Rajinikanth's Kaala may not be released on April 27 after all

Looks like Rajinikanth's eagerly awaited film Kaala may not be released on 27 April as announced earlier.

The current strike called by the Tamil Film Producers Council to protest against the 'exorbitant' fees charged as virtual print fee by digital service providers has literally brought the Tamil movie industry to a standstill. 

As a result, a number of films that are ready for release have had to be put on hold. With each passing day, that list is only growing. That apart, work on at least another 40 films has been put on hold. 

All this has led to a tense situation. In these circumstances, sources say the makers of the Rajinikanth-starrer, directed by Pa Ranjith, recently approached the producers' council for a clearance certificate to submit the film for certification.

The norm is that once a film is ready, the makers get a no-objection certificate, or NOC, from the film producers' council before taking it to the Central Board of Film Certiication (CBFC) for a certificate for public exhibition. It is only after the film gets a CBFC certificate that it can be released in India.

However, sources say the producers' council has requested the makers of Kaala to wait until the strike is called off for their NOC.

Earlier reports had suggested that other producers had warned that they would object if the council chose to give an NOC to Kaala ahead of several other films waiting in line.

A source in the council said, "It is almost certain that Kaala's release will have to be postponed. That is because a number of films that were scheduled for release before Kaala are yet to be released because of the strike. The strike hasn't been called off yet. Once that happens, these films will have to be released first and Kaala will have to await its turn."