In a heartfelt statement, Finals director Arun PR has praised the efforts of actor-producer Maniyanpilla Raju, calling him a “man of his word” who believes in prompt payments. As this is something that happens rarely, according to the testimonials of several filmmakers in the industry, the gesture is worthy of mention.
After revealing that the film has made a decent profit at the box office, Arun shared an anecdote in which he said that though Maniyanpilla Raju is usually celebrated for giving the best food on the sets of all his films, there is something else that he would always like to remember him by.
“As I was driving back from Thiruvananthapuram after the censor process, I received a text with a heading that I’ve not seen often,” wrote Arun.
“It was from the bank. I parked my car in one corner to see that my account has been credited with the full payment. As far as I and my friends are concerned, this is something that we haven’t heard of before. Normally, first-time directors are lucky if they get something in the end despite being promised a certain amount in the initial stage. There are many filmmakers who felt defeated after such an experience. But Maniyanpilla was not like that. He paid everyone the promised sum after the post-production.”
Arun also added that Maniyanpilla is a man who preferred doing things in a systematic manner. “When the shoot was going on, he had the chart of each day’s work posted on his door. Only after crossing off that particular day’s chart did he feel relieved. The same goes for me too.” Arun concluded by saying, “A happy producer is a happy director. A happy director is a happy producer.”