Producer Antony Perumbavoor withdraws Facebook post criticizing G Suresh Kumar

The ongoing dispute between Malayalam film organizations seems to be settling as producer Antony Perumbavoor has withdrawn his Facebook post criticizing producer G Suresh Kumar.


According to the News 18 reports, the decision came after Film Chamber President B R Jacob held discussions with Antony Perumbavoor.


Reportedly, Antony Perumbavoor expressed to B R Jacob that he was personally hurt by the mention of Mohanlal’s ‘Empuraan’ in such a context where the topic was about the failure of the movie that were already released and the Prithviraj Sukumaran’s directorial is yet to hit the big screens. He also clarified that his Facebook post was made after consulting with the Producers’ Association.

According to the sources, the Film Chamber has assured that there will be no token strike in March and that ‘Empuraan’ will not face any retaliatory actions. The focus should be on ensuring the film industry moves forward, and discussions with the government will be held to address major issues.

For the unversed, Antony Perumbavoor had earlier posted on Facebook, criticizing G Suresh Kumar’s press conference, where the latter spoke about the severe crisis in the film industry and the need for protest measures. The controversy began after G Suresh Kumar made remarks about the budget of Empuraan, a film yet to be released, while discussing the losses suffered by recently released films.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malayalam film industry has been facing severe challenges. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FIOK) has stated that the ongoing dispute is expected to be resolved within a week. A major concern raised is the burden of double taxation imposed on film producers, and discussions with the government will be initiated on this matter.

According to Mathrubhumi, FEFKA General Secretary B Unnikrishnan clarified that there has been no official notification regarding the strike. However, he expressed hope that the issues would be resolved before any protest action. He also stated that while FEFKA supports the token strike in solidarity, if the producers move towards an indefinite strike without FEFKA’s support, film productions under actors’ companies will continue without disruption, potentially leading to the failure of the strike.

According to the Producers’ Association, the decision regarding the strike was made in a meeting that included FEFKA representatives.