With the release of Vijay's Jana Nayagan postponed, Studio Green, the makers of Karthi's Vaa Vaathiyaar, planned to schedule the release of the film, which was indefinitely delayed from its December 12 release. The film's release was stayed after the Madras High Court prohibited it due to unpaid dues from the production side.
The court previously ordered the producer to pay Rs 21.78 crores in order to release the film. On Friday, in a hearing before the Division Bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and C Kumarappan, the production banner urged the court to relax the order in order to schedule the release for Pongal. Until the dues are cleared, the court has permanently stayed the release of the film across all platforms: theatres, OTT and digital.
The issue started when a case was filed by the Official Assignee of the High Court, following which the Madras High Court has restrained the release of Vaa Vaathiyaar. The case accuses the film's producer and banner, KE Gnanavel Raja of Studio Green, of not fully settling its dues.
The case goes all the way back to 2011, with litigation which commenced when Gnanavel Raja and a businessman, Sunderdas, decided to invest Rs 40 crore each under an agreement to co-produce a film together. Sunderdas had invested Rs 12.85 crore in the project before stepping aside.
However, in 2014, the High Court declared him insolvent and appointed the Official Assignee to assess his assets and liabilities to repay his creditors. On checking, the Official Assignee has reportedly found that Gnanavel Raja is yet to pay Rs 10.35 crores to the insolvent, following which he filed a petition in the High Court in 2016 seeking a direction for him to repay the amount with 18% interest from 2013.
The Official Assignee repeatedly petitioned the High Court to block the release of films produced by Gnanavel Raja, securing partial payments each time. The most recent petition, filed in December, came after Gnanavel Raja's liability, including interest, ballooned to Rs 21.78 crore. Consequently, the Division Bench barred the release of Vaa Vaathiyar until the outstanding decree amount was settled in full.
Billed as an action-comedy entertainer, Vaa Vaathiyaar marks the first collaboration between Karthi and Nalan. The film, which features Krithi Shetty in the lead role, also stars Rajkiran, Sathyaraj, Anandaraj, Karunakaran, GM Sundar, Shilpa Manjunath, and Ramesh Thilak in pivotal roles.
Vaa Vaathiyaar's technical crew comprises cinematographer George C Williams, editor Vetre Krishnan, music composer Santhosh Narayanan, and art director DRK Kiran.