Theatres cancel South Indian movie screening after shooting at premiere

Theatres across Canada cancelled the evening premiere of the Indian film Malaikottai Vaaliban after bullets were fired at a Scarborough, Ont. Cineplex on Jan. 24.

Toronto Police tweeted about “bullet holes found in the window of a theatre.”

“Police received a call at 11:40 in the Milner/Morningside area about a firearm discharge. Shell casings and bullet holes were discovered. We cannot confirm the timing of the shooting,” stated Shannon Eames, spokeswoman for the Toronto Police Service, in an emailed response.

Cineplex confirmed it was one of the theatres scheduled to show Malaikottai Vaaliban that was hit by gunshots, but declined to respond to more questions.

South Indian movie fans arrived at theatres to find the screening had been cancelled.

Ruban Arjun, a student at a Toronto college, was angry that Cineplex had cancelled the show, which he discovered only after reaching the theatre at Eglinton and Warden.

For the first time in a long while, Arjun thought he wouldn’t have to venture far to indulge in his passion for South Indian cinema. He was looking forward to the local multiplex premiering a Malayalam-language film that had piqued his interest for some time.

“I understand the shooting incident is scary, but even when the Animal movie got attacked, they did not stop screening it,” he said. “I reached the theatre, saw a couple of people standing sadly, and security informed me that the film was cancelled.”

It wasn’t the first time a theatre has been targeted. Canadian theatres showing South Indian-language films have been attacked a number of times.

Arjun’s disappointment is shared by many South Indian movie aficionados in Canada, particularly those in the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, cities known for their significant South Asian communities. These film enthusiasts have long voiced their frustrations over the lack of quality theatres and it finally seemed they would get to watch the film in a better venue.

The move is scheduled to be shown at Vernon's Towne Theatre on Sunday at 6:30 pm, according to the venue's website.

In the days before the premiere of Malaikottai Vaaliban, a controversy erupted over the film’s distribution rights. Biju Thayilchira of 2Kerala Entertainment Network initially declared distribution rights for the movie in Canada; days later, Saleem Padinharkkara of KW Talkies claimed to have exclusive rights. The company has listed over fifty locations nationwide, including many independent theatres and multiplexes, before the Wednesday shooting incident.

Neil Vince, representative of Aashirvad America, the company that has the North American rights to the movie, confirmed that KW Talkies has exclusive rights in Canada but refused to comment further as the shooting incident is being investigated by the RCMP.

KW Talkies’s assertion of exclusive rights prompted 2Kerala Entertainment to serve Cineplex with a legal notice against screening the film. But on Jan. 24, York Cinemas, a Toronto-based theatre company which was supposed to screen the movie with 2Kerala Entertainment, announced on social media that it was canceling “due to content delay and distribution issues.”