Sun Pictures' back to the pavilion

It looks like Sun Pictures is back in business. We learnt that the production and distribution house, which looked battered by the arrest of its former COO Hansraj Saxena, will now release the highly anticipated 'Mankatha', just a day after it was announced that the film's producer Dhayanidhi Alagiri had sold the rights of the film to K E Gnanavel Raja (actor Suriya's cousin).

The reason for this change is because Gnanavel wanted to sell the satellite rights of the Ajith-starrer to the TV channel run by the arch-rival of their political party. Says a source, "While Dhaya accepted Gnanavel's proposal initially, he came under fire when his family members came to know of the deal. So, he decided to buy the rights back from Gnanavel."

Meanwhile, adding more proof to its resurgence, the production house has also bagged the satellite rights of the Suriya starrer '7am Arivu'. They are also planning a live telecast of the film's audio launch which is likely to be held in Singapore. Interestingly, the film is produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin and is likely to be distributed by him. Moreover, Sun Pictures have appointed a new COO, Seliyan and it's reported that the production house has bagged the distribution rights of Shankar's 'Nanban'.