The film unit of Vijay's upcoming movie, which is presently referred to as Thalapathy 62, is reportedly not supporting the bandh call given by the Tamil Nadu Producers Council. The movie is presently being shot in Chennai and the makers have sought a special permission to shoot the film. This move by the filmmakers has come under attack from a section of Kollywood.
Tamil Nadu Producers' Council had called for a complete shutdown of the industry from March 16 over its issues with Digital Service Providers (DSP). However, for films that are presently being shot abroad was given a week's extended time to finish their schedules. For these units, the shutdown will begin from March 23.
However, Thalapathy 62, which is written and directed by AR Murugaoss, has continued to shoot even after the announced shutdown. The team is currently, busy shooting an action sequence at Victoria Hall in Chennai.
SS Durairaj, the secretary of Tamil Film Producers' Council, has clarified that Sun Pictures, the production house of Thalapathy 62, has sought a special permission stating that stunt choreographers Ram-Lakshman do not have dates for the next two months and the delay will affect the film a lot, as the movie is scheduled for a Diwali release.
"Actor #Vijay 's shooting is happening now at Victoria Hall. Where is our unity? How can our council give spl permission? I strongly oppose this decision. Don't split up. [sic]" J Satish Kumar from the JSK Corporation slammed the double standards of the producers' council.
Apart from Thalapathy 62, Samuthirakani's Naadodigal 2 and Dulquer Salman's Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadaithaal have sought permission for shooting.
In its fight against DSPs, all the four South Indian film industries decided not to release new movies since March 1. While the three industries have sorted out the issues and have returned to normalcy by now, Kollywood has not softened its stand. Indeed, the guild up the ante by calling for a complete shutdown.
The producers' guild has put forth a couple of demands, primarily about slashing the virtual print fee to the DSPs. The repeated meetings between the aforementioned two bodies failed to give any positive result.
Further, the Tamil Nadu Film Exhibitors Union went on another strike from Friday, March 16, demanding the state government to abolish the 8% local body tax. As a result, no new Tamil movie has been released in March.
