Filmmaker-actor RJ Balaji is on cloud nine as his Suriya-Trisha Krishnan-starrer Karuppu hits screens on May 15. The film that was supposed to be released a day ahead was delayed due to financial issues faced by the production house, Dream Warrior Pictures. Balaji couldn’t help but recreate the winning moment from Jersey as his film was finally screened. (Also Read: Fans warned against sharing leaked clips of Suriya, Trisha Krishnan from Karuppu after Qube ‘unlawfully’ screens film)
RJ Balaji’s Jersey winning moment
In Gowtam Tinnanuri’s 2019 Telugu film Jersey, Nani’s Arjun is so overwhelmed with emotion that he heads to a train station and screams out loud as a train passes by. In a similar moment, as Karuppu was playing at Rohini Silver Screens in Chennai and fans cheered, an overwhelmed Balaji couldn’t help but scream, pump his fist in the air and almost break down.
Trisha, music composer Sai Abhyankkar and Suriya’s brother, actor Karthi, who were with Balaji at the screening, couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. After the film ended, fans turned to where the filmmaker-actor was sitting and began chanting his name, making him cry. Trisha, who was by his side in this moment, gave him a hug, as did Sai.
Numerous fans who attended the screening posted the clips, calling it his ‘moment of victory’. “This is how deserved victory feels,” commented a fan on Instagram, while another wrote, “The man is literally crying.” One fan even commented, “You won Mara.” This comes a day after the director had to make a video apologising to fans over the delay in Karuppu’s release.
Karuppu’s delayed release
Despite receiving permission from actor and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay to hold 9 AM shows in the state, screenings were cancelled. As the day went by, theatres kept updating fans that screenings were getting cancelled even as they waited for an update from the filmmakers. In the meantime, digital cinema solution Qube played the film by ‘mistake’ in Mumbai, Pune and Varanasi.
Producer SR Prabhu, who was waiting to clear dues so theatres could receive the Key Delivery Message (KDM), had to hold a meeting with the Producers Council. He was worried the film would be pirated and face the same fate as Vijay’s unreleased film, Jana Nayagan. His attorney also posted a public notice warning fans from circulating clips of the film online. After much delay, it was finally confirmed early on Friday that the film will be released.
Karuppu stars Suriya and Trisha in lead roles with Indrans, Natty Subramaniam, Swasika, Sshivada, Supreeth Reddy and Yogi Babu in key roles. The film was projected to have a ₹25 crore opening”> ₹25 crore opening had it been released on time. It remains to be seen how it will fare today.