more-in The suicide of B. Ashok Kumar, who was managing Company Productions that produced successful films such as Subramaniapuram and Sundarapandian featuring actor Sasikumar, has exposed the nefarious world of film financing, once again, after the suicide of well-known producer G. Venkateswaran in 2003. In a letter allegedly written by Ashok Kumar, he has squarely blamed Madurai-based distributor and film financier Anbuchezhiyan for his death. Actor Vishal, General Secretary, Nadigar Sangam and President, Tamil Film Producers Council, who has demanded action against Anbuchezhiyan, alleged that he had a lot of political clout. “We will take on any MLA or MP, who tries to intervene. Everyone in the film industry, including myself, has suffered because of private financiers. It is time the industry unites and refuse to tolerate any sort of harassment,” said Vishal. He added, “A few financiers have a lot of political influence and resort to organising kangaroo courts to settle disputes. It sets a bad trend.” Actor Prakash Raj said the death of Ashok Kumar has raised several questions that will haunt the film industry for long. To prevent such situations, actors should stop receiving remuneration in unaccounted money, he said. “Though the film industry is paying hefty taxes to the government, the industry is at high risk,” Mr. Prakash Raj said. Fear and hope Madurai-based Anbuchezhiyan is a name that invokes fear and hope in equal measure in Tamil cinema circles — hope because he lends money 24/7, and fear as there is no way to get out of his clutches if the borrower cannot pay up his usurious interest rates. Theatre owners and distributors in Madurai say that Anbuchezhiyan controls the distribution of movies in Madurai. “He always distributes the movies he finances. If the producer resists, and refuses to sell his movie, he won’t allow the movie to have a smooth release in Madurai as he is influential with distributors and the theatre owners association in Madurai. He also has financial dealings with them so they cannot defy him,” said the theatre owner. Speaking about how Anbuchezhiyan works, producer Gnanavel Raja, Studio Green, said, “Around 50 financiers are there in the film industry. Only Anbuchezhiyan’s name has come out in the open. When they are crossing a limit, it leads to severe problems.” Another well-known producer, who has made movies with highly paid superstars, admitted to facing issues with financiers. He said, “Several movies have been run down because of financiers. So many films are lying in the cans in the dark rooms due to financial pressure.” There are several models based on which usurious loans are provided: For instance, ?10,000 every month will be charged on a loan of ?1 lakh until the principal amount is paid. If the amount is not paid on the due date, there is an interest on the interest. In the film industry, this is called meter vatti. Interest on interest is meter rate and there are financiers who even charge interest for every hour which is called rocket vatti. One such person who suffered at the hands of Anbuchezhiyan is Thangaraj of Thirumangalam. A former producer, Thangaraj claimed that he had repaid more than ?1 crore despite taking a loan of just ?20 lakh. He also alleged that the sale of Madurai region of his film was hijacked by Anbuchezhiyan. “I hope to pursue the cases against him,” he said. Targeting families Many people in the film fraternity said that the financiers’ modus operandi for recovering their dues is to use abusive words, verbal threats and, sometimes, physical assault. “They generally abuse the women in the family,” said an industry source. According to a KPMG India-FICCI ‘Indian media and entertainment industry report, 2017’, in 2016, around 200 Tamil movies were released and their box office collection reduced compared to the previous year. Only some 20 movies turned out to be profitable for producers.

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