Kamal Haasan’s much-talked-about Vishwaroopam , mired now in controversy, is all set to hit homes via DTH a week after its theatrical release. And, it has also been decided to revise the price downward from its earlier Rs 1,000. According to sources, it will work like any other film in the service provider's ‘pay-per-view’ movie catalogue.
Though it was originally planned to be premiered on the DTH platform on January 10, a day ahead of the movie’s theatrical release, the actor and film maker had to yield to pressure from theatre owners, who protested the initiative, saying it will prove to be adverse to the theatre business in the long run.
Following this, there was confusion as some theatres opened booking counters assuming that the movie will be released on January 11, while many continued to protest.
Finally, putting an end to the week-long confusion over the release of his multi-lingual film, Kamal Haasan today announced the release date as January 25, but did not say a word about his DTH plans. Theatre owners too seem to have agreed to offer him over 450 screens across Tamil Nadu.
In another development, according to sources, RaajKamal Films International (producer of Vishwaroopam) has sent mails to DTH service providers saying the DTH screening of the movie in three languages is now scheduled for February 2.
In its earlier mail sent to them, the production company has said the response in terms of assured booking was “abysmally low” contrary to what it would have liked to have achieved on account of the short promotional window of less than seven days.
It also said the company is reviewing the pricing strategy “to elicit more response and to benefit those who have booked for the January 10 telecast window”.
ravikumar.ramanujam@thehindu.co.in