Madras High Court Halts Release Of Karthi Starrer “Vaa Vaathiyar” Movie Over Alleged Unpaid Dues By Producer

The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice C Kumarappan passed the interim direction in an execution petition filed by the official liquidator of the Madras High Court to deal with the estate of realtor and financier Arjunlal Sunderdas after he was declared insolvent. In 2019, the court had noted that Gnanavel owed Rs. 10,35,00,000 to Sunderdas and allowed a petition filed by the Official Assignee directing Studio Green to pay a sum of Rs. 10,35,00,000/- with an interest of 18% p.a.
Since this order has not been complied with completely, the official liquidator filed the execution petition seeking to prohibit the release of future movies of Studio Green. The present petition was to prohibit the release of the "Vaa Vaathiyar" movie, which was slated to be released on December 5, and to attach the proceeds of the movie towards the satisfaction of the decretal amount.
The court has now passed an interim order prohibiting the release of the movie till 5th December.
“There shall be an order of interim prohibition against the respondents, not to release the movie “VAA VAATHIYAR” till 05.12.2025,” the court said.
Background
In 2014, Sunderdas was declared insolvent and an official assignee took steps to determine the debtors and creditors of his estate. Noting that KE Gnanavel Raja from Studio Green had to pay a sum of Rs. 10,35,00,000 to Sunderdas, the official assignee approached the court for orders.
Countering this application, Gnanavel informed the court that he and Sunderdas had entered into an agreement to co-produce a Tamil movie by investing Rs 40 crore each. He added that as part of this agreement, Sunderdas had paid him money for the pre-production expenses. However, when Sunderdas expressed his inability to pay the remaining amount, an understanding was reached wherein Gnanavel agreed to grant the Hindi remake rights of three Tamil movies – All in All Azaguraja, Biriyani, and Madras which Sunderdas could sell using his contacts in the Hindi film industry.
The court noted that though Gnanavel contended that he had entered into a contract with Sunderdas and thus didn't owe him any money, there was no evidence to prove the same. The court also noted that though there was a mention of granting the Hindi remake rights, no one from Gemini Colour Laboratory, which had the rights, was summoned to speak about the document.
Thus, finding that the documents were neither admissible nor proven in the manner known to the law, the court, in 2019, rejected the defence of Studio Green and allowed the official assignee's petition.
Now, the official liquidator has filed the execution petition seeking to attach the future movies of Studio Greens till the orders are complied with.
It may be noted that in 2024, the official liquidator had also moved the court similarly, seeking to prohibit the release of two movies, “Thangalaan”, and “Kanguva”. In these petitions, the court had directed the production company to deposit Rs 1 crore each before releasing the movies.
The court later allowed the movies to be released after the production company made part payment towards dues.
Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. K. V. Ananthakrishnan
Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Niranjan Rajagopal for Mrs. A. Janani
Case Title: The Official Assignee v. S Arjunlal Sunderdas and Another
Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 467
Case No: E.P.No.137 of 2025