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The highly anticipated release of the Suriya-starrer 'Kanguva' has been thrown into uncertainty by the Madras High Court. The court has ruled that the film, also featuring Bollywood actors Bobby Deol and Disha Patani, cannot be released on its scheduled date of Thursday unless its producer, K.E. Gnanavelraja, deposits a sum of ₹20 crore by Wednesday midnight. This order stems from a long-standing legal dispute that dates back to 2011.
The dispute revolves around a co-production agreement between Mr. Gnanavelraja and businessman Arjunlal Sunderdas (now deceased). Both parties agreed to invest ₹40 crore each in the production of a film. However, Arjunlal Sunderdas withdrew from the project after investing only ₹12.85 crore. In 2014, the High Court declared Arjunlal Sunderdas insolvent and appointed the Official Assignee to manage his assets and liabilities. During the assessment process, the Official Assignee discovered that Mr. Gnanavelraja owed the insolvent ₹10.35 crore. The Official Assignee filed an application in 2016 seeking a repayment of this amount with interest, and the High Court ruled in their favor in 2019.
Mr. Gnanavelraja appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but the appeal was dismissed in September 2024. Despite numerous attempts by the Official Assignee to recover the owed amount, only ₹3.93 crore, including ₹1 crore before the release of the Vikram-starrer 'Thangalaan,' has been recovered. Mr. Gnanavelraja attempted to distance himself from Studio Green Films Private Limited, which produced both 'Thangalaan' and 'Kanguva,' claiming to have not produced any films in the past two and a half years. The High Court rejected this claim, citing the substantial debt owed and the Official Assignee's lengthy efforts to recover it. The court emphasized the need for the producer to fulfill his financial obligations, concluding that the 'leniency shown to the Judgement Debtor so far believing that he has bonafide intention to discharge the debt substantially, if not in full, appears to be a misplaced sympathy.' Consequently, the release of 'Kanguva' has been temporarily halted until the required amount is deposited.
Source: Kanguva cannot be released without depositing ₹20 crore: Madras High Court