The controversy over the title of director Anbarasan’s Sibiraj-starrer Walter was cleared recently after producer Singaravelan issued a press note saying that he was ready to give up the title of the film.
While reasons for this were not revealed, it has been reported now that Prabhu Tilak, who is producing the Sibiraj film, is a relative of retired IPS officer Walter Devaram, and therefore claimed the rights to the name.
The movie ran into trouble soon after it was launched on June 17. Producer Singaravelan claimed rights to the title and said he had already begun work on a film of the same name with Vikram Prabhu, Arjun and Jackie Shroff. This film was incidentally being directed by Anbarasan, but had to be delayed due to unknown reasons and the director moved on to his next film.
Producer Singaravelan issued a statement saying a case will be filed under the copyright act if the title and the story of the film were used by anyone else.
However, on June 19, producer Prabhu Tilak issued a press statement saying the issue has been resolved and Singaravelan also said in a release that although he had registered the title first with the Tamil Film Producers’ Council, he was ready to give it up. Reasons for this were not known at that time.
According to the latest report by Dinamalar, Prabhu Tilak is an influential person. He is a practicing doctor, son of IPS officer Thilagavathi, and relative of Walter Devaram. The spokesperson for the film did not reveal details about the reason the title was cleared, but told Silverscreen that the issues were amicably resolved and shooting for the film is back on track.
Recommended
About the title, Prabhu Tilak said in a press note, “We chose the title because of the significance of Sibiraj’s father Sathyaraj sir’s blockbuster movie. Unfortunately, we had to go through some hiccups but we are happy it has been cleared now.”
The shooting is on in Kumbakonam currently. The film is a crime-thriller starring Sibiraj as a cop. Shirin Kanchwala plays the female lead, and Samuthirakani has an important role. The action scenes are by Vicky, who choreographed the stunts in Ratchasan. The makers are looking for an actor to play the antagonist.