Tamil channels snap up big ticket film rights

MUMBAI: The Tamil channels are really quick on the uptake. Within a few days of release, some of the big ticket Tamil New Year movies have been snapped up by them.

So if Sun TV bagged the satellite rights of Rajanikant’s Chandramukhi, rival channel Jaya TV has whipped up the rights of the other two releases – Kamal Hassan’s Mumbai Express and Vijay’s Sachien.

Confirming the developments, Sun TV vice president, programming, Hansraj W Saxena told Indiantelevision.com that the channel went for Chandramukhi as it was doing well in the box office.

“The movie is the top perfomer among the New Year releases. Also, Rajanikant is the biggest crowdpuller of Tamil cinema. So we went for it,” he says.

Jaya TV’s acquisition of Mumbai Xpress and Sachien reveals the channel’s aggressive plans to strengthen its movie library. “Yes, this is part of our plans to beef up film content,” agrees Jaya TV VP programmes and operation Murali Raman.

The release of Chandramukhi and Mumbai Xpress saw Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan back on the silver screen after a long gap. According to the weekly box office report, Chandramukhi has collected distributors share of Rs 320 million during the Tamil New Year weekend from eight Chennai screens. Sachien and Mumbai Xpress, which have also managed to get an impressive opening, are now trailing as per reports.