Udhayanidhi moots IPL-like boycott on film releases

In a message posted around midnight Tuesday on his official Twitter handle, @Udhaystalin wondered, “Like IPL, will the release of movies also be deferred till the constitution of Cauvery Management Board?” “It will help draw the attention of dysfunctional central and state governments more,” in a loaded political statement that could have raised many eyebrows in Kollywood.

Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council president and actor Vishal tweeted on Wednesday evening: “Here we go. Our first Tamil film release after the revamp is gonna be #Mercurymovie in a grand scale. Looking fwd to this lovely venture from @Karthiksubbaraj. All da best. #Tfpc will assure a huge and grand release wit all support. God bless.” 

Notably, neither his father-party president M K Stalin nor other DMK leaders had even suggested the movie strike during their Cauvery protests. 

Even when the anti-IPL chorus hit a crescendo in the state, eventually leading to the shifting of Chennai Super Kings matches to Pune, Stalin had steered clear of the controversy by suggesting that it was for the cricketing body to take a call on holding the matches in Chennai even as the state was fighting for its riparian rights. 

While outspoken party leaders refused to go public about Stalin junior making daring suggestions contrary to the party’s line, they were not averse to admitting that the suggestion was another proof of the actor’s desire to take the political plunge. “Probably, he is flexing his muscle in his own industry (Kollywood) and testing the waters. Cinema and politics are no strange bedfellows,” said a party insider requesting anonymity.

An otherwise soft-spoken Udhayanidhi, who has been engaging himself in politics more actively than ever of late, had accompanied his father all through the “Cauvery Rights Retrieval Yatra”, including the black flag agitation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A quick glance at his twitter page would sufficiently demonstrate the actor’s interest in politics more than cinema.