‘Kaavalan’ a hit in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Tamils in Sri Lanka, including those living in the North and East, are flocking to see ‘Kaavalan’ starring Vijay and Asin, despite a call from the Chennai-based South Indian Film Chamber to boycott films starring the actress.

The boycott was announced after Asin attended the Indian International Film Awards held in Colombo last year, violating the chamber’s request for nonparticipation as it was protesting the “massacre” of Tamil civilians by the Lankan armed forces in the final phase of the war against the LTTE in 2009.

‘Kaavalan’ is running to “full houses” in the Tamil-speaking districts of Trincomalee, Vavuniya, and Batticaloa, and “reasonably well” in Jaffna, theater officials told Express on Tuesday.

In Colombo, it is being shown in all the four theatres of the Cinecity complex, and also in Concord, four times a day. In Jaffna, where it is being shown in two halls, the reception has been somewhat affected by the fact that Dhanush’s ‘Aadukalam’ and Karthi’s ‘Sirutthai’ are competing for patronage.

“People say it is a good film,” said the manager of Nelson cinema in Trincomalee about ‘Kaavalan’. The manager of Vasanthi cinema in Vavuniya said that the film showed promise.

When asked about the “Asin factor”, he said there was no problem. Asin is in fact a well-known star among all Sri Lankans including the Sinhalese. She is featured in advertisements of a popular FM radio station, and hoardings with her picture all over the place in Colombo.