A few weeks ago, director
UR Jameel
had sought
High Court
’s help to stay the release of his Hansika-starrer Maha on an
OTT
platform and even accused producer
Mathiyalagan
of going ahead with the post-production work, including song recording and dubbing, without his knowledge. He had also said that the film was incomplete as a crucial airport scene was yet to be shot. Now, on Monday, the HC has said that the film belongs to the producer and that he has all the rights to decide on its release.
Mathiyalagan says he is happy with the court’s verdict, and adds, “Jameel is a good director and I’m happy with the film’s outcome. But somewhere, there has been a misunderstanding, which led him to file a case against me. He claims a crucial airport scene is yet to be shot, but the whole crew knows that the film was wrapped up in November. I remember
Simbu
(who is playing a crucial role in the film) asking
Jameel
if he needed more dates as he was going to start his weight-loss journey. But Jameel told him that the shoot was over and that he wouldn’t require any more dates. Contrary to the director’s claim, we have extra footage; the total footage comes to around five hours. A producer becomes helpless when a director develops a new idea and insists on shooting it after a film is wrapped up.”
He continues, “Another accusation made by Jameel was about the remuneration. He filed a complaint in the Director’s Union in February, and the next day, I cleared it (his dues). But he is yet to collect it from there, though he has acknowledged that the payment has been sorted.”
Mathiyalagan informs us that the film will be sent to the censor board next week. “We are yet to decide whether it will be a theatrical release or an OTT one.”
However, Jameel says the case is not over yet, and that another hearing is likely to happen soon. He says, “The court said that the film belongs to the producer and that it is not possible to stop the film from releasing. But the court has also mentioned that some work related to the film happened without my knowledge. Another director who faced a similar issue from this producer had also submitted his evidence in connection with this. For now, I believe the case isn’t dismissed. I’m waiting for the next hearing, which is likely to happen towards this month-end.”
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