Vishal, president of the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) that organised the two-day fest ‘Ilaiyaraaja 75’ to honour the composer, thanked Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy for ensuring a smooth functioning of the event.
Held on February 2 and 3, the event, attended by dignitaries like State Governor Banwarilal Purohit, and celebrities Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, A R Rahman and Suhasini Maniratnam, was a huge success, said the makers.
The organisers including general secretaries Kathiresan and S S Durairaj and treasurer S R Prabhu met the Chief Minister to express their gratitude for providing complete police protection for the event. While interacting with the media later, Vishal also said that the council had put forth certain requests to the CM for the betterment of the film industry. Vishal then thanked Parthipen who, according to him, was the brain behind the show.
After being mired in controversy, ‘Ilaiyaraaja 75’ was held at YMCA, Nandanam in Chennai on February 2 and 3 to mark the 75th birth year of the maestro. Earlier, A group of five people headed by actor S Ve Shekher filed a complaint against Vishal with the Commissioner of Police alleging financial malpractice. They alleged that Vishal spent Rs 8.75 crore from the fixed deposit of the Council without the approval of other members. He also claimed that a huge sum of money had been given to Ilaiyaraaja to participate in the event.
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The complaint came close on the heels of the Madras High Court’s notice to the Tamil Film Producers’ Council seeking explanation on the financial irregularities as claimed in a petition filed by producer JSK Sathish Kumar.
Speaking at the event, Vishal responded to these claims with: “There is nothing wrong in organising an event for someone from the industry. Those who have condemned it are in the wrong. Moreover, spending on one’s father is not a big crime. For those who opposed the event, Ilaiyaraaja had already retorted with ‘Enkitta modhadhe…’ I’m sure that the event will take its place in history and those who were against it will also be a part of history.”