Jodhaa Akbar coming late to South

Sometime back, we had informed you that the Tamil and Telugu versions of Ashutosh Gowariker's historical Jodhaa Akbar were slated for release simultaneously with the Hindi version of the film -- on 15th February. Well, there's a slight change now. UTV has decided to release the Hindi version on the scheduled date, but push the Tamil and Telugu versions to a latter date.

"That's true," Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV confirms, "We've decided to defer the release of Tamil and Telugu versions by 3 weeks. The Tamil and Telugu versions will now release on 6th March. The reason for the deferred release is, we want to promote the South versions further. Also, if the film works in a big way [which it should], the Tamil and Telugu versions would only stand to benefit."

Meanwhile, UTV is releasing the historical in approx. 1,500 screens in 26 countries. "It'll be the biggest ever release for a Hindi film in U.S. [125 screens], while U.K. will see around 70 screens. We're covering the domestic [India] market with 825 prints," Siddharth adds.

Meanwhile, a lavish premiere of the film will be held on Thursday night at a suburban multiplex of Mumbai.

Aishwarya with Hrithik