KAAVALAN SHIFTED TO PONGAL RELEASE

There has been a major reshuffle of release dates in Kollywood. It looks like some of the movies slated for a December release have now been postponed to Pongal! The latest is that Dhanush's Aadukalam, which was ready for release, has now been shifted to Pongal. Meanwhile, though Vijay's Kaavalan, which is embroiled in litigations, is still trying for a December release, trade pundits feels it will be pushed to January.

Says Dhanush about Aadukalam's release, "It makes better sense as the Pongal weekend is huge this time with five consecutive holidays. If the weather holds up, it will be an ideal time for movie watching."

Meanwhile, some of the small films that were slated for Pongal like Sidhu + 2 have advanced their release dates. Says G Dhananjayan, "It makes better sense to advance the film's release. We have tentatively slotted Sidhu + 2 for December 10, depending on the availability of theatres."

Despite these developments, December will still have its share of biggies. While Suriya's Raktha Charithram and Arya's Chikku Bukku will hit the screens on December 3, Kamal Haasan's Manmadhan Ambu will have a big Christmas release. The two Fridays in between these two big releases will see Vithagan, Thaa and quite a few small movies hitting the screens.

Meanwhile, theatre bookings have already started for Pongal 2011 which will see a big clash with Vijay's Kaavalan, Dhanush's Aadukalam, Karthi's Siruthai, Sasikumar's Easan, Jiiva's Ko and Jayam Ravi's Engeyum Kaadhal, all touted for release. Everybody seems to be in a mad rush to release their films for Pongal, perhaps because the cricket World Cup is starting in India on February 19!