Cinema

'Aelay' gives a sudden twist, one day ahead of the release: Check what's behind this shocking decision

By alagu, 11 February, 2021
Aelay, Sillu Karupatti, Halitha Shameem

In a sudden twist one day ahead of the scheduled release, Halitha Shameem's much-anticipated 'Aelay' has on Thursday decided to skip the theatrical release, and the movie is now been baked for the direct release on Television, not on Friday, but on February 28. By unveiling its new decision, Aelay has joined the club of the movies that were directly released on the OTT platforms and Televisions. 

The stunning development has come when Aelay was slated for the theatrical release on February 12 and the movie team had been involving in full-fledged promotions for the movie both online and offline and circulated the posters and advertisements that carried the announcement that the movie will be released in the theaters on February 12 worldwide. The movie team was at the final stage of the release and the fans and audiences were getting ready to watch the movie on the big screens as Halitha Shameem had garnered significant attention through directing the superhit anthology of 'Sillu Karuppatti'. 

While the audiences were searching the theaters to book the tickets for the movie, the movie team knocked with the announcement that Aaley is coming to their home directly through Television by skipping the theaters. The announcement of a direct TV release had combinedly shocked and surprised thousands of fans and the theater owners, who are expecting a steady revival from the lockdown and the financial distress. On Thursday, the movie team has issued a statement in which it has penned the announcement. 

Aelay will be getting released directly on Star Vijay Television on February 28. In the statement released by one of the producers Y Not Studios, the movie team said, "We were enthusiastically planning to have a grand worldwide theatrical release on February 12, 2021. However, due to certain unforeseen and surprising policy developments, theaters were not made available for the film and we were left with no other option but to skip the theatrical release and to ensure that the film will be made available to the larger audience, we are partnering with Star Vijay for a Worldwide Television Premiere of 'Aelay' on 28th February 28th, 2021, at 3 pm". 

"We remain committed to nurture talent and making available quality content to the audience across platforms including theaters", the movie team added. According to reports close to the development, the movie team has decided for the Television release after the talks with the theater associations over the OTT release failed. It must be noted that when Vijay starred 'Master' released on Amazon Prime within three weeks of the theatrical release, the theaters had demanded the producers to release the movie in OTT only after 30 days of the theatrical release. 

The theaters said that the early release would severely affect their revenue. When Aelay came for the release, the theater owners' association has demanded the producers of Aelay to give a written assurance that the movie won't get released on the OTT platforms before one month of the theatrical release. However, the makers of Aelay had refused to give any written assurance, which triggered fresh disputes between them in arriving at an amicable resolution. 

The reports say that the makers and the theaters' union didn't reach a consensus following which the producers of Aelay have announced their decision of skipping the theatrical release. On Thursday, exactly one day ahead of the scheduled theatrical release, the producers have confirmed that Aelay will be released directly on Star Vijay television on February 28 at 3 pm. The reports say that it's the first time that Star Vijay will be premiering the movie directly on its channel and as Vijay Television has acquired the rights of Aelay, it has been expected that the movie will also be released on Disney + Hotstar days after the official release. 

Speaking about Aelay's release, Halitha Shameem said, "I am glad that my film Aelay is now going to witness a phenomenal reach across a wide range of audience. Aelay has been close to my heart even before I embarked on my journey as a filmmaker. It's exhilarating to see that the film will be available to huge crowds on the same day. I thank my producers and Star Television for backing this film and ensuring the best platform to showcase this to the world, through this television premiere".

Aelay is jointly produced by Y Not Studios, Reliance Entertainment, and Wallwatcher Films and directed by Halitha Shameem. The movie will be a neo-realistic comedy set in a rural town, exploring the relationship between a father and a son. Samuthirakani, Manikandan, and Madhumathi will be playing important roles. It will be the second reunification of Halithaa Shameem with Samuthirakani and Manikandan after Sillu Karupatti. 

 

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