Kamal Haasan's Thug Life won't release in Karnataka despite court order: Distributors
Kamal Haasan's 'Thug Life' will not release in Karnataka even after the Supreme Court's order criticising the film's ban in the state. Aravind, a Karnataka distributor, exclusively spoke to India Today, and explained why they won't go ahead with the release now. The ban was imposed on the Mani Ratnam-directorial over Haasan's 'Kannada was born out of Tamil' remark, which allegedly hurt the sentiments of Kannadigas.advertisementOn Thursday, distributor Aravind of VR Films, who has secured the film for release in Karnataka, explained why he will not release 'Thug Life' in the state.He said, "'Thug Life' will not be released in Karnataka. It's been two weeks since the film released in theatres and there are three more films that are releasing on Friday. So, we won't get enough screens and in another couple of weeks, it will release on OTT. That's the reason."
Venkatesh Kamalakar, business partner of Aravind under VR Films (a firm that bought the distribution rights), reiterated that 'Thug Life' will not be screened. "The film will not be released in the state by me. It is an utter waste to release the film now after two weeks. We are completely out of it. The main business is in the first week. Now it is waste. It is not about law and order issue. The main business is gone," he explained.advertisementAravind, however, said that Kamal Haasan's production house, "Raaj Kamal Films International, promised that they would refund us." Venkatesh also echoed Aravind's statement and said, "The picture was not released because of the comments he made. So, he has to refund back the money in full amount."Also, sources told India Today that the distributors haven't received any compensation until now. "The Karnataka distributors have approached Raj Kamal Films International (RKFI) for financial compensation and RKFI has agreed to repay, but the distributors have not received the amount so far. It's an amount running in crores," said a source.Distributor Aravind also added that they are not thinking about the threats issued by pro-Kannada activists nor the reviews. "No, not like that. It's not because of the reviews. Irrespective of the review, we won't get enough screens now. We are not thinking about the threats either. Supreme Court has given an order, but we are not releasing the film as of now." The Supreme Court strongly criticised Karnataka's ban on Thug Life, stating that mobs cannot dictate film screenings. They slammed the Karnataka High Court over suggestions that the actor apologise to resolve the issue.Responding after the Supreme Court criticised the delay in the film's release, the state clarified that the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce had merely issued a letter condemning Haasan's remarks and sought an apology, but no official ban was enforced.Tune InMust Watch
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