L2 Empuraan producer fires shots at KFPA for talking about Mohanlal film budget; Prithviraj Sukumaran lends support

The rift within the Kerala Film Producers’ Association has come out into the open, with senior producer Antony Perumbavoor criticising the association’s vice president, G Suresh Kumar, for unilaterally announcing a strike from June 1. (Also Read: With ₹700 crore loss in 2024 and star salaries taking up 50% movie budget, why future looks bleak for Malayalam cinema)

Antony Perumbavoor calls our Suresh Kumar

Antony stated in a Facebook post on Thursday that such an announcement should be made publicly only after securing the support of the majority of the organisation’s members. He suggested that other organisations might have pressured Suresh to express such an opinion.

The Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), the Film Exhibitors United Organisation, and the Distributors’ Association attended the February 7 meeting of film organisations in Kochi.

Antony wrote in his post that since he publicly expressed his personal view on a decision not taken by our association, I am exercising the same freedom to speak out. He said a strike would not benefit the cinema industry in any way, as it involves an issue that directly and indirectly affects hundreds of people and, thereby, thousands of families.

“There should be clarity on who authorised Suresh Kumar to make these statements on behalf of the association. I feel he has been misled by certain vested interests,” said Antony, whose banner, Ashirvad Cinemas, is one of the leading production houses in Malayalam cinema.

Antony also criticised Suresh for mocking and challenging the success of Malayalam films that entered the ₹100-crore club. He said taking pride in Malayalam films and achieving box-office collections on par with other language films was natural.

He questioned why Suresh, a former KFPA president, made such allegations against Malayalam cinema. He also pointed out that the association’s current president, Anto Joseph, remained silent on the issue, indicating that he agreed with Suresh.

On Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan budget

Additionally, Antony criticised Suresh for speaking authoritatively about the production cost of Ashirvad Cinema’s yet-to-be-released film L2: Empuraan, starring Mohanlal and directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.

“I cannot understand how Suresh Kumar, who does not know the cost of the film, can speak so authoritatively about it. The film is still in the final pre-production stages,” he said.

Antony asserted that it is the democratic responsibility of KFPA’s office bearers to correct such mistakes and expressed hope that the association, led by Anto, would take corrective action.

AMMA hits out at KFPA

Meanwhile, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) ad-hoc committee has sent a letter to KFPA condemning its ‘irresponsible’ statement that AMMA was a leaderless organisation and that production costs were rising due to top actors demanding high remuneration.

“The actors’ salaries are fixed based on an understanding with the producer, actor and director. If the superstars are taking big salaries, producers can choose to cast other artistes,” an ad-hoc committee member told PTI, on condition of anonymity.

In a show of support for Antony’s stance, actors Prithviraj Sukumaran, Unni Mukundan and Aju Varghese shared his post on social media.