Kollywood strike called off, Tamil films to release from this week

For 48 days, the Tamil film industry has been in a bind, thanks to the Kollywood strike. The industry had shut down in protest against the high rates charged by Digital Service Providers (DSP) over Visual Print Fee (VPF).

However, on Tuesday, the Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC) announced that the strike has been called off after an interim resolution was arrived at a meeting involving all the stakeholders. According to industry grapevine, DSPs have reportedly slashed their VPF rates by half. It was also announced that film ticketing across Tamil Nadu will be computerized by June 1 and a government order will be passed to make it mandatory. TFPC also said that the online charges per movie ticket will be brought down from Rs 30 to Rs 4.

“After hours of meeting between TFPC, statement government, theatre owners and the DSPs, the strike has been called off. On Wednesday, Vishal will announce the status of new Tamil releases. Films should most likely release in cinemas from this Friday,” a source told Hindustan Times. The shutdown of the industry had resulted in loss of Rs 10-15 crore a day. It affected the summer season and eventually postponed the release of Rajinikanth’s Kaala, which is rumoured to release in June.

“The industry grapevine is that once the strike is over, films will be released in the order they were certified by the censor board. This means films that have been cleared by CBFC and are waiting to release will hit the screens first. First preference is being given to Karthik Subbaraj’s Mercury which released last week everywhere but Tamil Nadu,” a source from TFPC had told Hindustan Times.