Madras HC directs makers of Thangalaan, Kanguva to deposit Rs 1 crore before release of each film

Production house Studio Green has been instructed to deposit Rs 1 crore on August 14, a day before the release of Thangalaan, and give a similar deposit before October 9, a day before the release of Kanguva.

Thangalaan and Kanguva

With just days left for the release of Vikram’s much-anticipated Thangalaan, the film is facing a major obstacle due to a case in The Madras High Court. The production company Studio Green, who are backing Vikram’s Thangalaan and Suriya’s Kanguva, has been directed by the Madras HC to deposit one crore each before the release of both the films.

According to Live Law, the bench of Justice G Jayachandran and Justice CV Karthikeyan have instructed Studio Green to pay the sum based on an executive petition filed by an Official Assignee appointed by the High Court to deal with the estate of the late realtor and financier Arjunlal Sunderdas after he was declared insolvent. This is in accordance with a division bench order in 2019 allowing a petition filed by the Official Assignee directing the production company to pay a sum of Rs. 10,35,00,000/- with an interest of 18% p.a.

Gnanavel’s side countered the petition by informing the court that Sunderdas and Studio Green had agreed to co-produce a film by investing Rs 40 crore each. While Sunderdas is said to have paid an initial amount for pre-production expenses, Gnanavel said that due to the former’s inability to pay the remaining amount, an understanding was reached wherein the Hindi remake rights of All in All Azhaguraja, Biriyani, and Madras could be sold by Sunderdas for the amount already paid.

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With not enough clarity about this purported agreement between Gnanavel and the late Sunderdas, and no proper documentation of the sharing of remake rights, the court rejected Studio Green’s defense and allowed the official assignee’s petition.

The official assignee had filed the current execution petition after the 2019 order was not complied with. The official assignee had sought to attach Studio Green’s future movies till the orders were complied with.

The division bench on August 29, 2019, allowed the application, and said, “In the first place, the alleged agreement between 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. 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 no oral evidence to that extent, let alone documentary proof. The explanation that the originals have been lost in floods did not withstand cross examination.”

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Hence, the production company has been instructed to deposit Rs 1 crore on August 14, a day before the release of Thangalaan, and give a similar deposit before October 9, a day before the release of Kanguva.

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