KOCHI: The ongoing dispute between the Kerala Film Producers' Association (KFPA) and leading Malayalam film producer Antony Perumbavoor appears to be nearing resolution after Antony deleted his Facebook post against KFPA vice president G Suresh Kumar on Wednesday.
The move comes following an online meeting of representatives of KFPA, Kerala Film Chamber, Kerala Film Distributors Association, and Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEOUK) with Antony on Tuesday. "We had earlier sent a letter to Antony requesting to delete his Facebook post against Suresh Kumar as it was hurtful for him. Based on the letter, the representatives of the producers' association, the distributors association, the film chamber, and the KFPA spoke to him at the online meeting. The decision to remove the FB post was made following the discussion," said Saji Nanthyatt, the general secretary of the Kerala Film Chamber, adding that the chamber president B R Jacob and KFPA president Anto Joseph also attended the meeting.
Antony, whose Ashirvad Films is set to release Empuraan on March 27, came up with a Facebook post on February 13, a week after the KFPA announced an indefinite cinema strike, questioning Suresh Kumar for announcing the strike that would shut down the industry and disclosing the budget of Empuraan. The social media post was shared by actors Prithviraj, Mohanlal, Unni Mukundan, and Aju Varghese.
Saji added that the chamber has not called off the strike and will go ahead with the plan if the discussion with the government fails to bring a solution on the financial losses the industry is facing now. "We will go on with the strike from June 1 if our demands are not met. The association will meet again on March 5 to discuss the issues and will meet the government officials to discuss a reduction in entertainment tax," said Saji, adding that the actors remuneration will also be discussed in the meeting.
A joint meeting of film bodies in the state held on February 6 decided to go on a strike to highlight the losses the Malayalam film industry was going through.