Will it be Santhanam versus Santhanam on January 31?

It is common practice in the film industry to ensure that two films of the same actor don’t release on the same day as it would split the business and affect their box office collections. But now, the makers of Dagalty and Server Sundaram, both of which star Santhanam, have announced that their films will be releasing on the same date January 31.
We spoke to the producers of the two films and both say that while this has been a surprise to them as well, they are hoping that things will get sorted.
“We have been working towards this release date since December, coming out with the first and second singles, the teaser and so on. But it was only after we had announced our release date that the Server Sundaram team has announced theirs,” says SP Chowdhary, producer of Dagalty. He admits that the other film’s team did call and check with him on when he was planning on releasing his film. “I’d told them we were looking at January 31. So, it was a shock when they came out with the announcement that they would also be releasing on the same day. And since then, they haven’t gotten in touch with us,” he says.
Meanwhile, J Selvakumar, the producer of Server Sundaram, has a different story to tell. “Our film was ready two years ago, and we have got it censored first. We were waiting for the right time to release it because we had a lot of issues that had to be sorted out. We were just coming out of that mess and thought we should release the film when things were looking good. So, we had informed the various players that we were hoping to release on this date. I’m not sure why the makers of Dagalty also want to release their film on this date, despite us having passed on the information about our film’s release to them,” he says.
But the two producers remain confident that their films will do well even if they release on the same date. “I’m depressed because this is my first film, and I’m facing such a situation. I feel that if I back out after announcing the release date, it might affect my equation with the trade in the future. But I don’t have any problem if that film also releases on the same day. It could even be a double treat for Santhanam sir’s fans,” he says and adds that he has so far managed to confirm 350+ screens.
“As far as we are concerned, this movie has a different content — a food-based commercial film. Santhanam sir had helped us get this title from the AVM family. The title itself has a value. And Santhanam sir is playing a chef. So, we are confident on our content. Also, ever since we announced the release date, we have been getting great response. The person who has bought our film is also confident that they can release the film on their own on this date. They have assured us that they will get the film to theatres,” says Selvakumar.
Chowdhary says that he hasn’t spoken about this issue with Santhanam because it would be wrong of him to ask the actor to mediate. “I cannot ask him to support my film and not back the other one because both are his films,” he says. Meanwhile, Selvakumar says he is waiting to meet Santhanam and discuss this issue with him. “We couldn’t reach him; we were told he is out of station for a meditation programme,” he informs.
However, Selvakumar has requested the Tamil Film Producers Council to help out. “The council actually helped us sort out our previous issues, so I’m looking to them for guidance. I hope we will get a better clarity in the coming week — since the Pongal holidays are now over,” he says, and adds that he isn’t averse to requesting the Dagalty team to reconsider their decision. “Since we are coming out of a struggle, both myself and my director have already requested their help. The struggle that we have been through in the past two years cannot be described in words. So, we want everyone’s help,” he says.