Jyotika, who was last seen in the action comedy drama, Jackpot, is looking forward to the release of her next film, Ponmagal Vandhal, directed by debutant J.J.Fredrick. For the first time, Jyotika will be seen playing the role of a lawyer and this film is expected to showcase her in a different dimension. Produced by Suriya’s 2D Entertainment, Ponmagal Vandhal features 5 veteran directors in prominent roles, including K Bhagyaraj, Pandiarajan, Prathap Pothen, Thiagarajan and Radhakrishnan Parthiban. The film was initially scheduled to hit the screens on March 27, but since the theatres were shut down due to the national lockdown, the release was postponed.

Very recently, there were wide speculations that Suriya sold the film’s digital rights to Amazon Prime for an amount of Rs 9 crores and has decided to release it directly on the OTT platform. It was also said that the film will release on the said streaming platform from the first week of May and this created a huge buzz on social media. Having said that, in an unfortunate turn of events, the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association have now strongly condemned this move made by Suriya and 2D Entertainment.

Speaking in a video, Panneerselvam, Owner of Rohini Silver Screens and Secretary of Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association, said, “We were immensely shocked and taken aback after hearing that Ponmagal Vandhal will be releasing directly on OTT platform without a theatrical release. Films that are made for theatrical viewing should first release only in theatres and then only have its OTT release and that is the guideline. We contacted the producer and told him not to do this, but he isn’t listening. If he disobeys our request and releases the film directly on OTT, we will no more screen any of the films that are made in his production. Let him release it directly on OTT as he wishes. This is our decision”.

Well, this news has created a controversy in Kollywood as the situation looks quite serious. Going by what Panneerselvam says, it looks like Suriya’s much awaited biggie, Soorarai Pottru might also run into trouble because of this as it is his home production. An official word from Suriya or 2D Entertainment is yet to come and we will update you shortly. Stay tuned.