The Malayalam film directors’ union on Sunday, February 23, passed a resolution opposing the producers' call to shut down Malayalam cinema from June 1. The resolution was presented by director Anwar Rasheed and backed by director Blessy. Nearly 450 members of the union reportedly supported the resolution. The directors’ union sought the intervention of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) to resolve this issue by having a dialogue with the producers.
“If film production stops, thousands of individuals who work in the industry will face a crisis. Our primary concern is these workers and their families. Therefore, we hope to never reach such a situation,” said G.S. Vijayan, the general secretary of the directors’ union, speaking to TNM.
Earlier, on February 6, producer G. Suresh Kumar announced that all production, distribution, and exhibition of Malayalam cinema would shut down from June 1 if the financial crisis currently affecting the industry persisted. According to the producers, they have suffered losses amounting to Rs 700 crore due to excessive remunerations charged by star actors and technicians, along with the entertainment tax levied by the government.
The producers claimed that out of the 200 films released last year, only 24 were commercially successful. “The losses faced by producers of the remaining films amounted to Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore,” Suresh Kumar stated. He also mentioned that previous discussions with actors regarding remuneration had not yielded positive results.
However, the directors’ union maintains that the issue of high remuneration for star actors is not new and should be discussed directly between actors and producers. “Actors can decide their remuneration for the work they do, and producers, in turn, can set their budget accordingly. This is something they need to discuss and resolve. Our primary concern is for other workers, including daily wage earners in the industry,” Vijayan added.