Internet gives Sivaji nightmares

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent
Want a first look at Sivaji, the Rajnikanth-produced Tamil film? Don't waste time flipping through the popular TV channels, just log on to Youtube. The popular site has once again pipped several channels to the post and recorded thousands of hits after news that the Sivaji trailer had been posted online spread.

Sources say the when the AVM bigwigs heard about the leak, they immediately released the trailer to NDTV. This is not the first time the Internet has played villain to the producers. Recently, they incurred substantial losses after four songs from the movie were posted online even before the official launch of the audio.

Then too, the producers did a very rushed damage control operation and organised and audio release. However, but then, enterprising businessmen were making CDs by downloading the songs off the Internet and selling them on the roads for as little as Rs 10 and Rs 20. To combat this, even though the cassettes and CDs very priced at lower rates than originally planned, sources say that the producers incurred a substantial revenue loss as a result of the leak.

Not only is the trailer available, all the songs and some related interviews have been posted on youtube.com, making it a virtual treat for all Rajni fans. Looks like the Internet is proving to be a bigger threat for the producers, one that they wouldn't have anticipated.