Ilayathalapathy Vijay's "Puli" teaser has become such a massive hit that distributors are now offering fancy prices to acquire the movie's distribution rights for various regions.

While such offers for the Tamil version are on expected lines, the demand for Telugu and Hindi versions has come as a surprise.

Producer Shibu Thameens has confirmed the news that many Telugu and Hindi filmmakers have approached him and offered huge amounts to bag the theatrical rights for the movie.

A poster from 'Puli'
A first look poster from Vijay's 'Puli'.IB Times India

The development is surprising, considering the fact that Vijay is not a big star in Bollywood or Tollywood. It appears the film's teaser has worked for him.

It needs to be pointed here that of late, dubbed Tamil movies are in huge demand. Many Hindi TV channels acquire the satellite rights of successful South Indian films for decent prices, providing an additional source of income for producers. But the dubbed movies hardly make it to theatres. Many films are premiered on TV channels.

We have to wait and see whether the Hindi version of "Puli" gets a grand reception from Bollywood. Telugu movie "Baahubali" directed by SS Rajamouli has been successfully promoted by its makers, prompting Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar to acquire the rights for the Hindi version, which will be released along with the Telugu version on 10 July.

"Puli" cast comprises Vijay, Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep, Shruti Haasan and Hansika Motwani. It has been written and directed by Chimbudevan.

Meanwhile, the trailer of "Puli", which was released on 21 June, has gone viral on Internet. The video clip recorded three million views in 24 hours. This clearly shows that the film is being eagerly waited by Tamil movie buffs. The movie is likely to be released by the end of August.