THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The involvement of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan’s son V A Arun Kumar in the making of the film Aayudham has been confirmed by the director of the film Nishad.
“It was Arun who introduced me to the producer of the film Shafeeq. I did not have any connection with Shafeeq before or after the film. But, Arun and Shafeeq are friends,” Nishad told reporters here on Wednesday.
Nishad was addressing a press conference in the wake of the allegation by Congress leader M M Hassan that Arun Kumar had funded the movie that gave a boost to V S Achuthanandan. The movie released in 2008 was produced by Shafeeq under the banner of Channel Entertainment.
Nishad who said that he did not know whether Arun Kumar had funded the film, however, added that one could not be blamed for boosting the image of his father.
“I and Arun were college-mates and hence were known to each other for the last many years. I had written the story for the film Aayudham based on contemporary issues. Once I discussed the story with Arun Kumar, he introduced Shafeeq to me,’’ Nishad said.
“To my knowledge, Shafeeq did not produce any other film or serial. He is an NRI and is now settled in Saudi Arabia,“ Nishad said.
Nishad, a UDF sympathiser and a UDF candidate in the 2001 Assembly polls, also said that there was pressure on him to add some controversial contents in the film.