After much speculation, actor Suriya’s next movie Soorarai Pottru will release on Amazon Prime Video on October 30. The movie is directed by Sudha Kongara, who had also directed the Madhavan-Ritika Singh starrer Irudhi Suttru.
The announcement was made on Twitter on Saturday by actor Suriya. Wishing everybody a happy Vinayagar Chathurthi, Suriya said that it is important to swim against the adversities faced by the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Calling Soorarai Pottru an important movie in his cinematic journey, Suriya said that he is eager to relish the movie with his beloved fans in movie theatres.
“However, the situation does not allow it at present. It is a producer’s important duty to ensure that a movie, which is a result of the creativity and hard work of people from multiple fields, reaches the audience at the right time,” he said.
Previously, Suriya had faced flak from theatre owners for releasing Ponmagal Vandhal directly on Amazon Prime Video. The film was produced by his production house 2D Entertainment and starred his wife and actor Jyotika. At the time, theatre owners had threatened to boycott Suriya's films for bypassing a theatrical release and going for an OTT release.
However, since then, several films have chosen a direct OTT release across industries. In the south, apart from Ponmagal Vandhal, Penguin, Sufiyum Sujatayum, Krishna and His Leela, Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya, Law and French Biriyani have come out. Quite a few other films are also expected to release in the coming months, with no end in sight for the coronavirus pandemic. Theatres are expected to be the last to reopen and even if they do, the crowds are unlikely to come back without mass vaccination.
The much-anticipated Soorarai Pottru is inspired by the life of retired army veteran Captain GR Gopinath, who founded the low-cost airline Air Deccan. The movie’s release on Amazon Prime Video assumes significance since this is the first Tamil movie with a big male star to release directly on an OTT platform. The film also stars Aparna Balamurali as the female lead.
While it was rumoured that actor Vijay’s Master, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, will be released directly on OTT platforms, the film’s producer put the rumours to rest. He said that Master will be released only in theatres first and not on OTT platforms.
Declaring that it has been decided to release Soorarai Pottru via the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video, Suriya requested his industry colleagues, members of the general public and his fans to understand the call taken based on his conscience. “I believe that by the time people are able to visit movie theatres and spend happy times watching movies, I will be able to act in a few more movies and release them,” he added. Stating that his production house 2D Entertainment has released eight movies so far and has 10 more in the pipeline, Suriya said that in dire times, it is fair to take decisions as a producer and not as an actor.
Suriya also announced that he will be allocating and distributing Rs 5 crore from the release expense of Soorarai Pottru to those in the frontline fighting COVID-19, for the benefit of those in the industry, and the general public. The details of the same will be announced soon, he added.
Amazon Prime Video, in its press release, said that the movie will be released on the platform on October 30 and that subscribers can watch it in four languages -- Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu.