Frustrated Suriya fans protest at Puducherry theatre over Karuppu release delay as he misses projected ₹25 crore opening

TAmil worker Suriya’s fans donned custom-built Karuppu T-shirts, brought on confetti, crackers and dhols to fete, even out garlands and milk to bathe his posters with before watching the RJ Balaji film, also starring Trisha Krishnan. To their shock, some were met with closed gates while others only found out after being let inside that Karuppu’s shows had been cancelled. Frustrated fans in Puducherry staged a protest against producer SR Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures over the delay. (Also Read: Karuppu release delay explained: What stands in the way of Suriya, Trisha Krishnan's much-awaited film)Suriya fans in Puducherry stage protestAn Instagram-user named Mubarak has been providing updates to fans in Puducherry since Thursday morning. First, he posted a video of excited fans at the Jeeva Rukmani theatre cheering as they pour milk over a garlanded poster of Suriya. They even threw confetti and lit smoke bombs in celebration. The celebratory mood, however, soon changed when fans were informed that the Karuppu show had been cancelled. Fans who were B-boying to the film’s songs were soon left scratching their heads amid no updates from the production house. A group of fans donning Karuppu T-shirts sat down outside the theatre and began chanting slogans against producer Prabhu. Despite the show’s cancellation, many stayed back to get updates. Much like the posts by Tamil Nadu theatre management online, Mubarak also mentioned that he was told the film was delayed due to financial issues and the hope is that it’ll all be cleared by the evening. Videos from theatres such as Rohini Silver Screens in Chennai also show fans waiting for an update on the film’s release. (Also Read: Emotional RJ Balaji breaks down, apologises to fans for Karuppu release delay; ‘manifests’ evening shows for Suriya film)Karuppu likely to hit screens only on May 15Amid reports that Dream Warrior Cinemas has not made on-time payments to release the Key Delivery Message (KDM) to theatres, PVR INOX confirmed that Karuppu will only be released on May 15. On Thursday afternoon, they posted clips from the film’s trailer, writing, “Dark. Fierce. Unpredictable. One man. One rage. One story that’s about to shake the screens. Get ready to witness the power of #Karuppu at PVR INOX on 15 May!” Hyderabad’s Prasads Multiplex management also confirmed that 5 PM shows have been cancelled. They confirmed that the delay was due to KDM not being released, writing on Wednesday evening, “#Karuppu — I will update the status at 7 AM tomorrow. Tamil content has already been received. We are currently waiting for the KDM, and the status will be known only by morning. Telugu content is yet to be received.” On Thursday afternoon they wrote, “5pm slot shows are cancelled. Your refund has been initiated.” The Karuppu opening that could have beenThe exhibitor from RKP Cinemas in Pudukkottai predicted that Karuppu could have had an ₹25 crore opening had everything gone according to plan. “#Karuppu had a fantastic advance bookings across all our properties. Probably its one of the career best advance sales for @Suriya_offl," read their X post. "If the film had released as per plan, Day 1 will be sure shot 25cr + even in working day. Hopefully everything will get sorted soon and the film will release as per plan from evening/night shows. Stay strong @RJ_Balaji brother,” they further added.