Siva’s Suriya, Disha Patani, and Bobby Deol-starrer Kanguva was supposed to be released on October 10. However, the film’s release was postponed to November 14 and many assumed it was to avoid clashing with TJ Gnanavel’s Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Vettaiyan.
( Suriya on moving to Mumbai with Jyotika: ‘Why take away my wife’s time from her parents?’)
Suriya was recently in Bengaluru to promote Kanguva. The press grilled him about postponing his film for Rajinikanth but not Shiva Rajkumar’s Kannada film Bhairathi Ranagal, which is releasing on November 15. Here’s how he responded.
‘Why do you think people will watch only one film?’
At a press conference for Kanguva, a reporter pointed out that Suriya postponed Kanguva for Vettaiyan but is now ‘okay’ to release the film with Bhairathi Ranagal. “You feel it’s an ordinary film?” they questioned.
Suriya, however, claimed that the clash wasn’t ‘intentional’ and that he respects Shiva. He said, “The film is being released in all languages possible, and everybody’s hoping for the best possible date. So, it’s not intentional, Shivanna is dear to me. Every festival, we have 10-12 films released. We had Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 for Diwali, and both are collecting ₹100 crore. Why do you think people will watch only one film or that one will overshadow the other?”
The reporter then pointed out that in that case, the film could’ve been released on its original date and clashed with Vettaiyan. Suriya, though, claimed that there were ‘numerous reasons’ for postponing the release. “The 3D version was not ready, even now, the censor is happening. We also had some post-production work left. We had numerous reasons to change the date,” he said.
‘I will use whatever power I have’
Another reporter pointed out that Kanguva is getting a good amount of screens in Karnataka during release. They asked if, ‘as a major figure, Suriya could ensure the same number of screens for Shiva in Tamil Nadu. “I am genuinely not a part of the distribution circle. However, if someone’s having a meeting and saying, can we do something together, I will go to any extent,” he said.
He also added, “If such a conversation happens, I will go to any extent to talk to my distributors and use whatever power I have. I will call anybody and knock on any doors to make it happen. But marketing and distribution are different worlds…but I will do whatever I can for Shivanna.”
Suriya will soon be seen in a dual role in Kanguva. He also shot for an untitled film with Karthik Subbaraj.
