Eager movie-goers who had pushed and shoved each other in long queues and waited patiently online to book first-day-first-show tickets for the magnum-opus Baahubali: The Conclusion, were left angry after the 4:30am and 8 am shows on Friday morning were cancelled in cinema theatres across Tamil Nadu.
Several reports came in that the show was cancelled due to a financial dispute between the producers of the movie and those who hold the theatrical rights of the movie in Tamil Nadu.
So, why did this happen? Here is the story.
According to industry sources, K Productions has bought the theatrical rights for the film for all of Tamil Nadu from Arka Mediaworks, the producers of Baahubali. While most of the money has been paid by K Productions to Arka, about Rs. 15 Crore is still outstanding. So Arka, the producers of Baahubali, pulled the plug on the movie at the last minute, by not providing the No Objection Certificate for the movie.
Standard practice in cinema is that a theatre can only screen the movie after an NOC is given by its producers, even if the theatres are in possession of the movie. The keys for the movie are not issued till the NOC is given.
So Arka, Baahubali’s own producers, refused to let the movie screen.
However, reports state that the issue is being sorted out, and that the noon shows are expected to be screened as planned. The process of issuing the NOCs doesn’t take more than 20 minutes, say industry insiders.
A top source in the industry told The News Minute, "It is likely to happen anytime now."
(This story was first published on The News Minute)
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