HYDERABAD: In a major relief to actress Shruti Haasan, Picture House Media Ltd has withdrawn its case against her after the Tamil Film Producers Council and South Indian Film Artistes Association intervened.
A city civil court had restrained Shruti, daughter of actor Kamal Hassan, from signing any new film, after the production house initiated civil and criminal proceedings against her for pulling out of a project citing dates clash.
“Kalaippuli Thanu, president, T Siva, secretary, Tamil Film Producers Council and Sarath Kumar, president, South Indian Film Artistes Association during a discussion with Picture House Media Ltd suggested a way forward to settle the contentious issue. Picture House Media Ltd heeded the advice of the industry bodies and decided to withdraw its case against Shruti Haasan,” said the production house in a statement on Monday.
Accusing the actress of perjury, the production house announced that it decided to put the issue to rest, despite incurring losses in the process.
“Though the issue of perjury by Shruti Haasan is pending in court as she denied receiving an advance of `10 lakh and for deposing in front of a Notary in Chennai and claiming it to be in Hyderabad, and despite producing adequate evidence to the honourable courts, Picture House Media Ltd has decided to put these issues behind and decided to move forward keeping in mind the cordial relations in the industry and to ensure that the clout of council and association is respected,” the statement stated.
Meanwhile, the producers council and artistes association reiterated their stand that artistes should adhere to the agreements that they enter into and producers should not suffer losses because of their irresponsible acts.
“Picture House Media Ltd impressed upon these bodies that when the sanctity of contractual agreements is paramount in Mumbai, the same attitude is not reflected in the South. This is an issue that needs to be addressed with all seriousness. With a belief in the adage that everyone in the film industry is part of the same family, Picture House Media Ltd decided to withdraw the case despite suffering monetary losses,” the statement of the group added.