Kerala Film Producers’ Association president Rejaputhra Renjith recently opened a can of worms with his statements on substance abuse, especially among young actors, in the Malayalam film industry.
Earlier this week, he accused Shane Nigam and Sreenath Bhasi of breaching professional decorum. Speaking to TNIE, he elaborates on the issue, maintaining that the association will stay away from any projects involving the two young actors.
Excerpts from an interview
Is there a ban on Shane Nigam and Sreenath Bhasi?
We have not banned the actors. We will inform the other producers about their non-cooperation, and the losses we suffered due to these actors. We will not cooperate with these actors anymore.
If somebody still wishes to make a film with them, it is up to them. However, we will not interfere if any conflicts crop up later. We are not against the actors, nor do we seek to ruin their careers. We want the new-age actors to mend their ways and respect their professions and life.
Shane Nigam was very unprofessional and put forth many unethical demands on producer Sophia Paul. He was interfering in every production matter and ruining the schedules of films. Sreenath Basi is not even aware of the films he had committed to. He withdrew from a committed film, in which the producer had already invested Rs 70 lakh and filming was set to begin.
Has working with new-age actors become troublesome?
We have been hearing the news about drug rackets, and crimes happening under the influence of narcotics. Many in the present generation are getting affected by this. Later, it becomes hard for them to detach from drugs. Film actors have a great influence on the public. When they use drugs, it will have a bad influence on the common youth as well.
Earlier, the artists had only limited remuneration and, hence, it was hard for them to splurge on such ‘entertainments’. They were disciplined and dedicated to their profession. Present actors, may it be lead or supporting ones, are getting hefty pay. Thus, the tendency to explore substance abuse is higher.
Addiction affects their profession, causes conflicts, and disrupts shooting schedules. Some actors do not have location discipline. If any crimes happen within Malayalam cinema, who will be held responsible? We are raising our voices on the matter to avoid such a scenario. A film is the daily bread of over a hundred employees, from light boys to drivers. An actor’s unprofessionalism affects the whole schedule and causes financial loss.
Your comments on Kasaragod emerging as a popular film location have created a stir…
I commented that many films are changing location to Kasaragod, and it is a fact. I did not degrade the location or the local people. However, Kasaragod is a border district, there is access to drugs from Mangalaru and Bengaluru. We have come across several news reports on this. Access to drugs is more in border regions, be it Kasaragod or other locations.
What’s the post-Covid scenario in the Malayalam industry?
The industry is going through a struggling phase, with increased production costs and poor crowds in the theatres. When films started getting released on digital platforms, the income in the industry increased. The actors’ remunerations also went high. But now, it is hard to balance the remuneration and production costs, as the revenue generated is often lower than the expenditure.
Till April this year, 73 Malayalam films were released. Only one, Romancham, was a commercial success. I wish everyone understands the struggles of producers and theatre owners. Nowadays, there is not much good content happening in Malayalam cinema. An actor, whose film has made a theatre collection of only Rs 10-15 lakh, collects remuneration of over Rs 1 crore now.
How do you plan to deal with this?
We are planning to initiate measures against some actors’ illogical remuneration demands. Producers and theatre owners have come up with a joint solution – remuneration will be decided based on the three-month revenue collection of an actor’s last-released film. We have no conflicts with senior actors. The senior actors have a sense of mutual understanding, respect and punctuality. Many in the present generation lack these values.