The one film Tamil cinema fans everywhere are waiting for with bated breath is the highly-anticipated 'Thalapathy' Vijay-starrer Leo coming out in theatres worldwide on October 19. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and featuring music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, the upcoming film is releasing under tremendous expectations and is set to take a staggering opening in cinemas around the globe, with the pre-release business already estimated to have surpassed the 100-crore mark. With Vijay's Leo set to hit the screens in three weeks' time, popular producer G. Dhananjayan recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Galatta to talk about the prospects of the film and the massive pre-release business surrounding it, while also addressing the team's supposed dispute with Red Giant Movies, which many on social media have gone on to assume on their own.
Speaking about Leo's pre-release business, Dhananjayan explains, "He (producer Lalit Kumar) hasn't given the film to Red Giant Movies because he had the desire to do business. Both business and distribution are separate aspects. When it comes to business, the film has to be sold. So, as far as Leo is concerned, Lalit sir wanted to accomplish the number one spot on the distribution front in Tamil Nadu. He wanted to do a business of Rs. 100 crores as a minimum guarantee (MG). This isn't a deposit. In the case of Leo, he made a decision that distributors would have to take a risk of Rs. 100 crores with the MG. If it crosses those numbers, his film will earn a record-breaking profit. Up until now, the highest for a Vijay sir film falls in the range of anywhere between 75-80 crores. So, Lalit sir wished to do a business of 100 crores during pre-release itself, which he has now achieved. Leo has done a business of around Rs. 101 crores with the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights and hats off to the business acumen of Lalit. Now, when this business is going on, Red Giant Movies isn't there anywhere in this game. They won't buy a film. They only distribute the film. Be it Ponniyin Selvan or Vikram, their one and only policy is that they will not venture into taking any risks. They won't buy films based on a minimum guarantee. They will distribute the film without any hassles under good terms and pay back the money collected in the first sixty days."
Continuing with his explanation for Leo's pre-release business, Dhananjayan added, "Now, he (Lalit Kumar) has stated that he wants to do business during the pre-release itself and you can see both these aspects are different. So, Red Giant didn't approach him and ask him to give the film to them, and the reason is that he is asking for MG and there's no point in asking for distribution for free. When I spoke to the people at Red Giant, they stated clearly that they didn't go asking for that film because the ideologies differ. However, Lalit sir did state that in the event of nobody coming on board for the MG, he'll definitely give the film to Red Giant. He'll not give it to anyone else because he'd be releasing it for free. In this case, free release refers to if he's going to give the film for distribution, he'll make it happen with Red Giant and he was waiting for just that. In the end, the fortunes went on to favor him big time here and the film got sold out in all territories. So, how can the film be given to Red Giant? Neither Red Giant went and asked him, and there was no situation where he had to go and give the film to them. Henceforth, there was no clash between them."
Watch G. Dhananjayan talk about Leo's pre-release business in the video below:
