Notice to Vishal on plea to stop film release on OTT

When the plea by Trident Arts accusing Vishal of owing it over Rs 8 crore due to poor box-office performance of his film Action came up for hearing on Tuesday, Justice N Sathish Kumar refused to offer any stay, holding that the actor and director ought to be heard before any order was passed.

Alleging that it was Vishal who had persuaded it to produce the film at a cost of Rs 44 crore, the firm claimed that he had agreed to bear the shortfall if the movie failed collect a minimum of Rs 20 crores through theatrical release in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone.

But the movie collected less than that in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, leaving a shortfall of Rs 8.29 crore in the expected collections. But the actor failed keep his assurance, the counsel said, citing a written agreement to that effect.

To make up for the money lost, Vishal agreed to act in one more movie, to be directed by Anandan, under Trident Arts’ banner and finalised the script. However, it could not go ahead with the production due to the lockdown. The firm then learnt that Vishal and Anandan made another film, Chakra, which was scheduled to be released on an OTT platform, which was against the agreement with it, the firm argued.