CHENNAI: After six months of what can only be called extra-righteous opposition, the distributors, who paid huge sums for Rajinikanth’s Lingaa to screen it on a ‘Minimum Guarantee’ (MG) basis, have now admitted that it was illegal.
“When I entered into the agreement to buy the film, which was my first, I did not know that it was wrong or it was in contravention to a Government Order,” said R Singaravadivelan, Marina Pictures. In the accounts tallied by the Producers’ Council, of the Rs 33.5 crore loss reported by distributors in the State, Rs 12.5 crore was the deficit that tugged at distributors who had opted to buy the film on an MG basis. The same trouble cropped up for the superstar’s films Baba and Kuselan, as many distributors had opted to buy the films on an MG basis and lost big. “It is nothing but greed on their part. Ask any seasoned distributor and they won’t commit to MG unless they’ve seen the film and know the pulse of an area. Even then, they never commit to it anymore. These men must have thought that they would buy it for an MG amount and pocket the remainder, but we all know how that turned out,” said a veteran producer and owner of a multiplex in the city.
Along with a few other distributors who coughed up considerable money for the box-office failure, he wrote to the government asking them to arbitrate a settlement.
“Over the last six months, we have tried everything from protesting to negotiations, and only a few people who bought the film outright received their money back. We request the Chief Minister and the State Government to step in and settle the issue,” he said, pointing out that it was the same government that had instituted the GO banning the MG system in 1992 and also ordered an amendment in 1994 to settle all such issues with a government-mandated arbitrator.
The orders were passed after a massive stand-off between theatre owners and distributors caused a closure of screens for three days over two decades ago.
A source close to the Rajini camp said they were hastening the remaining payment of Rs 5.80 crore and that would be it.