Covided Screen

Since Boney Kapoor바카라�s film unit, which is producing the movie, has ­chosen to remain silent on its progress, the hashtag became the preferred ­medium for Ajith바카라�s fans바카라�who call him 바카라�Thala바카라� (short form of Thalaivar or leader)바카라�to ferret out some information on the film바카라�s release. Soon it ­became one of the most trending hashtags. 바카라�We could understand their ­disappointment since Valimai was aimed for a Diwali release in 2020. But then Covid and lockdown kept pushing the release date and we now hope to hit the theatres in August 2021,바카라� says Suresh Chandra, Ajith바카라�s manager.

Ajith, 49, is one of the three top ­heroes of Tamil cinema whose films have been repeatedly tripped by Covid delays. The shooting of his film had commenced in December 2019, but ground to a halt in March with the lockdown. It resumed again towards the end of 2020, but has again halted due to the second Covid wave. 바카라�We still have an action sequence to be shot abroad and that can happen only after the present restrictions are lifted,바카라� says Suresh. 바카라�The dubbing is almost complete and once the finishing touches are done, the movie would be ready for release. The big question is whether theatres would reopen by then as the Tamil Nadu government has closed them again from April 26.바카라�

The disruption caused by Covid had thrown up unprecedented constraints when shooting resumed, the Valimai team learnt the hard way. 바카라�We had shot many scenes with continuity artistes in big sets before last year바카라�s lockdown,바카라� says Valimai director H. Vinoth. 바카라�When we resumed the shoot, many of those artistes, especially the elderly, refused to return out of fear of infection. So we had to reshoot with another set of artists, using newer film sets. Similarly, ­locations, especially office spaces, where we had shot earlier were not available any more and we had to look for similar office spaces to continue.바카라�

The other two top Tamil stars are Vijay and Rajinikanth, who after decades of dominance, appear to be on the wane. Ajith and Vijay have a devoted fan following not just in Tamil Nadu, but also in Kerala. Any new movie of theirs is a mini festival for the fans and cinema halls in these two states. Their fans also nurse an intense mutual ­rivalry바카라�until a few years back, they used to clash with each other while erecting cutouts if movies of both the stars released on the same day.

Though used to a mish-mash of action and family drama, Ajith바카라�s fans had stood solidly behind their Thala in his last film Nerkonda Paarvai (Unwavering Focus), a remake of Bollywood blockbuster Pink in which he played the ­defence lawyer. Not to disappoint his fans Ajith had also included an ­extended fight sequence to prove that a middle-aged lawyer can also fight. And Valimai was touted as a return to the Ajith formula of family and action바카라�­following his humongous hit Viswasam (Loyalty). It had naturally raised the ­expectations of his fans. Their wait was stretched to such a limit by Covid that the hashtag #ValimaiUpdate has ­become their only solace.

While Ajith had a couple of hits, Rajinikanth is still searching for one after four lacklustre movies that have raised serious doubts about his box ­office appeal. When Rajinikant바카라�s Petta and Ajith바카라�s Viswasam had simultaneous theatrical release in January 2019, the Rajini film was nowhere in the race. So the superstar picked Siva, the director of Viswasam to direct his next movie Annathe (Elder Brother), which is being bankrolled by Sun Pictures, hoping that the Ajith formula might also work for him.

What Rajinikanth did not anticipate was the repeated delays. Rolled out in early 2020, the film has hit so many speed bumps due to Covid that at a stage it became doubtful whether it could be completed at all, as it clashed with Rajinikanth바카라�s political plunge바카라� now abandoned바카라�in the Tamil Nadu ­assembly elections of April 2021. After the lockdown froze production for six months, the film바카라�s shoot resumed at Hyderabad바카라�s Ramoji Film City, only to be halted after a few members of the film unit tested Covid positive. Rajinikanth himself had to be hospitalised for breathlessness, which forced him to ditch his political plans in December 2020. 바카라�Before it could boost Rajini바카라�s sagging film career, Annathe ended his political career,바카라� quips a ­standup comedian.

The superstar returned to the film sets, but the shoot progressed at a snail바카라�s pace due to Covid protocols. 바카라�We need to test every unit member once in four days for Covid and enforcing the bio bubble for the actors, cameramen, makeup artistes and costumers is also time-consuming and nerve-wracking,바카라� says a member of Sun Pictures. Only those  actors who had combination shots with Rajinikanth were allowed anywhere close to the superstar. The team finally wrapped up the shooting by May-end and hopes to release the film by mid-August.

While these two stars and their film units had to battle the coronavirus, the other superstar Vijay has been busy shooting in distant Georgia. But as a ­sizable portion of his 65th film바카라�yet to be titled바카라�needs to be shot in Chennai, the film바카라�s expected release for Diwali this year hangs in the balance due to Covid constraints. Vijay was lucky to ­release his last big hit Master for Pongal in January 2021바카라�after a Diwali 2020 release did not materialise바카라�even though Covid restrictions permitted only 50 per cent occupancy in theatres. 바카라�While his diehard fans thronged the theatres, the family audience was still hesitant to venture out. The producer had to release it on OTT within a month to improve the film바카라�s reach and also his profits,바카라� says film journalist Bismi.

Unlike other stars like Surya, Dhanush and Sivkarthikeyan바카라�who have taken the OTT route to release their movies바카라�these three actors swear only by theatrical release given their star power and the expectation of their huge fan following to see them first on the big screen. The cinema halls also depend on these big releases to revive their businesses, which has been crippled by repeated shutdowns due to Covid. 바카라�Unless ­theatres are back to doing normal ­business with full occupancy, this year many cinema theatres in Tamil Nadu are staring at doomsday. At least 50 per cent of the standalone theatres would have to shut down forever,바카라� predicts Tiruppur Subramanian, secretary of the exhibitors association. A lot rides on Tamil cinema바카라�s big three. 

By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai