Cineplex movie screens in Ontario torn, latest in string of attacks tied to south Indian-language films | National Post
Nov 23 2021
''Cineplex shut down screenings of the Indian crime thriller Kurup last week after seven screens at two of its Toronto-area theatres were vandalized, says the movie’s distributor. It’s the latest in a string of bizarre cinema attacks involving movies in south Indian languages. Photo by Handout
''The south Indian cinema wars have erupted again in Canada.
Vandals tore seven screens at Cineplex theatres in the Toronto area that had been showing a popular movie in the Malayalam language, says the movie’s distributor, prompting the chain to shut down the screenings despite the large audiences they were drawing.
It’s just the latest in a bizarre string of attacks over the last six or more years that distributors say have cost them tens of thousands of dollars in lost business — and may be depriving Ontario moviegoers of some Indian cinematic fare.
In previous incidents dating back to 2015, which often prompted police involvement, saboteurs even released pepper-spray-like noxious substances in crowded theatres that were showing movies from south India.
Distributors are pointing the finger at a group of independent cinemas they believe is perpetrating the mayhem in a bid to corner the market on screening of the films. That company denies any part in the incidents.
It makes you almost paranoid
The latest target was Kurup, a crime thriller in Malayalam, the language predominately spoken in Kerala state.
“It’s a big loss for us,” said Bijo Sebastian, whose company Achayan’Z Film House is distributing Kurup. “We all feel disappointed and sad.… People were watching it and wanted to see it. After COVID, theatres are coming back slowly.”
Nov 23 2021
''Cineplex shut down screenings of the Indian crime thriller Kurup last week after seven screens at two of its Toronto-area theatres were vandalized, says the movie’s distributor. It’s the latest in a string of bizarre cinema attacks involving movies in south Indian languages. Photo by Handout
''The south Indian cinema wars have erupted again in Canada.
Vandals tore seven screens at Cineplex theatres in the Toronto area that had been showing a popular movie in the Malayalam language, says the movie’s distributor, prompting the chain to shut down the screenings despite the large audiences they were drawing.
It’s just the latest in a bizarre string of attacks over the last six or more years that distributors say have cost them tens of thousands of dollars in lost business — and may be depriving Ontario moviegoers of some Indian cinematic fare.
In previous incidents dating back to 2015, which often prompted police involvement, saboteurs even released pepper-spray-like noxious substances in crowded theatres that were showing movies from south India.
Distributors are pointing the finger at a group of independent cinemas they believe is perpetrating the mayhem in a bid to corner the market on screening of the films. That company denies any part in the incidents.
It makes you almost paranoid
The latest target was Kurup, a crime thriller in Malayalam, the language predominately spoken in Kerala state.
“It’s a big loss for us,” said Bijo Sebastian, whose company Achayan’Z Film House is distributing Kurup. “We all feel disappointed and sad.… People were watching it and wanted to see it. After COVID, theatres are coming back slowly.”
