The shows of Telugu film Shekar, starring veteran actor Rajasekhar that was released in theatres on Friday, have been stalled for screening since Sunday, due to financial issues involving the makers, a source from the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, confirmed to Silverscreen India.
Being the remake of the Malayalam film Joseph (2018), Shekar is helmed by the filmmaker’s wife, Jeevitha Rajashekar. The film also stars the couple’s daughter, actor Shivani Rajashekar. The Rajasekhar family is also one of the producers of the film, along with Beeram Sudhakara Reddy, and Boggaram Venkata Srinivas.
While the film hit theatres on Friday, the source said, “The screenings of Shekar have been stalled across theatres in both the states, after a financier approached the court. The issue with the financier pertains to Rajasekhar’s previous film, as he was supposed to get some money back. However, the makers had not fulfilled it, before the release of the film. After he approached the court, the film was ordered to halt screenings across all theatres.”
The source further added, “Subsequently, the film was not performing well. It was released on Friday and all the shows were received poorly. After the court order, shows were not screened from Sunday morning, onwards. The film also recorded only about 1-5% occupancy. The audience would have possibly also not come on Monday, being a week day.”
With the film receiving mixed responses, Rajasekhar, shared a note via social media on Sunday, affirming that the halting of the screenings was a “conspired” attempt.
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He wrote, “Shekar is everything for me and my family. We worked very hard to bring this film to the audience. Shekar was garnering such a great response, but today, just out of spite, some people have conspired and stopped our film from screening.” He added, “Cinema is our life, and this film was our hope. I’ve run out of things to say. I can only hope that this film will eventually get the visibility and appreciation that it truly deserves.”
The source said that until further orders, no theatres will screen the film.