Will Vishwaroopam release today?

Now that the Madras High Court has lifted the state government ban, will Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam be released in Tamil Nadu today? Well, it depends on the willingness of the theatres. One part of the politicisation of the film industry is how the distribution network and theatres are controlled by the two Dravidian parties to edge unfavourable films out of the circuit. Although the movie is free to release, the theatre owners will still be apprehensive about political pressure as well as the outcome of the appeal by the state government against the single bench’s order today. [caption id=“attachment_606932” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Firstpost[/caption] Three important events are happening this morning — the filing of an appeal against the HC order by the state government, a meeting of a TN theatre owners association at 10:30 and later a press conference by Kamal Haasan himself at 11:30. Ever since the eruption of the controversy, Kamal hasn’t spoken to the media. He will have the final story when he meets the press today. The screening of Vishwaroopam also depends on the availability of theatres. Given his massive investment, Kamal wanted to release his film in at least 500 theatres and the rights of all the regions in the state had been sold for very good prices. However, two big films are scheduled to release on 1 Feburary — Mani Ratnam’s Kadal and Bejoy Nambiar’s David. If Kamal wants to have a good run at the theatres, he will need at least two weeks and as many theatres as possible. In contemporary Indian commercial cinema, movies recoup their investment through the “initial collection” and hence producers release their films in as many screens as possible. Compared to the past, the producers can release in any number of screens, because they are digital and their distribution and screening-controls can be handled remotely - the film business is not offline any more. It’s highly likely that the producers of Kadal and David might step out of the way for at least a couple of weeks for Kamal Haasan because the trouble he has gone through. In fact Kamal had very high hopes on the commercial success of the movie and he had expected the film to net Rs 350 crore on a Rs 95 crore investment. He also wanted to prove that there are many commercial streams of revenue that could be tapped to maximise returns, hence his initial obsession with a high-priced one-time release on DTH ahead of the theatres. He has been an avid advocate of the use of new technologies, and in fact had shot an entire movie (Mumbai Express) on digital several years ago, when the technology was just beginning to evolve. He also had advocated for monetising the non-theatrical opportunities years ago.