Kabali opening scene leaked on WhatsApp

It's not a leak, but a spillage that has been affecting the Indian film industry in the country. First it was Udta Punjab, that was leaked two days before its release. Then Sultan, too, was leaked before its premiere. However, both these films were quick to stem the rot. One film that was badly affected is Inder Kumar's sex-comedy Great Grand Masti, which was leaked three weeks before its scheduled release on 22 July, forcing the makers to advance the film by a week.

The latest to bear the brunt of the leak is superstar Rajinikanth whose Tamil film Kabali was leaked couple days before its release. Adding insult to the injury, it was buzzed that a clip containing the opening scene of Kabali was being circulated on text and video messenger application, WhatsApp. 

There were rumours that opening scene could have been leaked from the special screening held in USA.  Madhu Garlapatti of Cine Galaxy was quoted saying that the leak didn’t happen from the special screen in USA, but pointed fingers to the Middle East, as the leaked copies had Arabic subtitles.

Kabali producer Kalaippuli S Thanu, of V Creations, shrugged off the opening scene leak and urged fans to go cinema halls to watch the complete film. 

Thanu had earlier obtained an injunction order from the Madras high court restraining more than 169 websites from indulging in online piracy and copyright infringement.

Often the leaked copies are the ones that are sent to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which bear the 'For Censor' watermark. CFBC chief Pahlaj Nihalini had warded off the needle of suspicion by pointing fingers towards Chennai, saying that the film was certified in the Southern state and not by his office. 

One hopes that the damage isn’t widespread and fans throng to theatres in huge numbers when the film hits screens tomorrow.