The Madras High Court has ordered an interim stay on the release of Kalavaani 2, featuring Oviya and Vemal in the lead. The movie has been written, produced and directed by Sargunam, who directed the original film.
Sargunam, through a video released online, has said that the movie has been solely produced by Varmans Productions, owned by him. He added that Kumaran of Dhanalakshmi films has sought an interim stay on the film’s release.
According to the director, the issue cropped up due to an ongoing tussle between the plaintiff and his lead actor Vemal. Sargunam said his film should not have to bear the brunt of this tussle. He also said that he had no idea about the said production house or its owner. “However, Kumaran’s friend Singaravelan mentioned that the core issue was an ongoing tussle with Vemal,” he added in the video.
Though Silverscreen contacted Sargunam multiple times, the director did not respond.
Singaravelan, through a press release, said the Madras High Court had stayed the release of Kalavaani 2 following his petition. His version of the events is slightly different from what Sargunam says. According to Singaravelan, Vemal had borrowed Rs 3 crore from him for the filming of Mannar Vagaiyara, which the actor produced. Vemal later asked for another Rs 2 crore to complete shooting, which was refused. Later, at a party on his birthday, Vemal announced he would produce two more films, Kalavaani 2 and another with Vetrivel-director Vasanthamani. After a few days, Vemal approached Singaravelan yet again seeking money to complete the shooting of Mannar Vagaiyara and start work on Kalavaani 2. He was given Rs 1 crore, and also signed an agreement on October 17, 2018, stating that Singaravelan would receive Kalavaani 2 on a first-copy basis.
By this time, Vemal owed Singaravelan Rs 4.32 crore, and promised to return it in six months. What proved the trigger for the case was the trailer of Kalavaani 2 releasing with the credits mentioning only Varmans Productions. Despite repeated requests to Vemal and Sargunam to honour the agreement signed, there was no progress.
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“I sent a letter to Vemal on March 17 stating that I would approach the Court if the pending amount was not settled before the film was censored,” said Singaravelan. A second explanatory letter was sent on April 8 to both Vemal and Sargunam. “I hold the rights for the film. It was started with my money, and now it looks like the director and actor are conspiring to defraud me. However, I believe the Court will take the right decision,” Singaravelan added.
Silverscreen tried reaching Singaravelan and Vemal for their comments. However, both of them were abroad and unavailable for comment.
This is not the first time that the movie has landed in trouble. Kalavaani 2 was announced in 2016, and faced issues when Sargunam said that he would also be producing the film with the title K2. The original producer Nazir objected, saying he owned the rights. The film was shelved temporarily, but shooting began once again with Oviya and Vemal in mid-2018.