The Hyderabad High Court will hear the on-going dispute over unpaid dues between Baahubali producers Arka Media Works, and K Productions, the producers of Sindhubaadh, on June 24.
The Vijay Sethupathi and Anjali-starrer directed by SU Arun Kumar was scheduled to release on June 21, but all shows had to be cancelled last minute after a press statement by Arka Media Works said that the stay obtained by them last month against the release of Sindhubaadh and Gautham Menon’s long-delayed Ennai Nokki Paayum Thotta was still valid, and any efforts to release the movie in any language or state would amount to contempt of court.
The statement said that despite being aware of the stay order, SN Rajan of K Productions and the other distributors and producers involved in Sindhubaadh, had made efforts to release the film on 21st. “Any action on your part which is aimed at aiding/abetting in/of the release of the movie Sindhubaadh in any mode/medium/format, will constitute a contempt of court,” the release read.
Pujitha G, advocate for Arka Media Works, told Silverscreen that there have been no talks between the Sindhubaadh team and producers at Arka since the press statement was issued. The status of the film’s release may be known only after the court hearing on Monday.
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The interim stay order was issued on May 8 by the Hyderabad High Court, in response to the petition by Arka stating that Chennai-based P Madan of Escape Artists Motion Pictures (the co-producer of ENTP) and SN Rajarajan of K Productions bought the distribution rights for Baahubali: The Conclusion reportedly for Rs 52 crore in 2017. As per their agreement with Arka, dues worth Rs 17.6 crores were yet to be settled. The court posted the matter for further hearing in June, stating that the movies cannot release while the case was pending.
Sindhubaadh went on floors in May last year, and was initially scheduled to release on May 16, 2019. SU Arun Kumar, who has worked with Vijay Sethupathi on Pannaiyarum Padminiyum and Sethupathi, brought Anjali on board as the female lead, and Sethupathi’s son Suriya, Vivek Prasanna and Linga for other roles. Music for the film is by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography by Vijay Karthik and editing by Ruben.