Overseas Tamil releases are proving problematic for Telugu films. The producers of Thandel believe that the leak of a high-definition pirated version on the film's release day originated from its Tamil overseas release. Thandel was released in theatres on February 14. On the same day, a HD print arrived online, originating probably from the US.
"Only the Telugu version's voices were added. The visuals belong to the Tamil version of Thandel," producer Bunny Vas said.
Industry observers say that even Game Changer met with a similar fate because of its Tamil overseas release.
In the light of the new developments, Tollywood producers will think twice before releasing their movies overseas in Tamil. "The overseas Tamil market for most pan-Indian Telugu movies is negligible. Most Tamil-dubbed Telugu movies don't collect much in the US and other overseas markets," an observer said.
The issue of piracy has been taken seriously in the light of Game Changer and Thandel. Game Changer became a victim of piracy in January. Ram Charan's movie didn't make much from its Tamil release. So, the overseas release of Game Changer in Tamil was a net negative.
