The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the film industry and especially the new normal has caused grim uncertainty over the movie theater business as many film producers are opting for direct OTT release. Recently Suriya's 'Soorarai Pottru' and Nayanthara's 'Mookuthi Amman' took the streaming route and tasted huge success.

News broke out that Netflix has bought the streaming rights of Thalapathy Vijay's 'Master' directed by Lokesh Kananagaraj and will hit the home devices as a grand Pongal treat. In the past too on a number of occasions similar rumors floated regarding the much-awaited project.

Xavier Britto the producer of 'Master' has released an official statement putting fans and theater owners at ease "As we continue to battle the pandemic, we hope you are all safe and doing fine. We understand and can feel the amount of excitement among the audience to celebrate our #master in theatres. We await the Big Day to come, as much as you do. With lot of rumors surfacing in the past few days, we would like to clarify our stand on it. "Though we have an offer from a reputed OTT service provider, we prefer to the theatrical release, which is the need of the hour for the industry to survive the on-going crisis. We also request the theatre owners to stand with us and provide their support for reviving the Tamil film industry. We hope to reach out to you soon, with the good news. Stay safe."

'Master' has the rocking music of Anirudh while the principal cast comprises of Thalapathy Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Shantanu Bhagyaraj and Arjun Dass. The film jointly produced by XB Film Creators and Seven Screen Studios is expected to hit the screens worldwide on Pongal 2021.