Tovino Thomas accused of stopping his film Vazhakku's release by director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan: 'The agenda of...'

Filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan has accused Malayalam star Tovino Thomas of hindering the release of their film Vazhakku, claiming that the star feels the film will affect his career. In a long note shared on social media, Sasidharan claimed that the ‘agenda of business’ has stopped his film’s release with Tovino – the star and co-producer – unwilling to support him.

On Friday, Sasidharan shared a poster of Vazhakku on his official Facebook page and wrote a long note detailing the delay in its release alongside. “Business interests have always determined what society should know, what to think, and how to act. As not all events become news, no matter how revolutionary, not all knowledge comes before society, not all discoveries discussed by science, not all arts published. Reason is nothing else; it is that society is controlled by economic agenda that determines what people should see and how to think. The agenda of business interests is implemented by taking advantage of the common sense of the people who think that knowledge is not knowledge and art is not art until it is published,” he wrote.

Sasidharan wrote that initially Vazhakku had been shot during the pandemic and called it a ‘gift’ from Tovino, who came on board as actor and co-producer. The filmmaker added, “I have understood this better as someone who has had the opportunity to go through certain events that I feel unlucky to be a part of, but know how it works inside. One such experience was in Vazhakk which was co-produced and acted by Tovino Thomas as a gift. The film was shot at a time when the Malayalam film industry was closed due to Covid. It was in just two weeks that the movie which relied on very complex shooting methods was completed. The cost was with a budget of ₹50 lakhs without considering the salaries of Tovino and mine. The budget was found by investing 50% of the money to Tovino and 50% of it to Parrett Mount Pictures, where I also have partnership. My relative Girish Nair and his friend Faisal Sajir Hasan were the ones who spent the money on Parrett Mount Pictures.”

The filmmaker then added that many film festivals rejected the film, leaving him ‘shattered’. He said that when he asked Tovino to release it on OTT instead, the star protested. “It is in IFFK where there was a remote possibility of the screening of the film. I didn't expect the film to get selected as the propaganda and political defense against me were strong. That is why I casually asked Tovino to release the film on OTT. Tovino's argument was that the film was meant for festivals and it will not be liked by normal people. When I said that most festivals have rejected the film, so there is no point in waiting and that there should be a way to bring cinema to people without prejudices, Tovino continued with his reluctance,” added Sasidharan.

The director said that even after the positive response to the film’s screening at IFFK, Tovino remained reluctant, claiming the film would bomb at the box office and affect his fledgling career. “However, Tovino was still apprehensive about the movie’s release and said the film would bomb in box office and he said it was a certainty. At the time, someone who was interested in spending money to bring the movie to theatres came up. Still, Tovino was worried and said it would affect his career,” his note read.

Sasidharan added that he did not want to blame Tovino for what he did but claimed that stalling the fil’'s release was ‘injustice’. “Tovino was a riding superstar during the production of Vazhakk. If it had come out that day, the enmity against me would have turned against him. The path to grow into a superstar would be short one. One who knows the equation of trading can bring success to trading. Is what Tovino did wrong? No. Is it true? No. Then what is it? This in injustice,” his note concluded.

Vazhakk, also spelled as Vazhakku, received praise from critics. Apart from Tovino, the film starred Kani Kusruti, Sudev Nair, and Azees Nedumangad. It won three awards at the 53^rd Kerala State Film Awards.

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