Toronto theaters in Canada pull out Tamil Version of ‘Madras Cafe’

The Tamil version of Madras Cafe which released less than a week age in Canada was pulled from two theatres due to protests and poor ratings. The movie released in six theatres in Surrey, Montreal and Toronto. According to spokeswoman for Cineplex Entertainment, Pat Marshall, said that it was being pulled from only two Toronto theatres screening the Tamil version. Pat said,”It’s the way that our business works, it’s our guests who decide what movies stay on the screen and what movies come off by buying the ticket”. Pat further explained that the film was received well in four of the six theatres screening the Hindi version, while the two Toronto theatres screening the Tamil version could not work.

A group of around 50 people protested outside Toronto’s Eglinton Town Centre theatre. The movie has also been pulled from some theatres in Britain and in Chennai in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The film, is based on the Sri Lankan civil war and also shows the 1991 assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi sparked protests across the world even before it got released as Tamil groups claimed that the film portrays the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a negative light. The movie, which was released across the world on Friday features Nargis Fakhri, John Abraham, Ajay Rathnam and Leena Maria Paul.