The Madras High Court has questioned the release of two big Tamil films, Thangalaan with ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram and Kanguva featuring Suriya. Justices G. Jayachandran and C.V. Karthikeyan instructed the Studio Green production company, headed by K.E. Gnanavelraja, to deposit Rs 1 crore for each film with the official assignee by Wednesday, August 14.
The court has ordered that Rs 1 crore be deposited by August 14 for the release of Thangalaan on August 15. An additional Rs 1 crore must be deposited before the release of Kanguva. This follows a petition from the high court’s official assignee, who is trying to recover debts from the late Arjunlal Sunderdas, an insolvent businessman. Sunderdas had invested Rs 40 crore in a film with Studio Green but only paid Rs 12.85 crore before withdrawing.
The production house said it couldn’t repay the full amount, as it was spent on pre-production. Sunderdas received only Rs 2.5 crore, with Rs 10.35 crore still owed. The official assignee asked the court to make Studio Green deposit Rs 10.35 crore plus 18% interest to repay Sunderdas’s creditors. Studio Green argued they had settled the debt by giving Sunderdas rights to remake three Tamil films and suggested he sell these rights to get the money.
“No evidence has been produced to justify the stand that the remake rights of the three movies would be exactly equal to Rs 10.35 crore. There is also no oral evidence to that extent, let alone documentary proof. The documents produced are photocopies. The explanation that the originals have been lost in floods did not withstand cross examination,” the bench noted while handing out the order.
“In the first place, the alleged agreement between the insolvent and the second respondent (Studio Green) in this regard has not been produced. The date of the agreement had also not been stated. The value and the goodwill of the three movies have also not been stated,” the bench added.
Thangalaan is set to release on August 15, while Kanguva will hit big screens on October 10.
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