Following the calling off of the Tamil Nadu theatre strike, the question on the lips of audiences was, when would the films get released and in what order? Speaking to the media, Vishal, president, TFPC, first reiterated that the reduction in Virtual Print Fee (by 50 per cent), combined with complete transparency in ticketing, will help small producers a lot. He also said that the booking charges would come down to as low as Rs 5 per transaction and that the maximum ticketing charge of 150 (prior to addition of GST and LBT) would not get compromised. Finally, he answered that the next step would be the formation of a release regulation committee that will include four members each from producers, distributors and theatre owners, which he said, would help the fair determination of releases through the year. 

The treasurer of TFPC, SR Prabhu, was more forthcoming in his response to us. He said that the four criteria would be film completion, censor date, time of release, and the budget of the film. The stakeholders, he said, would decide the release order during the coming days.

The first film that will be released -- this Friday -- is the silent thriller, Mercury, by Karthik Subbaraj. The reason cited for the urgency in Mercury's release is that the film may suffer from piracy, given that it has already been released across the country. Vishal also thanked the teams of Kaala and Viswaroopam for understanding the industry's issues, and allowing the release of other films before it.