Releasing ‘Thug Life’ now does not make any business sense: Karnataka distributor

Bengaluru: The Karnataka distributor of actor Kamal Haasan's film Thug life on Wednesday said he won't release the flick in the state now, despite a favourable court order as he believes it won't do good business two weeks after its release across India.

Distributor Venkatesh Kamalakar's comments came a day after the Supreme Court allowed the release of the Mani Ratnam directed film, which faced opposition in the state following Haasan's controversial statement on the Kannada language.

On a petition filed by a Bengaluru resident seeking the release of the film in Karnataka, the Supreme Court had on June 17 held that it is the duty of the state to ensure that a film is released in theatres once it gets a Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate.

Speaking to PTI, Kamalakar, the distributor of the film in Karnataka said it also does not make sense to release the film considering that Kannadigas’ sentiments were hurt by what Haasan had said about Kannada language.

“But mostly it is because it is not a good business decision to release the film now. His previous film ‘Indian 2’ also did not do well here in Karnataka,” said Kamalakar.

The distributor said Haasan’s ‘Vikram’ did well in Karnataka, but he does not have a fan base here that will blindly go to his film, no matter what.

“When it comes to his films, the success depends on how good it is. ‘Thug Life’ is generally considered as not a good film by many. So, it is too risky,” said Kamalakar, who distributes mostly big budget Tamil films in Karnataka.

According to industry sources, the distributor had already paid about Rs 9 crore as advance.

Kamalakar agreed he did pay an advance amount without disclosing the amount, but said he is not anticipating any difficulty in getting it back.

“It is not like it is our fault. Things turned out the way it did and when there is no profit, which theatre owner will agree to showcase the film,” he asked.

Meanwhile, many pro Kannada outfits in Bengaluru have allegedly asked the theatres not to showcase the film despite SC’s directive.

On Wednesday, Bengaluru Police posted notices on the houses of several pro Kannada activists. They informed the activists that they are not allowed to protest anywhere other than the designated protest site of Freedom Park.

But Praveen Shetty, one of the very vocal protesters of the statement, and who has his own faction of Kannada Rakshana Vedike, had allegedly refused to accept the notice as well as responsibility for any protests.

Earlier, speaking to PTI Videos, Shetty had said that he is yet to receive the notice from the police.

“But Kannadigas will not surely watch that film,” he added.

R T Nagar Police, under whose jurisdiction his house falls, finally posted the notice in front of his house.