The exterior of Satyam Cinemas in Chennai which was vandalised
Tamil superstar Vijay's new film, Kaththi, ("knife") will release as scheduled on Diwali, said theatre-owners who met today after a cinema that will screen the movie was vandalized last night.
To enable the film's release, its producers had to agree to drop their name and logo. Lyca Productions was accused by protestors of business links to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, deeply unpopular in Tamil Nadu where he is held responsible for the deaths of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils by defence forces in the final months of his country's civil war.
Kaththi's producers had denied the accusations of ties to Mr Rajapakse.
The Satyam Multiplex was crowded with people watching night shows when glass windows at the lobby and ticket booth were smashed; crude kerosene bombs were thrown. Nobody was injured.
Police and cinema officials are not commenting on whether last night's attack was captured by security cameras. Nobody has been arrested so far.
In February last year, actor Kamal Haasan's film Viswaroopam was temporarily banned by the state government after protests by Muslim groups. It was released after parts were re-edited.
Last year, Vijay's film Thalaivaa released weeks after it was meant to in Tamil Nadu after bomb threats to cinemas. The film, about an underworld gang-member in Mumbai, was accused by fringe groups as negatively portraying Tamil leaders and philanthropists in Mumbai.