KOCHI: Confusion prevails over the use of the title ‘Higuita’ with writer NS Madhavan claiming the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) told him that the film will not be named thus, while the filmmaker refuted the claims made by the writer and critic. The director, who makes his debut in the Malayalam film industry with the film, said the KFCC has not taken a decision in this regard.
Taking to Twitter, the writer tweeted “I have been informed that the name Higuita will not be used for the movie. I am grateful to the Kerala Film Chamber for facilitating this. Thanks for all the support. I wish the young director Hemant Nair and his film all success. May people flock to see the Suraj-Dhyaan movie.”
According to the writer, he was informed of the decision by the film chamber. “I am not accusing the filmmaker. I am just pointing out the injustice being meted out to me. If the name is not registered in my name, then I won’t be able to make the movie based on my story titled Higuita. This is the grievance that I have and it is a big one at that,” said Madhavan.
“The talks regarding the making of the film based on my short story are going on and at this juncture, if they use the title I wouldn’t be able to use the same. And I find it an injustice,” he said. “I believe they won’t do it since till now the Malayalam film industry has been very respectful towards writers,” he said.
Even as the writer remains positive about getting a favourable response from filmmaker, Suresh Kumar, president of Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, said, “We have not said that the title won’t be used. What we have done is hold the approval for the title. If the producer and director of the film get a no-objection letter from the author, then it won’t be a problem to approve the title.”
However, Hemant G Nair, the director of the film said, “On Friday evening, the KFCC president contacted the producer and said that they have called us for a discussion. According to them, they have not placed any restrictions on the use of the title Higuita. They had heard Madhavan’s side. They want to hear our part before coming to a decision.”
Earlier, in the day the debutant director came to know about the latest information regarding the tussle from social media postings and also the media. He said, “I would like to point out that the talks about the film and also the title were discussed way back in 2018.”
“I have been working on the film for a long time and to see such a controversy crop up is very disheartening.” According to him, as an avid reader and lover of literature, he respects N S Madhavan. “The future course of action will be taken after the meeting with KFCC officials,” he added.According to him, the film is a political thriller. “The plan was to release the film on December 22. All the work associated with the film has been completed,” he added.