Tamil film industry awaits trade prospects of Raavanan

The Tamil Film Industry is looking forward to the year"s biggest release, Mani Ratnam"s Raavanan. Not only the viewers, but the entire trade is also waiting to see the prospects of this film starring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles.

Reliance Big pictures, one of the distributors of Raavanan, expects to earn Rs 35 Crore from the Tamil version of the film. But, no buyer could afford this rate yet.

Dayanidhi Alagiri"s 'Cloud Nine Movies" and Udhayanidhi Stalin"s 'Red Giant Pictures" have bid Rs 25 Crore for the Tamil version of Raavanan. This amount is for the television and DVD rights and for the Indian theaters but Big Pictures has stuck to their original quoted price.

According to the producers of the film, Vikram and Mani Ratnam should obtain Rs 30 Crore only for the theaters in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Even though the filmmaker"s previous release in Tamil Ayudha Ezhuthu, failed commercially, the trade prediction for Raavanan is more optimistic.

With only a few days remaining for the marketing of Raavanan, Reliance Big Pictures and Madras Talkies are trying their best, as the film"s commercial success will depend heavily on the Tamil version.