'Antony's statement is not correct, should withdraw Facebook post'; Film Chamber to issue notice to Antony Perumbavoor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Film Chamber has decided to send a notice to film producer Antony Perumbavoor, urging him to retract his Facebook post against producer G Suresh Kumar. The Chamber also stated that further action would be determined based on Antony’s response. Additionally, they emphasized that Suresh Kumar’s statements represented the collective decision of the meeting. They also said that they would move forward with the protest regardless of whether other film organizations joined.

Antony Perumbavoor had recently responded to comments made by Suresh Kumar regarding actors and directors demanding large sums of money as payment. The Film Chamber is now sending the notice in response to Antony’s stance on the issue.

Antony Perumbavoor's Facebook post

I am writing this because I want to say something about the open statement of senior producer and actor Suresh Kumar to the media about the Malayalam film industry after evaluating the Malayalam film of last month. As an individual, he has the freedom to express his own opinion in democratic India. However, when representing an organization, he should present in the public forum only those things that the majority in that organization accepts and is convinced of. Only then can the majority in the organization stand by and support that opinion. Just because he is ready to personally present to the public the issues on which there is no consensus in the organization, I am taking the same liberty to openly state some things in front of the people.

I also saw Suresh Kumar saying with great enthusiasm that the producers will go on strike from June 1. I think he must have agreed to say that after giving in to pressure from some other organizations. I don’t think that such a strike will be beneficial for the cinema in any way. Because it is something that directly and indirectly affects hundreds of people, and thereby thousands of families. There is a need for clarity on who entrusted him to say all this on behalf of the organization, and what is the sentiment behind it. When I heard that, I felt that he understood that if he criticized those in the group and other sectors of the cinema in harsh language about the new generation, the others in the organization would silently support him. I also wondered if he had fallen for the words of some vested interest.

I heard him mocking and challenging Malayalam films that have entered the 100-crore club. According to the present practice in the film industries everywhere in India, a film entering 50 crore, 100 crore, 200 crore and 500 crore clubs is based on the total collection or gross collection, as far as I know. It is the total collection from the theatre and the other income that the film receives from various sources. Such assessments and descriptions are not based on the net profit of the producer. It is the same in Bollywood, Tamil and Telugu. The meaning of criticizing it by portraying it as a claim that only the producer got it is mysterious.

The people from the organization he represents are the ones who are spreading the descriptions of those who have entered the 100-crore club and the 200-crore club. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with being happy and sharing that happiness when Malayalam films get such a large collection in a short time, and they are on par with even bigger films from other countries. The sentiment behind Suresh Kumar's speech, questioning, criticizing and interpreting it as a crime, is also unclear.

No one disputes that Suresh Kumar is a talented person who led many commendable activities while being the president of the organization. However, when his friend and producer Anto Joseph was the president, why and how did Suresh Kumar come forward with such allegations against his fellow beings and against his own industry, it is not understood. I have not heard them say anything about this. If Suresh Kumar's explanation is the organization's explanation, then it is not wrong for anyone to doubt that people like Anto Joseph should also have come forward to support him. I am not the one to talk about the internal affairs of the organization, but from the silence of people like Anto, I understand that they must have had differences of opinion with the things Suresh Kumar said. If these are the decisions of the organization, then those of us who are long-time members of the producers Association, including myself, should be aware of such crucial decisions. I believe that the core of any democratic system is to discuss such things and move forward by taking into account the different voices and creating harmony of opinions.

I do not understand on what basis Suresh Kumar said that if an actor makes a film, that film will not be screened in Kerala. I do not believe that this is going to happen in our country. Because this is a country where everyone is free to live according to their own wishes and beliefs within the law. There is no way that an industry like cinema should operate in the way that he likes.