Cannes 2022: Kamal Haasan to unveil 'Vikram' NFTs, announces 'foray into the Metaverse'

The NFT rage has taken over Indian cinema too as filmmakers and production houses are cashing on the trend. Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs are digital tokens minted on the blockchains, which have become a new medium for a film's promotion. Joining the bandwagon of other stars, veteran actor Kamal Haasan will be launching the NFT of his next film Vikram at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. 

The Chachi 420 star took to Twitter and made the announcement by sharing a video. Not just Haasan, in the past several Bollywood stars, have taken the help of NFT to promote their film. According to various media reports, the creators of the last release Jhund, starring Amitabh Bachchan in the titular role, had created two NFTs celebrating the film. These NFTs were minted in collaboration with US-based NFT platform Superstar Xchange and were priced at over Rs 2,15,000 each. 

Apart from this, Ranveer Singh-led sports drama 83 had also launched a series of collectibles including autographed physical cricket memorabilia, video scenes, animated digital avatars, and unseen posters and images. 

Kamal Haasan to launch Vikram NFT's at Cannes Film Festival

Now, Kamal Haasan is all set to launch NFTs pertaining to his upcoming film Vikram at Cannes. He has teamed up with Fantico, a Vistas Media Capital Company, to launch the first metaverse experience. Apart from Kamal, the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial also features Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil in lead roles.

"Vikram forays into the Metaverse. The much-awaited Vikram NFTs on http://Vikram.vistaverse.io will be revealed today at Cannes Film Festival 2022."

While the movie is set to hit the theatres next month, its makers are keeping fans entertained with continuous updates. The makers unveiled the much-awaited trailer, which featured the introduction to the characters of the three South stars. While fans were in awe of the actors and their action scenes, the makers also left fans confused with a scene that hinted at South star Suriya's cameo. There are several rumours pertaining to Suriya's presence in the film which got confirmed after his pics were leaked from the shooting sets. 

What are NFTs?

Many films are moving along the NFT wave for movie promotions with stars launching their own NFT series to connect with their fans. They are unique and secured by the blockchain. Their exclusivity is what draws most people to them and this is what Indian moviemakers are trying to tap into.
The NFT trend is not just subjected to Bollywood, however, South Indian actors like Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan also rode the NFT wave. Rajnikanth launched a series of NFTs based on his 2007 movie, Shivaji the Boss. On the other hand, Hassan had celebrated his 67th birthday by launching an NFT series and creating a digital avatar to enter the Metaverse.