The Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) will meet this afternoon to take a decision on the ongoing issue with director John Paulraj’s Agni Devi, starring Bobby Simha and Madhubala in the lead. The council has said it will take disciplinary action and impose a ban on Bobby Simha if he does not withdraw his complaint stating that the film was shot with a body double after he quit over differences with the director.
While Bobby and his lawyer have maintained that Agni Devi released on March 21 despite a stay order issued by a sub-ordinate court in Coimbatore, the producers of TFPC claim that no such order was issued. SS Durai Raj, the general secretary of TFPC told Silverscreen, “There is no stay order. If there was a stay, the film would not have released. The actor is sending around the petition filed, with a seal from the court; he is fooling everyone that it is the stay order.”
As reported earlier, the court has asked the film’s producers, Seantoa Studio, to respond to Bobby Simha’s complaints by April 5. Producer Durai Raj says, “The order that you’re talking about came much later. The court first asked Bobby Simha to speak to the Council and end matters smoothly.” He says, “We wanted to call him for a meeting, but he didn’t turn up. So, the producers have come together and decided to not work with him anymore.”
Bobby Simha has filed a complaint with the Nandambakkam police in Chennai, in addition to the petition in the Coimbatore court. The complaint states that most of the scenes in the film were shot with a body double and finished using visual effects, without his consent. The police have booked director John Paulraj under four sections of the IPC, including forgery of documents and criminal breach of trust.
Producer Durai Raj states that it was Bobby Simha who did not honour the agreement signed with the producers. “He left the shoot and moved on to his next film, which is wrong. He has not honoured the initial agreement signed. Why should filmmakers wait for him when they have invested money?”
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Speaking about the use of a body double and breach of trust, he says, “After you leave the film without finishing it, the filmmakers will do what they want. Usually, a consensus is reached with talks. This is the first time such a thing is happening here. So, unless he withdraws the complaint, the producers have decided they will not allow him to work in Tamil cinema anymore.”
Bobby Simha has been unavailable for comment. Days after the film’s release, he circulated a video to the press stating that he was never called for any mediation. He further called out TFPC for not questioning the film’s release despite the stay order. He said, “There are many genuine producers who make films with good content but are struggling for release. Despite knowing the truth about Agni Devi, it has given permission to release the film. What does that say about our industry?”