Vijay-Amala Paul’s action-drama "Thalaivaa" has opened in screens worldwide on Aug 9th, except in Tamil Nadu, where its release still remains uncertain for reasons unclear.
While one of the reasons for the delay is believed to be a threat issued by an outfit called Tamil Nadu Oppressed Students Revolutionary Force, the other likely reason is due to the rejection of entertainment tax on the film by the state government.
The movie was cleared with a U certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), but it is believed that "Thalaivaa" was denied exemption of entertainment tax by Commercial Taxes Department Review Committee citing reasons such as use of lot of Hindi and English words and violence in the film.
"The tax department committee watched the film in a private screening on Thursday, but denied exemption of entertainment tax due to the excessive use of English and Hindi words and violence in the film," a source from the industry said.
Denial of entertainment tax means a cut in the overall profits of the film, and therefore, producer Chandraprakash Jain of "Thalaivaa", was keen to get tax exemption. However, Vendhar Movies, distributors of "Thalaivaa", said the film is likely to release in the state Saturday.
"We have given the license to release the film in other parts of Tamil Nadu, but we are waiting for the final confirmation to allow the film's smooth release even in multiplexes across the state," a representative of Vendhar Moves said.
On Friday, "Thalaivaa" was screened in a few small standalone theatres along the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The film smoothly released in other states such as Kerala, Karnataka and even in Andhra Pradesh as "Anna", the Telugu dubbed version. It even released in a few screens in Mumbai with English subtitles, along with its overseas release in places such as the US, Britain, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore.
"Thalaivaa", which is directed by A.L. Vijay, also features Ragini Nandwani, Sathyaraj and Abhimanyu Singh in important roles, which enjoyed music by GV Prakash Kumar, cinematography by Nirav Shah and editing by Anthony among the crew.