The war of words between the distributors of Rajinikanth-starrer Lingaa and its producer continued late into the day on Saturday.
The distributors were finally given verbal assurance by Vendhar Movies, which bagged theatre rights for Tamil Nadu. They were promised some sort of relief for the huge losses suffered after consultation with the movie’s producer and Rajinikanth, post Pongal.
Earlier in the day, distributors held a day-long fast at Valluvar Kottam to grab the attention of actor Rajinikanth in the hope that he would intervene and provide a solution.
“There is no doubt the movie has not done well and many, including Vendhar Movies, have suffered huge losses. But, it is not right to talk about the losses while the film is still running in theatres. When it is completely out of theatres by Pongal, we will sit together with all parties concerned, including Rajinikanth, and find a solution,” said T. Siva, a representative of Vendhar Movies.
The distributors were disappointed with the response and said it was a ploy to defuse the tension and delay a solution.
Rockline Venkatesh, the film’s producer, accused the distributors of sabotaging the prospects of the film by talking about losses even while it was running in theatres.
“They never came up with positive solutions like boosting publicity when they knew the film wasn’t doing well. They went public with the losses they had suffered. By doing this, the distributors have killed the film,” said Venkatesh.
He also denied claims by some distributors that the producers had made profits of more than Rs. 200 crore. “If they prove these claims, I will give them the money,” said a teary-eyed Venkatesh.
Earlier, some politicians had shown their support for the sit-in protest and spoken in favour of the agitating distributors. Seeman, filmmaker and leader of Naam Tamilar Katchi, urged the parties involved to find an amicable solution.
Rockline Venkatesh accused distributors of sabotaging the prospects of the
film by talking
about losses even while it was running in theatres
