Producers back Suriya in Ponmagal Vandhal release stand-off with Theatre owners

The war between actor Suriya’s production 2D Entertainment and theatre owners over the former’s decision to release its film Ponmagal Vandhal, featuring actress Jyothika in the lead, directly on OTT platforms without a theatrical release, intensified on Sunday with over 30 producers throwing their weight behind Suriya.

In a joint statement, the producers in pointed out that film production was a challenging field which involved high risks.

Pointing out that the challenges faced by small and medium film producers were high, the group said that that even if such producers managed to complete their films, they often faced many difficulties in releasing them.

Getting theatres and shows to recover their investment through theatrical rights was a big challenge, the team said and observed that this kind of challenge was not there for big budget or big artiste films.

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The team of producers, including T.G. Thyagarajan, K. Muralidharan, K. Rajan, K.E. Gnanavel Raja, Lyca Tamil Kumaran, H. Murali, K. Vijayakumar, Chitra Lakshmanan, S.S. Durairaj, YNOT S. Sashikanth, S.R. Prabhu, Rajasekar Pandian, JSK Satish Kumar, C.V. Kumar, S. Lakshman, Suresh Kamatchi, Director Manobala, Director Pandiraj, S. Nandagopal, Director Manoj Kumar, Panju Subbu, Radha Ravi, Auraa Cinemaa Mahesh, R.K. Suresh, Vinod Kumar, P.S. Raghunathan, P. Ranganathan and M.S. Murugaraj,pointed out that with the development of the OTT (Over the Top) technology, world over, many new films had started coming out directly through this platform.

“Post the lockdown due to Corona in the country, many OTT platforms have started acquiring small and medium budget films for direct OTT premiere. We all have to welcome this wholeheartedly. Already, film producers in Hindi, Telugu and other languages are trying for a direct OTT premiere for their films in order to somehow recover their investment. If small and medium budget films get premiered through OTT, the number of films waiting to release in theatres will reduce. Such films which are to release through theatres too can have a proper release,” the team said and added that like these, there were several benefits associated with the move.

The producers said that everyone must welcome this move wholeheartedly and must request OTT players to acquire many small and medium budget films, which are struggling to release or stuck due to the lockdown.

The producers also pointed out that a film producer who had invested money in a film had all the right to exploit his film in every possible way. “He can sell the rights of his film to recover his investment so that he or she can continue in the film business,” the producers said and added that for the film industry to operate smoothly, the three key stakeholders (producers, distributors and theatre owners) must work together in unison and take decisions in the best interest of the industry.

Putting out a strong request that no individual film trade association take any decision and announce it unilaterally in the matter, the producers said that once the lockdown is lifted, all stakeholders and office bearers of all associations must meet, discuss and arrive at a feasible solution for all.