Leo audio launch - one of the most anticipated events of Tamil cinema has been cancelled, confirmed an official announcement from the film's production house 7 Screen Studios. A Vijay starrer, Leo written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj is scheduled to release in theaters on October 19, 2023, during the Dussehra holiday season. Actor Vijay's speech at the audio launch events before the release of his films, are usually highly awaited.
Considering overflowing passes requests & safety constraints, we have decided not to conduct the Leo Audio Launch.
— Seven Screen Studio (@7screenstudio) September 26, 2023
In respect of the fans' wishes, we will keep you engaged with frequent updates.
P.S. As many would imagine, this is not due to political pressure or any other…
More so this year owing to the constant comparisons between Leo and the impact of Rajinikanth's Jailer that has plagued Tamil cine's second half of 2023. [Both movies have music by Anirudh, a single from Jailer titled Hukum was perceived to be a sly dig at Vijay, Rajinikanth's speech at the Jailer audio launch was first misinterpreted then reinterpreted to be against actor Vijay].
Amidst this fan-anticipation, 7 Screen Studios dropped early hints of the Leo audio launch being cancelled, when they took to the X platform to deny any political pressure over the decision. The non-involvement of political pressure was once again reiterated tonight when 7 Screen Studios announced that Leo audio launch was being cancelled due to an endless demand of passes and tickets, and dearth of facilities to accommodate the crowd.
Sir, this is to clarify that this news is not true.. https://t.co/3qF7hBiviQ
— Seven Screen Studio (@7screenstudio) September 23, 2023
It is worth mentioning here that only recently Chennai faced its worst case scenario of overcrowding when management of an AR Rahman concert went haywire, and people had to be stuck in traffic congestion and stampede, among other things. The incident made everyone across Tamil Nadu take notice, as even the Chief Minister's convoy became an inadvertent victim during the same.
Composer #ARRahman's #MarakumaNenjam Chennai concert turns into a traumatic nightmare with chaos, stampede, fights & traffic!
— MovieCrow (@MovieCrow) September 10, 2023
Fans demand refund & apology for overselling tickets, crowd mismanagement, lack of security & overall gross disorganization!https://t.co/sL9rFHfkUI
#Watch | மதுரை அண்ணாநகர் பகுதியில் WOW MADURAI என்ற தலைப்பில் நடந்த HAPPY STREETS நிகழ்ச்சிக்கு, எதிர்பார்த்ததை விட அதிகளவில் கூட்டம் கூடியதால் தள்ளுமுள்ளு ஏற்பட்டது.
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) September 24, 2023
கூட்ட நெரிசலை கட்டுப்படுத்த முடியாமல் போனதால், தொடங்கிய சிறிது நேரத்திலேயே நிகழ்ச்சி ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டது… pic.twitter.com/aHODoWRnoy
Added to this, Tamil Nadu off late is proving to be a bad idea for big scale events owing to a variety of reasons like ticket/pass scam, zero crowd etiquette, lack of experienced organizers, infrastructure, among other things. Word in the grapevine is that the anticipated numbers for Leo audio launch did not make it through the approval committee that have become stricter due to these growing safety concerns.