Mollywood director, Sakkir Madathil, has written to the creators of Rajinikanth's forthcoming Tamil movie, 'Jailer', urging them to consider changing the title of their film while marketing it in Kerala. Madathil's concern stems from his upcoming project, featuring Dhyan Sreenivasan, which shares the same title. He fears that the resemblance in names might lead to confusion among the audience, particularly during the promotion of Rajinikanth's film in Kerala.
Madathil, known for helming movies such as 'To Let Ambadi Talkies', disclosed to Onmanorama that he had written to Rajinikanth and the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, urging them to address the matter urgently.
He asserted that he had formally registered the title with the Kerala Film Chamber in August 2021. The film, which commenced production on November 6, 2021, concluded on December 15 of the same year. "We opted to unveil the film after completing post-production work. However, due to certain financial constraints, the post-production was delayed. Ultimately, the title launch took place during an event in Sharjah on June 26, 2023, attended by Kamal Haasan and Manju Warrier," he explained.
Unfortunately, by that time, Sun Pictures had already announced the title of Rajinikanth's action comedy. "This happened ten days before our title launch. Nevertheless, a significant portion of our film was already completed at that stage. When we approached the Kerala Film Chamber about the title, they informed us that they had notified the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. If they are unwilling to modify the title for their nationwide marketing, they should at least consider renaming the film for its Malayalam release to avoid confusion," he asserted.
According to reports, Sun Pictures has also taken the matter to the Madras High Court, demanding that the Mollywood filmmakers change their film's title and refrain from obstructing the release of Rajinikanth's film in Kerala. However, Onmanorama has not independently verified this, although Madathil maintains that they have received a summons from the court.
"We will appear before the court on August 2. We remain hopeful of a favourable response. We aim to release the film before August 10, as Rajinikanth's film is slated to hit theatres on that date," he added.
Addressing the matter, the President of the Kerala Film Chamber, G Suresh Kumar, mentioned that disputes over common film titles are becoming increasingly prevalent. "Nonetheless, we have granted clearance for the Mollywood film 'Jailer', so they should not encounter any issues releasing the film with that title. However, if Rajinikanth's filmmakers intend to release the film in Kerala under the same title after Dhyan Sreenivasan's film is released, it may indeed pose a problem," he commented.
'Jailer', featuring Dhyan Sreenivasan, is set in the 1950s and revolves around the jail warden's experimental methods to reform prisoners.
