Jailer: What's the controversy of Rajinikanth starrer about, demands of Malayalam director Sakkir Madathil?

If you are somebody who regularly follows movie updates, then you would definitely know that there is not one but two Jailer films. Rajinikanth's Tamil film Jailer and Malayalam film Jailer by Sakkir Madathil on the anvil. Yes, it's Jailer vs Jailer. Both films are fighting a legal battle over the same title and release date. The Malayalam film director has been making several claims against the Tamil film. Why? What are his demands and what's all controversy about? Well, we will tell you in detail. Read on to know everything about both Jailer movies.

Jailer vs Jailer- The big controversy

Basically, till July, not many had any idea that there is a Malayalam film titled Jailer. However, on July 16, the makers of the Malayalam film Jailer got into a tiff with the Tamil film Jailer's makers Sun Pictures over the same title. The director requested them to change the title of their film and release it in Malayalam so that audiences don't get confused and neither of them get affected. The team of the Malayalam film opined that as they are making a smaller film, they should get to keep the title as they are already at a disadvantage. Sakkir also argued that since the Tamil Jailer features one of the biggest Malayalam stars, Mohanlal, it would be unfair to release the film with the title Jailer. However, this request was denied. Sakkir also made claims that he registered the title Jailer with the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) in 2021, well before the announcement of the Tamil film’s title. Still, Sun Pictures weren't ready to change the title of the Rajinikanth starrer. 

So, the director took the issue to court. He filed a legal complaint against Sun Pictures over the same title. The judgment is awaited. 
 

Battle over the same title and release date

Intensifying things further, Sakkir Madathil took a decision to compete with Rajinikanth's Jailer. He announced that Malayalam film Jailer will release on the same date as the Tamil film. Yes, not just the same title but the release too. Both Jailers are having a pan-Indian release.

The Malayalam film will reportedly be dubbed in other languages and released on the same date as Rajinikanth's Jailer. The same goes for the Tamil film, the highly anticipated drama will also be released in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada. Rajinikanth's highly anticipated Tamil film Jailer and Malayalam film Jailer will be clashing at the box office with the same release date. 

Malayalam film Jailer director Sakkir Madathil protest against Rajinikanth's Jailer

The dispute between both films took a new turn after Sakkir Madathil said he will protest against the Tamil film Jailer. He took this decision after his film has been denied in theaters as the exhibitors allotted more screens for the much-hyped Rajinikanth film. And as he said, the Malayalam director did it. He held one day protest in front of the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), on Friday. 

Sakkir Madathil said that exhibitors of Kerala are not ready to screen the Malayalam film Jailer due to Rajinikanth's Jailer. The director revealed that Kerala exhibitors only want to give 42-theatre screenings for his film but he demands 75-day windows. The director claimed that exhibitors have no interest in his film but are busy promoting Rajinikanth's Jailer. During his protest, he also demanded that Malayalam films be saved from big-budget flicks of other languages. He reportedly was quoted saying, "I don’t have any issues with Tamil films getting released in Kerala. But this shouldn’t happen by blocking Malayalam projects.

In such a scenario, he questioned how Malayalam films will prosper when theatre owners are insisting on a 42-day window for OTT release.
 

No resemblance to Jailer plotlines

But it is to be noted that both films bear no resemblance to one another, the plotlines and stories are entirely different. While Jailer is touted to be a dark comedy thriller and features Rajinikanth as a prison officer aka Jailer named Muthuvel Pandian, Malayalam film is a period thriller movie. The story happens in the year 1956 - 57. 

The Tamil Jailer stars Rajinikanth, Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, Shiva Rajkumar, Sunil, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, and Vinayakan. Looking at the star cast, it may seem as if any film would be making a mistake by releasing on the same day as the Nelson Dilipkumar directorial. But the director of the Malayalam Jailer, Sakkir Madathil, is confident in the content he has created, he does not need to seem hesitant at all to release his film on the same day as the Rajinikanth starrer. 

The Malayalam film Jailer stars Dhyan Sreenivasan and Divya Pillai.

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