Producer Dil Raju's comment describing Vijay as a bigger star than Ajith Kumar courted controversy in Tamil Nadu. Now, Raju is finding a lot of resistance from a section of distributors against releasing Varisu in the Telugu states.
It all started when the opposing section shared that they want to give more screens to Telugu films and fewer screens to the dubbed versions of films in another language during the Sankranti holiday. Dil Raju reacted on the same as he faces challenges in Tamil Nadu.
“In Tamil Nadu, Ajith sir’s film is coming out with my film. In Tamil Nadu, Vijay sir is the number 1 star. Everybody knows that. There are 800-odd screens in the state and I’m begging them to give me more than 400 screens. I’m requesting at least 50 more screens. This is business. Even though I have a big film, I have to beg for screens. It’s not a monopoly, right?,” he said during an interview with a Telugu channel.
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Raju wanted to emphasise that even though he has a film starring one of the biggest stars of Tamil cinema, he has to still negotiate and make compromises with other stakeholders for the sake of business.
“Red Giant Movies, Udhayanidhi Stalin sir, releasing (Thunivu) and I will soon go to Chennai to request him to provide me with more screens. Let’s see, Vijay is bigger than Ajith. As a producer, I’m requesting more screens for a Vijay film. Nobody in any other state will find it wrong, but only here I get singled out,” Raju added.
However, Raju’s candid response has irked Ajith’s fans. And it remains to be seen how it will play out in the coming days.
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Filmmaker H Vinoth has written and directed Ajith’s Thunivu. The film is bankrolled by Boney Kapoor. And it’s set to arrive in cinemas at the same time as Varisu during the Pongal festival.
