Actor Bobby Simha’s upcoming film Agni vs Devi starring Madhoobala has run into a hurdle a day ahead of its scheduled release. A status quo was announced on the film’s release at the Coimbatore sub court on March 20 until further response from the film’s makers.
The actor himself had filed a case against the film’s Coimbatore based production house Seatoa Studios, run by its director A John Paul Raj, for allegedly breaking their agreement. The actor also alleged that the filming of Agni vs Devi that was originally titled Agni Dev did not comply with their initial discussions.
Bobby, therefore, sent a notice to director A John Paul Raj of Seatoa Studios on November 11, 2018 citing that the director broke their agreement dated May 31, 2018. With the director refusing to back down, a case was filed in the Coimbatore sub court in December 2018 following a failed reconciliation meeting that took place on December 16.
Speaking to TNM, Bobby Simha's advocate Vijay Kumar says, "The first case that we filed in December last year for agreement violation is pending a hearing. For our second case that was filed on Wednesday, the Court has ordered status quo as a result of which the film cannot release until things are cleared in court. The opposite parties are yet to respond."
Bobby states in his petition that he was surprised to see posters announcing Agni vs Devi’s release on March 22, and had therefore decided to file a complaint with the Nandambakkam police on March 19 under sections 406, 420, 469 and 470. The actor also alleges that the film’s director had used CGI to complete his portions after he exited from the project. He further claims that the director had used someone else’s voice to dub for his parts as he did not dub for the film himself.
Soon after, a case was filed on March 20 at the Coimbatore sub court which announced status quo until the claims are proven. Bobby Simha has moved the court to ban the film from being released under the title Agni vs Devi or any other name in future. The court has also appointed advocate M Karthika to examine the truth in these claims.
The film’s director is yet to file his response. Agni vs Devi also stars Madhoobala and Remya Nambeessan. A political drama, the film’s story is based on writer Rajesh Kumar’s novel. The film that was originally titled Agni Dev was slated for Deepavali 2018 release.
However, the production house seems to be determined to go ahead with the release. Bookings have opened in theatres and it's unclear if the film will hit the screens or not.