The Tamil Nadu Home Department has rejected the request for 7 am shows from Vijay’s Leo film producer, Seven Screen Studios. Tamil star Vijay’s Leo, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, is releasing worldwide on October 19 and the filmmakers had asked for permission for 7 am shows.
The Tamil Nadu government had allowed shows for Leo only from 9 am onwards to 1: 30 am though Kerala and Karnataka have permitted early morning shows. On October 17, the Madras High Court asked the film producer to approach the state government for permission for early morning shows.
Post a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Movie Theater’s association and government officials on Wednesday morning, State Home Secretary P Amudha wrote to Seven Screen Studios stating that 7 am shows would not be permissible for the first six days from the date of release. She reiterated in the letter that the decision was made post a meeting with the Tamil Nadu Theater and Multiplex owners association, the commissioner of Revenue administration and the Director General of Police (DGP).
The DGP had reportedly stated that there would be huge crowds in theatres for early morning shows and this would affect traffic and cause issues for children going to school. Moreover, 7 am shows meant that the police would have to provide security right from 5 am onwards.
The revenue administration secretary had said that there would be traffic jams and crowds which would affect the public as it was a working day. Vijay’s movie Leo is one of the biggest films releasing in the Tamil film industry in 2023. Leo has surpassed Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan in terms of the number of screens it has got for the first day of release – while Jawan released in 1600 screens on Day 1, Leo will release in 1755 screens.
