 "Yet another delay for Rajini's Kochadaiiyaan")
Instead of opening on multiplexes and single screens on Friday (May 9), the film will now be available to fans only on May 23. Originally slated for release at the end of 2013, the film’s release was shifted to April 2014. In April, the release was deferred to May 2, then May 9 and now to May 23.
Sources reveal this also might not be the final release date and the film could see more delay.
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The film is co-produced by Mediaone GlobalEntertainment Ltd and Eros International and went on the floors in April 2012. Besides Rajinikanth, the film stars Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Jackie Shroff, and South Indian actress Shobhana.
Eros’ stock price fell 2.71 per cent on Thursday, following the announcement of the delay and the stock closed at Rs 163.10 after hitting an intra-day low of Rs 162 on the BSE.
The film, it has come to light, has been mired in many issues. While on the one hand, the distributors have not been able to finalise deals with exhibitors, the film has also run into financial trouble, with payments due to companies that were involved in the animation and special effects execution.
Apart from this, the co-producer also cited the need to “cater to the demand for the multiple language and 2D and 3D versions to release the same day” as one of the reasons for the delay.
The co-producers aim to release the film in 5,000 screens worldwide (4,400 of them in India). This is one of the biggest releases for a southern movie in India and it would be available in six languages - Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi.
The makers of the film have been promoting Kochadaiiyaan at various levels through traditional media like television promos, print ads and radio spots (more in the south), along with new media like gaming and interactive out-of-home posters.
The film has a dedicated game developed by Hungama Digital, which has been developed as an audience management tool featuring the scenery of the film along with the lead character played by Rajinikanth.
Karbonn Mobiles has released as many as one lakh customised Kochadaiiyaan handsets, which have re-loaded images and wallpapers from the film and Rajinikanth’s signature. The promoters of the film also deployed hoardings of the film with augmented reality features which allowed fans to interact with a 3D projection of the Tamil mega star.
While Eros refused to comment on the matter, sources from the exhibitors’ side say that a lot of the film’s exhibition deals are stuck due to disagreement over financials.
“Ideally, people would go ahead with the release and sort out the issue. In this case however, the co-producers want to make sure all the creases are ironed out before the film releases,” says a person in the know.
Murali Manohar of Mediaone Global told mediapersons that they were “racing against time”, adding to the confusion.
The anticipation for the movie among Rajinikanth fans has been mounting for sometime now and they voiced their displeasure at yet another delay on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The movie had seen heavy advance booking and the producers and exhibitors have promised refund those who booked tickets in advance. However, fans seemed skeptical about the May 23 release as well as was evident from some of the tweets.
The delay in Kochadaiiyaan’s release has also hit the plans of movies releasing around the time of its release. As many as 10 films in the south will now have to reconsider their release strategy. For example, Kannada movie Gajakesari starring actor Yash was to release on May 16 to avoid a clash with the Rajinikanth starrer and was then shifted to May 23 in order to keep a two-week gap from the release of Kochadaiiyaan. However, the two movies will now end up clashing anyway, it seems.