Rajinikanth's last movie "Kochadaiiyaan" was a disaster at the box office. Now, this seems to be haunting his latest movie "Lingaa" as its theatrical rights are yet to be sold in Kerala.

We hear that the Kerala distributors' association has told all its members not to buy the rights until the dues of "Kochadaiiyaan" are cleared by the concerned people. It is not clear whether the association wants compensation for the losses occurred due to Rajinikanth's motion-capture technology flick.

The Plaza Group had acquired the rights for "Kochadaiiyaan" and in a bid to outdo competitors, it had quoted a fancy amount. But unfortunately, the Soundarya Ashwin-directed flick failed to live up to audience's expectations causing huge loss to exhibitors and distributors.

This seems to have become a stumbling block for "Lingaa" in Kerala. As a result, the theatrical rights are yet to be sold. However, sources say that the makers of the movie are in the process of sorting out the issues and the deal might happen soon considering that the release date is just around the corner.

The movie is being produced by Kannada producer Rockline Venkatesh. The entire distribution was procured by the Eros International for ₹120 crores. The industry and traders have pinned high hopes on the film and expecting ₹200 crores business worldwide.

"Lingaa" will release on 12 December to coincide with Rajinikanth's birthday and a day before in some foreign countries. The Kollywood flick is expected to release in 5000 screens worldwide.

The film is directed by KS Ravikumar, who had earlier given hit films to Rajini like "Muthu" and "Padayappa". "Lingaa" has AR Rahman's music, Rathnavelu's cinematography and Anthony's editing.

Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty are the female leads in "Lingaa".

A collage of "Kochadaiiyaan" and "Lingaa".IB Times India