The Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer opened in theatres on Thursday.
A Malayalam film with the same title was also scheduled to hit screens on the same day.
But the Malayalam film’s director Sakkir Madathil backed down on Wednesday – according to media reports, his Jailer will now be released on Aug 18.
He had earlier been adamant that the Malayalam Jailer would also be released on Aug 10 and even took the issue to court.
The bitter battle over the Jailer title rights had rocked the South Indian film industry, reported India Today.
Madathil claimed last week that he had requested the makers of the Tamil Jailer to change its title. He reasoned that the Malayalam film is a significantly smaller project and the audience would be confused over the same title.
He also said the title would confuse the audience and that since the Tamil Jailer features one of the biggest Malayalam stars, Mohanlal, it would be unfair to release the film with the title Jailer and put his Jailer at a disadvantage in the race for ticket sales.
Sun Pictures had refused to change the title of the Tamil film, reported Republic World.
Madathil reportedly registered the title Jailer with Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) in 2021 – way before the Tamil film’s title was registered.
But this too did not have any effect on Sun Pictures, forcing the Malayalam director to file a legal case. A judgement is awaited.
Madathil also said exhibitors are not backing him, giving preference to the Rajinikanth movie. He had asked for a 75-day window but was given only 42 days to screen his film.
He staged a protest in front of the KFCC office last Friday, demanding that Malayalam films be saved from big-budget films of other languages.
When he did not get a response, he announced that he would release his film also on Thursday.
The Rajinikanth Jailer, also released in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada, bears no resemblance to Madathil’s venture.
While the Tamil Jailer is a dark comedy thriller and features Rajinikanth as a prison officer named Muthuvel Pandian, the Malayalam film is a period (1956-57) drama.
Cast-wise, there is no competition either. The Tamil film also stars Jackie Shroff, Shiva Rajkumar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan and Yogi Babu.
The Malayalam Jailer has only Dhyan Sreenivasan and Divya Pillai as the main draws.
But Madathil was confident his film would do better because of its good content.
Rajnikanth’s Jailer opened to house-full shows in South India on Thursday.
Buzz around the Tamil film is at an all-time high, as it is Rajinikanth’s first film in two years.
The Economic Times reported that offices in Chennai and Bengaluru have granted time off for its employees on Jailer’s release day.
Rajinikanth had hinted during the film’s audio launch that he is still the superstar in Tamil films.
Producer Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures, emphasised that Rajinikanth’s fanbase spans five generations, making him a record-maker.
He asserted that, until other actors can attract producers as Rajinikanth does, the 72-year-old remains the “only true superstar of Indian cinema”.
Indo-Asian News service
