Stay on ‘Va Vaathiyar’ will remain till loan is repaid: Madras High Court
‘Va Vaathiyar’, directed by Nalan Kumarasamy and starring Karthi, has been produced by Studio Green's Gnanavel Raja. The makers had planned to release the film in theatres on December 12.
Madras High Court puts stay on Vaa Vaathiyar
CHENNAI: The stay on the release of ‘Va Vathiyar’ cannot be lifted unless producer Gnanavel Raja repays the money it borrowed from a financier, said the Madras High Court.
‘Va Vaathiyar’, directed by Nalan Kumarasamy and starring Karthi, has been produced by Studio Green's Gnanavel Raja. The makers had planned to release the film in theatres on December 12.
Meanwhile, the official assignee filed a petition in the Madras High Court, stating that S Arjunlal Sunderdas, a businessman, was declared insolvent in 2014, and the High Court appointed an official assignee to manage his assets.
Studio Green had borrowed Rs 10.35 crore from Arjunlal before he was declared insolvent. Along with interest, the amount has now increased to Rs 21.78 crore.
The petition sought a direction to Gnanavel Raja to repay the amount, impose an interim stay on the release of ‘Va Vaathiyar’, and direct that any revenue earned from the film be deposited before the court.
While hearing this case, the Madras High Court earlier issued an interim order staying the release of ‘Va Vaathiyar’ and instructed the producer to inform the court when he would repay the loan.
Today, the case came up again for hearing before the bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and C Kumarappan. The counsel appearing for the Official Assignee said that despite the court giving seven opportunities, Gnanavel had not repaid the loan. Hence, he urged the court to attach Gnanavel’s assets.
Senior counsel appearing for Gnanavel Raja stated that he was willing to pay Rs 3.75 crore within 24 hours and submit documents for movable property for the remaining amount. He also argued that a ban on the release of the film would cause irreparable loss.
After hearing both sides, the judges said those who had lent the money had been waiting for a long time to get it back. The judges also observed that Gnanavel had not shown any serious effort to repay the court-ordered amount and had misused the time granted to him.
The court then held that ‘Va Vaathiyar’ must not be released on any platform until the entire loan amount was repaid.