Rajinikanth-starrer Kaala may clash with Salman Khan's Race 3 as dust around Kollywood strike settles

After announcing that a favorable agreement has been reached between all the stakeholders following an eight-hour-long meeting presided over by government officials, Vishal has now formally declared the withdrawal of Kollywood strike yesterday in a press meet and confirmed that Rajinikanth’s Kaala, which was earlier scheduled to hit screens on 27 April, has been postponed. [caption id=“attachment_4418235” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Kaala/Image from Twitter.[/caption] “This strike, which lasted for nearly 48 days, was an attempt to revamp the Tamil film industry in totality. I wholeheartedly thank all the producers who stood with us and believed in our cause. Without the cooperation of FEFSI workers, this wouldn’t have been possible. I want to extend my gratitude to FEFSI President RK Selvamani for his excellent understanding of the issues we were dealing with and the extended support,” Vishal, president of Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC) and secretary of South Indian Artistes Association (SIAA), told reporters. The unreasonable hike in ticket prices during the release of star films has been one of the significant issues in Tamil Nadu. “We have been actively insisting on computerisation of tickets to bring transparency in the business. A centralised server will be established in the producer’s council, where producers can watch the number of tickets sold and admissions in theaters based on headcount real time after each show. We have already started our work on the ticketing portal where a transaction would just cost Rs 4 or 5 for one booking. I would also like to announce that no theater will sell a ticket for more than Rs 150 henceforth. Theater owners have also agreed on the same and assured us that they would monitor it,” said Vishal. “The film shootings will resume from tomorrow, 20 April. We have requested all the producers to bring their agreements to the council and continue their respective shooting schedules,” he added. Shedding light on the newly formed release regulation committee, Vishal said, “It will comprise members from Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC), Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI), distributors and exhibitors. They will regulate the number of releases per week and also ensure the fair split of screens for films in a particular locality. For flexible pricing, movies will be divided into low, medium and big budget. We have nearly 16 festivals every year and apart from big films, we will make that sure small films too get a release window alongside. We are preparing a schedule of releases until March 2019. Big film producers can register their release dates well in advance to help the other small and medium budget makers to plan accordingly.” As we reported earlier, Mercury starring Prabhu Deva will be the first Tamil film to hit screens this Friday. “Karthik Subbaraj’s Mercury will have a grand release tomorrow. We have also given our consent to the producers of two small movies to release this Friday. They will take a final call soon. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dhanush, Rajinikanth sir, Wunderbar Films and Lyca Productions for agreeing to our request to postpone Kaala. Kamal Haasan sir was planning to release Vishwaroopam 2 for May. Now, the release regulation committee will decide on its release date in the next couple of days.” Sources say Kamal Haasan's   Vishwaroopam 2  may see the light of day before Rajinikanth’s Kaala. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that Aascar Ravichandran, producer of Vishwaroopam 2, was spotted at Kamal Haasan’s Eldams Road residence yesterday to discuss the film’s release. Lyca Productions is currently planning to release Kaala for the Ramzan weekend on June 13 or 14. Dhanush is expected to make an official announcement soon on the release date. So, Kaala, in all likelihood, will take Salman Khan’s Race 3, which is slated for June 15 release, head on at the box-office. When asked about the skyrocketing salaries of actors, Vishal said, “We have invited all the actors who are part of Nadigar Sangam for a meeting this Saturday to discuss all the demands placed by producers. Various requests like the revenue sharing model and reduction in remuneration would be addressed. I would like to reiterate that actors would reach an agreement on salary part once there is 100 percent transparency in the business, which will happen in the next few months.”