Tamil actor Vijay's fans are on a warpath. In the last two days, fans have been furiously speculating about the audio launch of Vijay’s next big release Leo being cancelled. While many conspiracy theories are doing the rounds, TNM has learnt that the cancellation was primarily due to a disagreement over the distribution of passes, involving three players – the movie’s producer Lalit Kumar, general secretary of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (TVMI) Bussy Anand, and the event’s organisers Noise and Grains. Three sources confirmed to TNM that a lack of agreement over how the 6,000-odd tickets would be divided, coupled with concerns over the attendees’ safety, led to the cancellation.
Over the past few years, audio launches ahead of a movie’s release have become huge events in various film industries including Kollywood. Vijay’s previous films Master and Varisu too have had big audio launch events, with huge audience attendance and celebrity presence. The audio launch of director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Leo was scheduled to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on September 30. A senior police officer told TNM that the organisers were granted permission from the police department, but eventually cancelled the event of their own accord.
While the venue has a seating capacity of 8,000, the capacity would drop to around 6,000 seats after erecting the dais, stadium officials said. “The event organisers booked the indoor stadium, which can seat 8,000 people. This will decrease by 1,500-2,000 seats after erecting the stage,” an official from the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium administration told TNM.
The official explained that as per their agreement with the organisers, 10% of the tickets or 600 passes would have to be given to the stadium management, which would further reduce the number of available seats to 5,400.
According to police sources, permission was granted for the audio launch, but a disagreement later arose over the distribution of passes, as the fans association Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam wanted a huge share. “The capacity of the venue itself was 6,000 seats. But there was a dispute over the distribution of passes, because Bussy Anand wanted 4,000 tickets to be distributed among fans associations. The producers had only 5,400 tickets to begin with. Since there was a problem over ticket distribution, we made it clear that we will not allow crowds beyond the stadium’s capacity,” said a senior police officer, adding that the department has been cautious in giving permission to events which attract large crowds after the mismanagement at the recent AR Rahman concert which was widely criticised.
Following the mayhem at AR Rahman’s live concert on September 10, a police officer told TNM that the Director General of Police has issued instructions on crowd management during major events. IPS officer Deepa Satyan was even transferred for failing to oversee the arrangements and crowd control at the AR Rahman concert.
A senior film producer told TNM that during an audio launch event of this scale, the producer would need around 2,500- 3,000 tickets as they “have an obligation to give tickets to sponsors and business associates.” The producers also need to hand over around 600- 1,000 tickets to the auditorium, as per the norm.
Meanwhile, a Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam representative said that Bussy Anand wanted to retain a bulk of the tickets for fans associations, as they expected a large crowd of around 1 lakh members to turn up in Chennai for the event. “It’s a long weekend, more fans will turn up. How can we not have even 5,000 tickets?” the representative asked.
Another producer, who has bankrolled several hit films in Tamil, added that since this would be the first audio launch event since Vijay has made louder indications of his political entry, the fans association would also consider this a political event and want more tickets for themselves. “But the producer also needs a large share of the tickets. This can be solved only if we have a venue with more capacity, which is currently not an option, and the police will not want to take risks [with a smaller venue],” he said.
Cinema and politics have been inseparably intertwined in Tamil Nadu for decades. Tamil superstar MG Ramachandran who was part of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) before breaking away to found the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), as well as several other stars, have used cinema as a tool to reach the masses. In MGR’s case, this mass appeal on screen eventually helped him emerge as the Chief Minister.
Perhaps realising the potential of the medium, politicians seem to have grown cautious of film stars. Many Vijay fans took to social media to condemn the DMK amid rumours that the film production and distribution company Red Giant Movies, associated with CM MK Stalin’s son and state Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, was behind the disruptions for the event.
The rumour gained traction when YouTuber Savukku Shankar shared a post claiming that Red Giant Movies had been “arm-twisting” Leo’s producer for the film’s distribution rights by ensuring permission for the event was delayed. However, the production house behind Leo immediately denied the claim.
The AIADMK, which is the principal opposition in the state, has also been claiming on social media that the DMK was responsible for the event’s cancellation. Vijay’s fans also claim that an ‘insecure’ DMK has unleashed police power on Vijay to thwart his political ambitions. The Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam representative TNM spoke to, however, denied this. “In our groups, no such thing has been discussed. It is natural that the ‘boys’ (Vijay fans) think so. But the cancellation was over security concerns. We think a detailed statement will come from the producers soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources from the industry told TNM that Vijay also had a shoot schedule commencing on October 3, which meant there were time constraints on the actor’s end too. The producers and organisers were unable to find another suitable date when the event could be rescheduled at a different venue, and had to cancel it altogether, sources said.