'Parasakthi' title controversy takes a new twist; Sivakarthikeyan's film faces another trouble

The 'Parasakthi' title controversy takes a new twist as National Pictures asserts historical rights over the title, urging filmmakers to refrain from using it. Sivakarthikeyan's film now faces potential legal and legacy challenges.

The title 'Parasakthi' was officially chosen for Sivakarthikeyan's 25th film, directed by Sudha Kongara. Simultaneously, Vijay Antony also titled his 25th Telugu film 'Parashakthi', leading to widespread confusion over title ownership. AVM Studios announced that Sivakarthikeyan's team held the official rights to the title. A controversy was raised in Kollywood as Vijay Antony claimed rights to the title, while Sivakarthikeyan's film officially owned the title rights. In a bid to resolve the issue, the producer of Sivakarthikeyan's 'Parasakthi' and Vijay Antony met for negotiations and agreed on a settlement. As per the resolution, Sivakarthikeyan’s film would retain Parasakthi as the title in both Tamil and Telugu, while Vijay Antony's film would use Sakthi Thirumagan in Tamil and retain 'Paraashakthi' only in Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam. But the 'Parasakthi' title controversy took a new twist as National Pictures, which produced the iconic 1952 film 'Parasakthi' starring Sivaji Ganesan with dialogues by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, issued a statement asserting their historical rights over the title.

National Pictures clarified that AVM Studios had only distribution rights for certain regions. AV Meyyappa Chettiar initially objected to casting Sivaji Ganesan as the lead in 'Parasakthi'. However, producer Perumal firmly insisted on Sivaji playing the role, which became a turning point in Tamil cinema. Until his final days, Sivaji would visit Vellore every Pongal to seek Perumal’s blessings. 'Parasakthi', a proud creation of their collaboration, celebrated its golden and diamond jubilees and remains a timeless masterpiece. The film's powerful dialogues by Karunanidhi and Sivaji’s exceptional performance continue to resonate with audiences even after decades. As the film approaches its platinum jubilee, National Pictures has announced plans to release a digitally remastered version. They urged filmmakers to refrain from using the title 'Parasakthi', asserting their exclusive rights to it.