The upcoming clash between two films titled ‘Jailer,’ set to hit theaters on August 10, has left director Sakkir Madathil facing significant challenges. His Malayalam film, ‘Jailer,’ is set to compete with the Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Jailer,’ and the situation has resulted in the rejection of Sakkir’s film by several theaters. The clash was unforeseen, and the disparity in budget and screen allocation has left Sakkir’s film in a state of uncertainty.
Sakkir Madathil, who not only directed but also produced the Malayalam film, expressed deep distress over the situation and revealed that he even had suicidal thoughts due to the ongoing battle for theater space. He had registered the title ‘Jailer’ for his film back in 2021 and had also made an appeal to Sun Pictures, the production house behind Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer,’ to consider changing the film’s title in the Malayalam language. Unfortunately, his requests did not yield any positive outcome, resulting in a difficult situation for his movie’s release.
In a recent one-man protest, Sakkir emphasized the need for more screens in Kerala for his film and expressed concern about the prevalence of Tamil films dominating Malayalam cinema in terms of screen allocation. The unequal distribution has led to his film being sidelined, despite his significant investment of Rs 5 crore, which included mortgaging his house and daughter’s jewelry to fund the project.
Sakkir Madathil has found himself in a tough spot, forced to release ‘Jailer’ alongside Nelson Dilipkumar and Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer’ due to distributor pressure. They advised him that his film would not fare well if released after Rajinikanth’s movie.
Appealing to Rajinikanth and the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, Sakkir seeks a resolution to the issue, hoping for a fair opportunity for his film to reach audiences despite the competition with the high-profile Rajinikanth-starrer. The clash of two films sharing the same title has raised concerns over equitable treatment in film distribution and screen allocation in the competitive landscape of the film industry.
