Thangalaan: Why Chiyaan Vikram’s Upcoming Film Deserves an Immediate OTT Release for Wider Audience Access! (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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In September, we reported that the Tamil movie Thangalaan, starring Vikram and Parvathy Thiruvothu, would be available on Netflix from September 20, 2024.
However, that date came and went without a release. Later, one of the film’s producers shared an update on X (formerly Twitter), informing the public that Thangalaan is now scheduled for a Diwali streaming release. According to him, Netflix believes that a festive season launch is well-deserved for this major title. He also dismissed rumors that claimed Netflix backed out of the deal to purchase streaming rights due to the film’s poor theatrical performance, calling them baseless.
But are you curious why the film has not been released on Netflix? The simple answer is a legal issue. Specifically, Porkodi filed a public interest litigation with the Madras High Court, challenging Thangalaan’s OTT release. The claim was that certain scenes in the film seemed disrespectful to Vaishnavites. Who are Vaishnavites?
Coming back to the case of Thangalaan’s OTT release, the Madras High Court didn’t share Porkodi’s view. The court dismissed the case and issued an order on October 21, 2024, confirming that there is no ban on the OTT release of Thangalaan. The High Court specified that the Central Board of Film Certification (or Censor Board in layperson’s terms) has already certified the film for theatrical release, so it cannot be banned from streaming.
Thangalaan was released in theaters on August 15, 2024. Directed by Pa. Ranjith, the screenplay was a collaborative effort between the director himself, Tamil Prabha, and Azhagiya Periyavan. Set in the pre-independence era, the film had a budget of INR 135 crores but managed to gross only INR 71 crores worldwide as of September 14, 2024. This translates to a net loss of INR 88 crores, marking the film as a significant financial failure, even when considering the revenue from OTT rights sales. While the exact figure for the OTT rights sale remains unknown, it is speculated to be between INR 25 crores and INR 35 crores.
