Karuppu, the much-anticipated Tamil movie starring Suriya, was slated to release in theatres across the world on May 14, Thursday. However, the film didn’t release on the slated date, with shows being cancelled across Tamil Nadu at the last minute, allegedly due to the financial troubles of the film’s production banner, Dream Warrior Pictures.

Now, it is learned that though the film wasn’t released in Tamil Nadu and other southern states, it was inadvertently played in a few film theatres in northern states of the country due to the illegal activation of Key Delivery Message by Qube Cinema Technologies. Several clips posted on social media showed the film being screened inside theatres. Following this, Dream Warrior Pictures has issued a legal notice restricting the illegal circulation of the leaked content on online or offline platforms.

“It has come to my client’s utmost shock and dismay that, due to unauthorised and illegal activation of KDMs by Qube Cinema Technologies, certain theatrical screenings of the Tamil version of the film Karuppu were unlawfully exhibited in North India without the final authorisation or approval of my client. As a consequence of such unauthorised exhibition, visuals, scenes, clips and other copyrighted portions from the film have been illegally recorded, accessed and circulated through various social media platforms and digital mediums,” read the legal notice shared by the producers on social media, adding that “downloading, recording, storing, forwarding, sharing, uploading, reposting, transmitting or circulating” the leaked content would amount to amount to piracy, copyright infringement and unlawful dissemination of protected cinematographic content under the Copyright Act, 1957, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

“The general public is therefore strictly cautioned and advised not to download, receive, access, store, circulate, forward, exhibit or share any unauthorised content relating to the film Karuppu in any form whatsoever. Any person found involved in such activities hereafter shall face immediate legal action, including civil and criminal proceedings before the appropriate authorities and courts, entirely at their own risk as to costs and consequences,” added the notice.

Further, hours after Dream Warrior Pictures’ notice, the Tamil Producers Council has issued a letter to Real Image Technologies Pvt Ltd, the film’s Qube Service Provider, seeking compensation for the losses suffered by the producer due to the unauthorised activation of the Key Delivery Message, which led to the illegal screenings of the film.

“Such an incident has never happened in the history of Tamil cinema. We condemn this. It is disappointing to know that this has led to a state of insecurity for the content owned by the producers. Due to the negligence of your company, the producer of Karuppu has suffered a loss of Rs. 150 crores,” read the letter issued by the council. Alleging that none of the executives of Qube got in touch with the council to discuss the issue raised by the producer, the letter added, “Hence, to resolve the situation, your management must negotiate with the council and offer compensation for the losses suffered by the producer. If your management fails to adhere to the same, the members of the producers council would unite together and refrain from offering any support to the Qube Service Provider.”

Fans of Suriya who were awaiting to see the film on Thursday were in for a shock as the morning, noon and matinee shows of Karuppu were cancelled. Amidst an air of uncertainty and disappointment, RJ Balaji, the writer-director who has shouldered the project for over two years, apologised to fans and assured them that the film will release this evening. However, the film wasn’t released even in the evening. According to several ticketing platforms and distributors, the film will finally see the light of day tomorrow, May 15.

Featuring Trisha as the female lead and Balaji in a pivotal role, Karuppu also stars Indrans, Natty, Swasika, Sshivadha, Anagha Maya Ravi, Supreeth Reddy and Deepa, among others. With music scored by Sai Abhyankkar, the film has cinematography by GK Vishnu and editing by R Kalaivanan.

Ashwin Ravichandran, Rahul Raj, TS Gopi Krishnan and Karan Aravind Kumar have written Karuppu along with Balaji. SR Prakash Babu and SR Prabu produce the film under their Dream Warrior Pictures banner.