Amid the measures announced to regulate film-related activities, Tamil Film Producers’ Council has refuted the statements made by actor and Nadigar Sangam’s treasurer Karthi Sivakumar on having received “no written complaints” against actor Dhanush, who has been accused of not honouring his commitments after receiving an advance from producers.
The Council has demanded Mr. Karthi to retract his statement. It also said that the producers are unable to bear the losses incurred due to the “increasing salary” of actors and the daily expenses of filming.
A few days ago, Mr. Karthi said that all decisions pertaining to complaints and disagreements between the Producers’ Council and the Artists’ Association were resolved through dialogue and discussions. “However, the Producer’s Council has released a statement unilaterally… a complaint against an actor, and a strike. The complaint they have addressed in their statement has not been brought to our notice,” he said.
Mr. Karthi further said, “It is wrong for them (the Council) to state that the actor should not work anymore. It is not legal in the first place. The strike should not be called without discussing it with various film bodies.”
In response, on August 1, the Council said the decision to call for a strike from November 1 was taken through the Joint Action Committee, which comprises the Producers’ Council, the Tamil Nadu Film Distributors’ Association, and the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association. “There is a need for us to safeguard those who invest in movies – the producers, distributors, and theatre owners – from financial ruin,” the Council said in a statement.
Further, the Council said it is a tradition for actors to honour their commitment to the producers, with whom they sign an agreement and get an advance, and added that it is unfair for actors to give out dates to other producers out of turn. “We are urging the actors to specify the dates for which they will be available. We are responsible to protect our members, just like how they want to protect their members,” the statement said.
Earlier, the Producers’ Council had taken some important decisions: extending the OTT release of a film featuring a marquee actor to eight weeks from the time of its theatrical release; temporarily halting new productions from August 16; stopping all film-related activities from November 1; and urging all those who want to produce a film with actor Dhanush to reach out to them before paying an advance.
