In a setback for actor Vishal, the Madras High Court on Thursday stayed the release of his upcoming film Chakra on Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms. The court was hearing a petition filed by Trident Arts which had produced the actor’s previous film Action. The court posted the matter for hearing on September 30 and also held that the film cannot release until then. In the meantime, the court also directed Vishal and Trident Arts to sort out the issue amicably.
The production house has alleged that Vishal owes them Rs 8 crore for losses, an amount that the actor had allegedly agreed to pay if their film Action tanked at the box-office. Additionally, they have also alleged that Chakra was supposed to be produced by them since the film’s director Anandhan had originally pitched it to them. But Vishal reportedly went ahead and did the film under his home banner, Vishal Film Factory.
Sundar C’s Action released last year but fared poorly at the box-office. The film was made on a budget of Rs 44 crore and according to Trident Arts, Vishal allegedly entered into an agreement with them to bear the losses if the film failed to collect a minimum of Rs 20 crore at the box-office. According to reports, Action managed to make Rs 7.7 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 4 crore in Telugu speaking states.
Consequently, Trident Arts has sought for court intervention to make the actor pay them Rs 8.29 crore to compensate for the losses.
Vishal’s Chakra is the sequel to his 2018 hit film Irumbu Thirai. This film was directed by PS Mithran and the sequel’s director Anandan is the former’s associate. Irumbu Thirai also starred actors Arjun and Samantha and was well received by fans.
Chakra has actors Regina Cassandra and Shraddha Srinath in its star cast and was expected to release for Deepavali this year.