'Kuselan' fiasco still affects Tamil filmdom

Nov 15, 2008 IANS

Chennai, Nov 14 (IANS) The debacle of Rajnikant-starrer "Kuselan" at the box office continues to dog the Tamil film industry. A Tamil film exhibitors body Friday decided to boycott two forthcoming films of production houses Pyramid Saimira and Kavithalaya, claiming they had not paid the promised compensation for "Kuselan".

The Tamil Nadu Exhibitors' Association has directed its members to boycott the films of the production houses, its president Annamalai told reporters.

The films to be affected are Arjun-starrer "Thiruvannamalai", produced by Kavithalaya, (whose Friday release was shelved) and Pyramid Saimira's "Naan Kadavul".

"Both Pyramid Saimira and Kavithalaya had over-sold 'Kuselan' and promised compensation to exhibitors. Now that they have washed their hands off, our members will boycott all their projects till further notice," Annamalai said.

Saimira, however, denied the charges.

"Those who bought the film directly from us have already been compensated. The present claimants had purchased 'Kuselan' from others. If the association continues to damage our reputation, our company will initiate legal action and expose the sordid reality in the industry," a Saimira statement said.

Sources close to Rajnikant said the star worked for the Tamil version of "Kuselan" on a near pro bono (without money) basis to benefit Kavithalaya. Saimira distributed "Kuselan".

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