An attempt by the government to ease the hostilities between actor Shane Nigam and the Kerala Film Producers Association appeared to have hit a hurdle on Tuesday.
Association president M. Ranjith upped the ante in the increasingly rancorous dispute by telling reporters here that the producers would exclude the young actor from future projects.
B. Rakesh, association treasurer, told The Hindu that film producers had taken strong exception to Nigam’s purported comment on Monday that movie makers were of “unsound mind.” Mr. Nigam had made the “provocative remark” about industry leaders to television journalists at the venue of the International Film Festival of Kerala here.
Meeting with Minister
Mr. Rakesh said the comments were particularly hurtful for producers. It had come close on the heels of an attempt by Culture Minister A.K. Balan to patch up the dispute, given the young age of the actor and his lineage in the entertainment industry. (Mr. Nigam is the son of the late actor Kalabhavan Abi).
Mr. Nigam had met Mr. Balan along with his mother recently. In deference to Mr. Balan, the association had decided to accommodate Mr. Nigam in future productions despite his “unapologetic behaviour.”
However, Mr. Nigam's “callous and disdainful” comment had dashed the fragile settlement and the situation had reverted to square one. Mr. Rakesh said the actor's conduct had caused the industry an estimated loss of ₹7 crore and the producers might legally move to recover the amount from the artiste.
The issue had prompted the association to spotlight the alleged “drug abuse” among “new generation” artistes. It had sought to portray producers as victims of “drug-impaired” behaviour of artistes and had asked the government’s intervention to police movie sets to detect narcotic use.
The association move to embargo Mr. Nigam had touched a raw nerve. Actor Geethu Mohandas protested against the decision, but put a rider to her support for Mr. Nigam by reminding actors to conduct themselves professionally.
AMMA stance
The Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA) and Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) had questioned the need to impose a harsh and seemingly permanent ban on Mr. Nigam.
However, the latest episode in the month-old spat seemed to have worsened, and a reconciliation appeared to elude the stakeholders.
