Sandra Thomas, Vijay Babu and Kalaipuli S Thanu
Sandra Thomas, Vijay Babu and Kalaipuli S ThanuSandra Thomas/Facebook

Theatrical rights of the film, "Theri" for Kerala have been bagged jointly by Carnival Motion Pictures Pvt. Ltd and Friday Film House (FFH) Wednesday, March 30. They are said to have acquired the rights of the Ilayathalapathy Vijay-starrer in Kerala for a record price of approximately Rs. 5.6 crore.

Actors Vijay Babu and Sandra Thomas, the owners of FFH, announced the news and posted their photo with producer Kalaipuli S Thanu on their social media pages. "Carnival motion pictures Pvt. Ltd & Friday Film House joint venture bags the Kerala theatrical rights of the most awaited mega movie " THERI " starring Vijay and Samantha .The movie will be released on April 14th. With Kalaipuli Thanu sir (Producer of THERI), [sic]," Sandra and Vijay posted on their Facebook pages.

The news came as a surprise for many since August Cinema, co-owned by actors Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arya, cinematographer Santhosh Sivan and producer Shaji Nadesan, was said to be the frontrunner in the race to acquire the distribution rights of the movie in Kerala.

"Theri" is one of the most-anticipated films of the year, which stars Vijay in multiple roles. Viewers in Kerala are eagerly waiting for its release since one of the characters played by Vijay is a Kottayam-based person named Joseph Kuruvilla.

The movie, directed by Atlee Kumar, also stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Amy Jackson in the lead roles. Actress Meena's daughter Nainika, Prabhu, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Mahendran, KS Ravikumar, Santhanam and Rajendran also play pivotal roles. The film is scheduled to hit screens worldwide April 14.