Cinemas stop showing South Indian movies due to safety concerns

Theaters across Canada cancel nightly premieres of Malayalam movies Malaikottai Vallivan after shots were fired in Scarborough, Ont. Cineplex on January 24th.

toronto police tweeted About the bullet hole found in the theater window.

“Police received a report of a discharge of a firearm at 11:40 a.m. in the Milner/Morningside area. Shell casings and bullet holes were also found. The timing of the shooting cannot be confirmed,” Toronto Police spokesperson Shannon Eames said. said in an email response.

Cineplex has confirmed that it is one of the theaters scheduled to show Malaikottai Vallivan That’s when he got shot. Cineplex declined to answer further questions.

Moviegoers in South India arrived at the theater only to find that the screening had been canceled.

Ruban Arjun, a Toronto university student, only found out when he arrived at the Eglinton and Warden theater and was furious that the cineplex had canceled the show.

For the first time in a while, Arjun thinks he doesn’t need to venture far to indulge his passion for South Indian cinema. He was looking forward to showing Malayalam films, which he had always been interested in, at local multiplexes.

“I understand that mass shootings are scary, but even if of animal movie was attacked, they didn’t stop showing it,” he said. “When I arrived at the theater, I saw several people standing around looking sad, and security informed me that the movie had been canceled.”

There are currently only two theaters in Canada showing the film: TIFF Lightbox in Toronto and Film.ca in Oakville.

This is not the first time theaters have been targeted. Movies in South Indian languages ​​are shown in Canadian theaters. attacked Many times.

Arjun’s disappointment is echoed by many South Indian movie buffs in Canada, especially those in the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, cities known for their significant South Asian communities. These movie lovers have long expressed their dissatisfaction with the film. Lack of quality theater And finally, it seemed like we could finally see a movie in a better venue.

A few days before the premiere Malaikottai Vallivan, A controversy erupted over the distribution rights to the film.Initially he was Biju Thayilchira on 2Kerala Entertainment Network declared Film distribution rights in Canada. A few days later, Saleem Padinharkkara of KW Talkies claimed exclusive rights. Before Wednesday’s shooting, the company had listed more than 50 properties across the country, including many independent theaters and multiplexes.

Neil Vince, president of Aashirbad America, which holds the North American rights to the film, confirmed that KW Talkies has exclusive rights in Canada, but that the shooting remains under investigation by the RCMP. He declined further comment.

Due to the exclusive claim of KW Talkies, 2Kerala Entertainment Provide legal notice to Cineplex Opposed to showing the movie. However, on January 24, Toronto-based theater company York Cinemas, which was scheduled to screen the film in collaboration with 2Kerala Entertainment, announced on social media that it was canceling the screening “due to content delays and distribution issues.” .