DTH premiere of 'Vishwaroopam' before theatre release ruled out

Chennai: Actor-Director Kamal Haasan Friday virtually ruled out the premiere of his film `Vishwaroopam` on Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform ahead of its release in theatres, admitting a `change of mind` on proceeding with his controversial decision which had met with stiff resistance from a section of theatre owners. "I have changed my mind on having the premiere (on DTH platform ahead of releasing it in theatres). I will discuss (with DTH partners) on how close or far to release date (will be a DTH show)," he told reporters here. He said he had taken into account suggestions from many to consider the `good health` of Tamil cinema industry before going ahead with his decision. "Many had requested me to take into consideration the good health of the industry and proceed with DTH. It is my primary duty to make it happen," he said after consulting with exhibitors and theatre owners here. He said talks were on with DTH players on the issue, details of which he declined to divulge. "They have been kind with me. Will say later when the film will come on DTH," he said. Haasan said the film will be released in Tamil and Telugu on January 25 as announced earlier but only talks would determine when it would be released in Hindi. The tech-savvy actor-filmmaker`s decision to have a premiere of his much anticipated trilingual action flick on DTH caused ripples in the multi-million rupee Tamil cinema industry, with a section of theatre owners deciding to boycott the film. Meanwhile, Airtel announced crediting back the booking amount to customers. "In line with the postponement of the DTH premiere of the movie Vishwaroopam/Vishwaroop, we have credited back the booking amount to our customers. "We are awaiting confirmation from Rajkamal Films on the release date of the film on the DTH platform and will communicate the details soon," Shashi Arora, CEO-DTH/Media, Bharti Airtel, said in a brief statement. PTI