The makers of Mr Local have filed a reply seeking to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Actor Sivakarthikeyan in Madras High Court. In his defamation suit against the makers of Mr Local, SivaKArthikeyan claimed that he was yet to receive a portion of his remuneration for the film.
Replying to the allegations made by Sivakarthikeyan, Mr Local’s producer KE Gnanavel Raja said that Sivakarthikeyan didn’t like the story of Mr Local and that the film was made because he forced Rajesh to be the director of the film. The producer added that he suffered a loss of Rs 20 crore because of the film.
Gnanavel alleged that Sivakarthikeyan pressured him to pay the remaining Rs 2 crore 40 lakh along with taxes. Later, when the distributors were in crisis because of the loss incurred in the film, Sivakarthikeyan told the makers not to pay Rs 2 crore 40 lakh.
KE Gnanavel Raja also said that Sivakarthikeyan is hiding true information. He sought the dismissal of the case.
Earlier, Actor Sivakarthikeyan moved Madras High Court alleging that producer K.E. Gnanavelraja of Studio Green Films failed to pay him the agreed remuneration of Rs 15 crores for his role in the film Mr Local, which was released in 2019.
Sivakarthikeyan also urged the court to prevent the producer from investing in any of his current projects, including Rebel, Chiyaan 61, and Pathu Thala. He requested that Gnanavel be injuncted from transferring the rights to the three films to film distributors for theatrical release or to Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms.
Sivakarthikeyan claimed that he signed an agreement with the producer, on July 6, 2018, to play the lead role in Mr Local. The actor’s remuneration for the film was fixed at Rs. 15 crores, which was supposed to be paid in different installments, with the final instalment of Rs. 1 crore to be paid before the film gets released.
For the unversed, Mr Local was released on 17 May 2019. Nayanthara also starred in the film alongside Sivakarthikeyan. The film was criticised for its loose plotline.
