the Hindi premiere, which would a day ahead of its release in theatres.
Taking the film industry by surprise, he had earlier announced that the DTH show would be on January 10, on the night preceding its box office release. He had also made a partnership with six national DTH players and the fee for the one-time show was fixed at Rs.1000 for Tamil and Rs.500 for Hindi.
With exhibitors, and distributors, who were very apprehensive of revenue loss, threatening to boycott it, the actor had to make a climb-down. According to sources, the rethink was also due to poor response for DTH and non-availability of theatres to screen the film for the Pongal/Sankranti festival. Now, Kamal's announcement comes when the DTH players have started refunding the amount to those who had booked for the show. The phenomenal 10-12 hours power cut outside Chennai too had a bearing on this.
"Keeping in mind the request of my exhibitors, I have deferred the DTH release date," he said. But, he has another explanation as well. "While the original DTH premiere was on a Thursday, inconvenient for many, I am releasing it on a Saturday," he maintains.
But, Kamal is not one who could leaver things lying down. He had moved the Competition Commission of India in New Delhi against Functionaries of Theatre Owners' Association and those who had threatened cinemas which have come forward to screen the movie.
Apologising to the 'patient yet eager audience' waiting to watch the film on DTH, in the statement, Kamal said he was working with his DTH partners to reduce the pricing of the show and considering having three shows on February 2 to make it convenient for viewers. He further said, those who have paid for the original DTH premier could get refund or get their bills adjusted with the service provider.
With all his troubles over on releasing the movie, scripted and directed by him, the actor says, "In spite of the delay, Viswaroopam, will be one of its kind movie."
With Kamal in the lead, it features Rahul Bose, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah while the music is scored by Shankar-Ehsaan Loy. Moreover, it is the first Indian film and the second ever to have come with Auro 3D sound track, to provide a new experience to viewers. The trailer and the rave reviews created widespread interest among film buffs and its release was much awaited.
