The release of Baahubali may face a delay in Kerala, as the Film Exhibitors’ Federation has decided to go on a strike, protesting the delay into probing the Premam piracy issue.
The federation, headed by ‘Liberty’ Basheer, is on a strike today, but has threatened that if the issue isn’t probed into immediately, the federation will go on a strike indefinitely, which will see almost 450 theatres across Kerala being shut. The real reason behind this move, many claim, is an ego clash between Basheer and Global United Media, the distributors of Baahubali in Kerala, and this is being masqueraded as the Premam issue.
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“Tamil films starring big heroes get a grand opening in Kerala with around 120-150 screens, but Shankar’s I (distributed by Global United Media) changed the scenario by getting a release in 200 screens,” said film industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai. He added that Basheer apparently does not favour wide release of other language films in Kerala, as collections drop significantly after the opening weekend. He wishes films to have a limited release in the bigger theatres.
We wait for the official word on the fate of Baahubali in Kerala. If all goes well, the film will be released in 125 screens across Kerala (Tamil and Malayalam dubbed version combined).