In a big blow to Tamil Nadu theatre owners, the release of Valimai, the upcoming Tamil film starring actor Ajith Kumar in the lead role and scheduled to hit the theatres for the occasion of Pongal on January 13, has been postponed, the makers of the film officially announced on Thursday.
Although the new release date has not yet been announced, in a statement, producer Boney Kapoor said that the release has been postponed due to the “steep rise in Covid infections across the globe”.
Valimai, which marks the actor’s return to the screen, three years after Nerkonda Paarvai (2019), has been the most awaited film in his career. Valimai is Directed by H Vinoth and produced by Kapoor. Also starring actors Huma S Qureshi, Karthikeya, Bani, Sumithra, Achyunth Kumar, Yogi Babu, Raj Ayyappa, Pugazh, among others, the film was set to release in Hindi and Telugu as well.
“Audiences and fans have always been the source of our felicity. Their unconditional support and love during the hard times, instilled vital hopes in us to face the hardships and successfully complete our dream project. All that we desired during every single moment was to see them cheerful and happy in the cinema halls. At the same time, the safety and well being of our audiences has always been at the forefront of all our decisions. Given the steep rise in Covid infections across the globe, and abiding by the regulations of the authorities, we have decided to postpone the release of our film Valimai until the situation normalizes,” the makers of Valimai said in the statement.
The Tamil Nadu government, in an order issued on Wednesday, imposed lockdown restrictions, night curfew, and in a previous order had permitted cinema halls to function only at 50% occupancy, owing to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Recommended
Valimai is the latest in a line of to films that have deferred their scheduled release in January. Release of pan-Indian films, RRR and Radhe Shyam, has also been postponed indefinitely. Theatre owners, speaking to Silverscreen India earlier, had said that they had pinned their hopes on Valimai‘s release, as per schedule, after other big-budget films opted out of the race.