Dhanush’s upcoming movie ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ has gone from being the most-anticipated film of recent times to a virtual free for all on social media – all in a matter of a day. Anybody and everybody has an opinion on its release. Also, there’s tons of weird news about the movie floating around on Twitter.
Which makes one think – was it really necessary on the part of Jagame Thandhiram’s stakeholders to wash dirty linen in public? Coz that, and nothing else, is the reason why Jagame Thandhiram’s release has become a free for all on Twitter.
The fracas started with the leaked news that Jagame Thandhiram was skipping theatres and opting for a direct to digital release on Netflix. Then came whispers of the falling out between Dhanush and his producer S. Shashikant, over the OTT release of Jagame Thandhiram. Apparently, Dhanush was not happy with the producers’ decision to sell out to Netflix instead of having a go at the theatres; especially when theatres have bounced back in full swing, and are now allowed to operate at 100% seating occupancy.
Matters came to a head when S. Shashikant unfollowed Dhanush on Twitter and Instagram – a very public way of showing that they’ve fallen out badly. Eagle-eyed netizens swiftly picked up the unfollowing, and blew up matters out of proportion. Soon, Dhanush did his bit to fan the fire with a scathing, sarcastic jibe at the producers of Jagame Thandhiram, by praising producers of his other upcoming film Karnan for sticking to theatrical release “even though they had better options”. You can read all about it here –
An Insider Look At The Drama Behind Jagame Thandhiram’s Netflix Deal!
The final nail in the coffin came yesterday, when Dhanush tweeted that he is still hoping for a theatrical release for Jagame Thandhiram. His director Karthik Subbaraj seconded him by tweeting, “hoping”
Check out Dhanush’s tweet here –
I am hoping for the theatrical release of Jagame Thandiram like the theatre owners, exhibitors, distributors, cinema lovers and most of all my fans. Fingers crossed
— Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) February 2, 2021
With this tweet of Dhanush’s, the dam burst…and out poured a huge gush of support for Dhanush, and something akin to malice for S. Shashikant. Thousands of tweets hit Twitter — all of them exhorting S. Shashikant to do the right thing and release Jagame Thandhiram in theatres. #SpeakupSash began trending heavily on Twitter – @Sash041075 is S. Shashikant’s Twitter handle.
Finally, a few sane voices piped in. Several unmoved Twitterati questioned Dhanush whether it is right to subject the producer to social media pressure in this way. A Twitter user named Deepak Kodela tweeted, “Very unfair to put producers under this kind of public pressure. Just acquire the whole film and handle the finances and release in theatres sir. You are a producer as well!”. Well, makes sense.
Check out his tweet here –
Very unfair to put producers under this kind of public pressure. Just acquire the whole film and handle the finances and release in theatres sir. You are a producer as well!. https://t.co/7NshN2uSS7
— (@KodelaDeepak) February 2, 2021
After that, all hell broke loose. Everybody with a Twitter account and an opinion jumped into the melee. From advising Dhanush to take over the theatrical rights of Jagame Thandhiram, to even going ahead and declaring that Dhanush’s Production House Wunderbar Films is releasing Jagame Thandhiram in the theatres, the tweets flew thick and fast. Jagame Thandhiram had become a free for all on Twitter. Some even went on to insinuate that the issue was an elaborate plan on the part of Dhanush and S. Shashikant to hoodwink Netflix….like, seriously???
Which brings us again to our original question – was it a wise move on the part of both Dhanush and S. Shashikant to wash dirty linen in public? Couldn’t the two have sorted out the matter of Jagame Thandhiram’s release behind closed doors and presented a united front before the discerning public? The film and theatre industry is already reeling under Covid-induced heavy losses due to almost a year being wiped out of the movie calendar. What it needs is a sensible, balanced approach to significant decisions, instead of a broken fragmented film industry.
We hope wiser counsel prevails and Jagame Thandhiram again becomes one of the most-anticipated movies for viewers, which they can enjoy watching without the bitter aftertaste of matters gone sour, the size of the screen notwithstanding.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
