The frenzy of enthusiasm for the newest movies of Kollywood has hit a fever pitch with two high-profile star-studded ventures – Jana Nayagan with Vijay and Karuppu, a mass entertainer starring Suriya. Both movies are creating huge anticipation among movie buffs, but the buzz is all about the possibility of the two big-budget releases clashing.
One of Tamil cinema’s largest stars, Vijay, is ready to release his movie Jana Nayagan on January 9th next year. The film has already found a top position in the Sankranti release window, a time when there is intense competition and heavy box-office stakes. People are eager to see what Vijay brings after his recent successes, and Jana Nayagan promises to be yet another humongous hit in his successful list.
While so, Karuppu, featuring Suriya, has been causing a lot of buzz right from the time its mass teaser was released. The teaser, which guarantees raw action and bigger-than-life sequences, only meant to increase expectations about the movie. It has recently come out that Suriya’s movie is also targeting the very same date, January 9th, and hence industry experts are hyping up about a possible clash of the two movies.
What adds more interest to this development is the role of OTT players in the release strategy. There are reports that OTT rights of Karuppu have been bought by Netflix, and the giant streaming service is said to be keen to release the movie during the festival season. This is hardly surprising, as festival releases are known to generate tremendous viewership, and Netflix would stand to gain from the heightened interest during Sankranti, when viewers are in a festive mood and more willing to watch movies on the streaming platform.
This puts both films in a messy situation, as they both now desire to come out together and take over the festival season. For Tamil film industry, this is a crucial juncture, as Sankranti season is the best time for box-office collections, and a conflict between two big stars like Vijay and Suriya will split the audience and weaken the impact that each of these films can have.
Some believe that both films could succeed, leveraging different fan bases and varying release strategies, but others are predicting a tough battle for the top spot in the Sankranti race. Either way, this clash is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about events in Tamil cinema for next year.
