Why Billa 2 Censor Certification is Important?

Due to the twisted logic of Tamil Nadu State government making the 30% entertainment tax waiver eligible only for movies with "U" censor certificate, producers and directors have recently gone out of their way to make sure they get a "U" certificate. Billa 2 is scheduled to go through censor board review and certification on June 14. Distributors, exhibitors and entire industry are eagerly waiting to know the outcome. 

Getting a U certificate will do a big difference to distributor's wallet, at least to the tune of Rs. 10 Crores just within the first week of release. If it gets 'U/A' certificate, the investors may need to wait at least another week to break-even.

Drawbacks of 'A' or 'U/A' for Billa-2

Getting an A certificate can potentially hurt the BO prospects since Saguni has come out with a Clean U certificate.  Saguni will automatically get the preference from the family audience. Last time Ajith's movie was released with an A certificate was "Aalwar", when it clashed with Pokkiri (U/A).

We do not expect Billa 2 to opt for 'A' certification. Knowing Billa-2's theme, it is expected there will be many scenes involving scantily clad leading ladies sprinkled with bloody action scenes. Given that the Billa first part  received 'U/A', a similar certification is highly likely unless Billa-2 team decides to settle for 'U', purely for the purpose of getting the tax waiver and business pressure. Only challenge is that accepting too many cuts to accommodate "U" certificate may water down the content and compromise on essentials.