Jailer director Sakkir Madathil: Theatres cannot rely on the success of Malayalam films happening once in a while

Rajinikanth's latest film, Jailer, has courted controversy after it was revealed that it shared its title with the Malayalam film Jailer. Both films were also slated to release in theatres on the same date.

Sakkir Madathil, the director of the Malayalam film Jailer, pushed the release of his film, saying that he did not want to confuse people going to theatres since his film and Rajinikanth's have the same title.

Now,  Sakkir has said that he did not push the release of his film due to the pressure of theatre owners. He also revealed that Jailer is not the first film that he had to withdraw from theatres because of a Rajinikanth movie.

Also Read: Dhyan Sreenivasan: Jailer controversy benefitted our film 

'Rajinikanth's Kochadaiiyaan affected my debut film'

"I initially protested against the lack of screens for Malayalam films in Kerala during the release of other language films, but after hearing from theatre owners about the benefits of showing big-star films, I changed my mind. I realised that the theatres are facing a crisis and cannot rely on the success of a Malayalam film happening once in a while. So, I decided to delay the release of my film Jailer for Rajinikanth's Tamil film Jailer. But this is not the first time that I have had to defer the release of my film due to a Rajinikanth movie. My debut film, To Let Ambadi Talkies, was withdrawn from theatre screens due to the release of Rajinikanth's 2014 film Kochadaiiyaan," Sakir said in an interview with The Fourth Channel.

'Jailer's success will not affect my film'

Sakkir is confident that the success of Rajinikanth's Jailer will not negatively affect his film. "I don't think the current Jailer trend will affect the prospects of my film. My film is releasing on 100 screens in Kerala, and I think that after a week, the Tamil film Jailer will see a decrease in the number of screens," he said.

Also Read: Jailer director claims his film has been denied theatres in Kerala 

The Jailer controversy

Earlier, the makers of the Malayalam film Jailer had requested the producers of Rajinikanth's film to change their title. Sun Pictures denied the request, and in response, Sakkir filed a case in the Madras High Court over ownership of the title.

Jailer, a period film that stars Dhyan Sreenivasan in the lead role, is slated to release in theatres on August 18.