The Madras High Court has fined the Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC) Rs 1 lakh in the defamation suit filed by actor Silambarasan, popularly known as Simbu. The association was levied this fine for failing to provide any affidavits in the case for the past two years.
Silambarasan had filed the defamation case seeking Rs 1 crore as damages from Michael Rayappan, the producer of his 2017 film Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan. The actor claimed that the producer was spreading false information about him and maligning his image.
The 2017 Tamil action-comedy starring Silambarasan had failed to make a mark at the box office. Rayappan subsequently approached the producers’ council with an appeal to get the actor to compensate for the loss incurred by the film. Rayappan also convened a press conference and publicly denounced Simbu and blamed him for the film’s failure. He had further alleged that the actor had not cooperated with the team during the shoot. The director of the film, Adhik Ravichandran, who was also present at the press meet, echoed the producer’s words.
Simbu, meanwhile, asked the Tamil actors’ association, Nadigar Sangam, to intervene in the issue. He claimed that Rayappan had not paid him Rs 6 crore as part of his remuneration for the film.
The actor subsequently filed the defamation case with the Madras High Court, in January 2019. In his plea, Simbu noted that Rayappan unnecessarily made statements that were aimed at tarnishing his image.
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The actor also named actor-producer Vishal Krishna, then president of the TFPC, in his suit for getting “involved in kangaroo court” and acting in favour of Rayappan. He sought Rs 1 crore as compensation from both Vishal and Rayappan.
The court had issued notice to both Vishal and Rayappan, directing them to file their response in Simbu’s defamation case.
However, during the hearing on Wednesday, the court observed that the producers’ council had not submitted any affidavits over the past two years. It, therefore, penalised the association and directed it to pay Rs 1 lakh to the court registry by March 31.