Claiming compensation for failure of a film is not justifiable and compensating for the losses will set a bad precedent. Cinema is an art for a filmmaker and business for an investor. When someone invests money, it becomes his business. There will always be profit and loss in a business. You cannot claim it back when the film fails.” These were actor Kamal Haasan’s remarks in a recent interview when the issue of Lingaa was raised.
And it looks like the actor is also in a similar quandary if industry sources are to be believed! Reportedly, Kamal Haasan’s earlier film Uttama Villain did not fare well at the box office and left the distributors dealing with losses. Insiders say that Kamal who forfeited part of his payment, had promised to do a quick film for a certain amount for Lingusamy thereby compensating the loss margins.
Reportedly, not honouring his commitment, Kamal started his next venture Thoongavanam under his home banner, distributors got upset and in a hurriedly-convened meeting, decided to stop Papanasam’s release! However, Suresh Balaje, one of the producers of Papanasam clears the air surrounding the flick and tells DC that the movie will hit the screens as scheduled on July 3.
“I have got nothing to do with the issue surrounding Uttama Villain. There’s no way we should be dragged into any controversy,” he says and adds, “Anyway, officially the distributor federation has not written to us. We are ready for Papanasam’s release, and it will open on July 3 with 300-plus screens in Tamil Nadu apart from Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka and up North.” Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a big distributor also said that the issue with them has been sorted out after Kamal intervened.
