The ban imposed on Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan by the Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) was lifted on Friday, April 1. FEUOK had earlier, on March 15, stated that they will not cooperate with the actor or his production house Wayfarer Films because his film Salute went on to release on Over-the-Top (OTT) platform Sony LIV on March 17, while a theatrical release was being expected.
"For Kurup, they had no commitment with us, and yet they gave it to theatres. But for Salute we had an agreement to screen the film in our theatres. Then it went to OTT, without any notice. We had to know the reason. We can't keep quiet because Dulquer had helped us before by giving us Kurup. We lifted the ban after the producers explained their reason. Salute was planned for OTT, but seeing the support we had given for Kurup and considering our request, they decided to bring it to theatres. But then Omicron came to Kerala and they had to postpone the release. They didn't have the space to push it. According to their prior agreement, by March 20, the film had to go to other platforms. That's what happened. We understood and lifted the ban," said FEUOK President K Vijayakumar.
Following Salute, Mammootty and Parvathy starrer film Puzhu will also be premiering on the same OTT platform Sony LiV. However, the release date of the film is yet to be announced.
Salute features Dulquer as a policeman, and is directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby-Sanjay. The announcement of streaming Salute on Sony LIV was made on March 6. While the movie was planned for a theatrical release at first, it had to be released on OTT as the release of the film was delayed due to the pandemic.