Comali issue will be resolved by talks; If talks fail, we will initiate legal action: JSK

Actor Jayam Ravi’s Comali, which has been mired in one controversy or the other ever since it got ready for release, will hit theatres tomorrow in all probability.

Yes, if one is to go by what producer J Satish Kumar says, the film, it seems, will be able to overcome the problem it finds itself in the Trichy area and have a successful release.

Speaking at the audio launch function of director Ravi Arasu’s Ayngaran that was held at the Sathyam cinemas this morning, Satish Kumar, who is one of the officebearers of the Tamil Film Producers Council said, “This is a Golden age for producers. We are being led by the guidance of my guru, Bharathirajaa. Producers don’t have to fear anybody. We will ensure that this is a a profitable business. We have taken steps to end the crisis Comali, which is releasing tomorrow, is facing. If the problem doesn’t get resolved today, we will initiate strong legal action and have it resolved.”

So, what is this problem that JSK is talking about? The problem first came to light when producer Gnanavel Raja sent a letter to the other producers, alleging that some theatre owners and distributors from the Trichy region were threatening him.

The letter by Gnanavel Raja read as follows: “This is regarding issues created by a few persons using the name of Tiruchy exhibitors association and the kind of black mailing they are doing to producers.

Individually, many producers have suffered by the threatening and black mailing for money which they have continued doing and this is my turn. I, as a producer of Studio Green, have outrightly sold Tamil Nadu theatrical rights to one m/s Tanvee Films and they have sold TT area rights to one Mr Geetee on an MG Royalty basis.

“Mr Geetee  has taken advances from theaters and now, unfortunately, as the movie has not done (well and lived up) to our expectations, it has put me also into a lot of hardships. Some persons along with Geetee (Mr Ravi and Mr Meenakshi Sundaram ) and a few others accompanying them came to my office and said I have been given a red card by the Tiruchy Distributor and Exhibitors Association. They demanded Rs 1.6 crore from me and said otherwise I can’t do business.

“I was shocked as that was a brutal threat. So, I the approached producer council with my complaint (details of which is attached).This is a clear indication that some individuals have taken the law into their hands and are clear(ly) blackmailing for money as I am in no way connected to anybody who is involved in the process.

“Producer Council members JSK Satish, Siva, Bharathiraja and commitee members contacted the Distributors Federation and they were also shocked to hear the threatening and tried to approach the people involved but to their shock they were also given the same kind of treatment and JSK Satishkumar has been in talks with them. They are looking to stop the movie Comali from releasing in Trichy. The producer of Comali is no way involved in the issue. They are giving pressure to the innocent producer. A lot of producers have now reported that they also had to go through a lot of harassment  by these individuals..I humbly request JSK Satish Kumar and committee members to look into the issue and save all innocent producers including me..Thanks in advance.”

Now, after repeated talks, JSK has expressed hope that the issue would be resolved before the end of the day. The producer council member has said that if talks fail, they would look at initiating strong legal action.