Jailer 2 to not release in Hindi; Rajinikanth film opts for a four-week OTT window instead | Tamil News

Even Hrithik Roshan and Jackie Shroff are said to have cameos in the film, thus marking the former’s reunion with Rajinikanth 40 years after J Om Prakash’s 1986 Bollywood film Bhagwan Dada. Produced by Rakesh Roshan, that film marked his 15-year-old son Hrithik’s first onscreen appearance alongside the lead star, Rajinikanth.

However, exhibitors confirmed to SCREEN that those who want to watch Jailer 2 in Hindi may have to wait for its OTT release, as the film will not release in the dubbed Hindi version across cinemas. Kalanidhi Maran’s production house Sun Pictures, which has backed the film, has struck a deal with a major OTT platform to release it on streaming in all its languages within a four-week window since its theatrical release.

While a four-week window is par for course for the Tamil film industry, it’s an exception for the Hindi market. Exhibitors, particularly leading theatre chains PVR INOX and Cinepolis, and streaming platforms have the mandatory stipulation of there being a gap of at least eight weeks before the theatrical release and the OTT premiere of a Hindi film.

While a number of pan-India films release their South Indian language versions in four weeks, followed by the release of their dubbed Hindi version four weeks after that, the makers of Jailer 2 have decided to release all versions on streaming on the same day in November. Thus, as per the stipulation, they’ve decided to give the theatrical release of the dubbed Hindi version a miss.

Will no Hindi release affect the box office collection of Jailer 2?

That explains why BookMyShow is still not showing the timings and venues for the dubbed Hindi version of Jailer 2 despite the advance booking of the other versions kicking off last week. While the absence of the film in the Hindi market may affect its pan-India box office collection, the sequel has already minted over Rs 22 crore in the other versions at the worldwide box office, with overseas leading the charge.

Even the first part, Nelson Dilipkumar’s Jailer, which released in cinemas in 2023, benefitted mostly from its native Tamil version. It collected Rs 268.87 crore at the domestic box office, followed by the dubbed Telugu version, which collected Rs 68.06 crore. The dubbed Hindi version contributed only Rs 7.24 crore to the film’s pan-India box office collection.

Even before Jailer 2, Tamil biggies like Lokesh Kangaraj’s action thrillers Leo (2023), starring Thalapathy Vijay, and Coolie (2025), starring Rajinikanth, traded the release of their dubbed Hindi versions for a shorter OTT window. “These are commercial decisions ought to be taken on a case-by-case basis. I think it’s a reasonably fair call. People who own the IP have the knack to calculate and decide what works for them,” exhibitor Akshaye Rathi tells SCREEN.

“Jailer is the kind of movie that works phenomenally among the masses. Those can be covered in single screens and some national multiplex chains. And if the math adds up that the incremental revenue from streaming is significantly more than what the theatrical share from Hindi can be, that’s a decision they have all the right to take,” added Rathi. While he claimed that he’s all for pan-India films releasing widely in the Hindi market, he argues that it’s ultimately the producers’ call to take depending on how they benefit from it in the short term and the long term.

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This move will definitely benefit the Bollywood releases this week — Avinash Arun’s courtroom drama Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam, starring Rajkummar Rao, and Balaji Mohan’s horror comedy Nayyi Naveli, starring Yami Gautam, which are slated to release in cinemas this Friday on October 16. They’ll now no longer have to contend with competing with the dubbed Hindi version of a Rajinikanth franchise film.