Trouble in TN Film Producers Council
The trust formed by the TN producers and with a fund of Rs 1.30 crores to help the members and their wards has come in for criticism with the current office bearers of the TN Film Producers Council alleging that the funds were being misused by the trustees for their personal gains. Following this criticism, directors K Balchander and producer KRG (former president of the TN Producers Council) have resigned and refuted the allegation that the funds were used for personal reasons and showed receipts wherein it was disbursed to the FEFSI building fund, the kargil war victims fund and recently to the Gujrat earthquake relief fund.

Kayaar, president of SIFCC, continues to be one of the trustees. The TN Film Producers Council’s agruement is that this fund must be handed over to them for their usage. The camp followers of the trustees allege that the council which has run bankrupt with wastage of funds by the executive members and not able to raise funds for itself is now eyeing on the trust funds.

Bigwigs meet at the EGO
The convention Entertainment Graphics Organisation (EGO) 2001 saw bigwigs like Subhash Ghai, Mahesh Bhatt, Ketan Mehta, Balu Mahendra, PC Sriram and Amit Khanna, to name a few, had Kamal Hassan inaugurate the convention before he took off to attend the shooting of Abhay. The general tone of the speakers was that technology is important and can change the way films are made but it is the way the story is told that is important to break the cultural barriers. This view was first kicked off by Mahesh Bhatt and later on found its echoes in the speeches by other filmmakers. Ghai too agreed that technology can only enhance the art of story telling but cannot substitute it. Amit Khanna felt that in future, CEOs of companies will need a creative thrust and not just management skills.

Yet another problem was that the films need to break the huge culture wall and a film like Crouching Tiger with ten Oscar nominations will get exhibited in 3000 theatres across the globe but otherwise it is restricted to the festival circuit. Bob Higgins, vice-president, Sony Pictures, felt that finally the market was expanding and Masahiro Nakagushi, of River and Creek, felt that if only there was an English speaking man who could break the wall between the foreign market and the Japanese market could things be better.

The convention started off with statements like Hollywood does give a damn to India by speakers like Scott Micheal Rosenberg of Platinum Studios and Buvan Lall of Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the seminar got on to a different track. The seminar was organised by Pentamedia.

Sakshi in trouble
Sakshi Sivanand’s off-the-cuff joke that her sister Shilpa used to double up for her when she did not have the dates has got her in trouble with the Kannada producer Yogeswar crying foul. Sakshi had,in an interview, said that her sister Shilpa looked the same and both of them were twins and hence changed roles whenever it suited them. The comment got a lot of media attention and finally Sakshi had to state that it was a joke. Her younger sister Shilpa is studying in a Mumbai college and is not interested in films, according to their mother. Sakshi acted in the Vijaykanth-starrer Vaanchinaathan and is currently paired opposite Arjun in Vedham.

AVM’s next project
The last film of AVM, the prestigious film banner of the South, Minsara Kanavu with Prabhu Deva - Aravind Swamy - Kajol and directed by Rajiv Menon with music by AR Rahman in 1997, was dubbed in three languages. After this film, the production house concenterated on the production of TV serials and soon became a front runner. Now this prestigious production house which started in 1945 and has so far produced 161 films is soon to produce a film with Vijay as the hero. The other details are being worked out. AVM is now run by M Saravanan, M Balasubramaniam and MS Guhan.

ayyapa prasad