Tovino Thomas is worried Vazhakk will affect his career, director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan reveals

Is Tovino Thomas apprehensive about the release of his next film with Sanal Kumar Sasidharan? The director has now taken to his social media to share a long note detailing how the release of his film Vazhakk has been seeing a number of delays, and it is due to Tovino’s reluctance since he is ‘worried’ that the film might stir controversy and have a negative impact on his career. (Also read: Nadikar box office collection day 2: Tovino Thomas’ film earns just over ₹2 crore)

Sanal took to his social media and wrote a detailed account regarding the situation of his next release. He began, “Business interests have always determined what society should know, what to think, and how to act. As not all events become news, no matter how revolutionary, not all knowledge comes before society, not all discoveries discussed by science, not all arts published. Reason is nothing else; it is that society is controlled by economic agenda that determines what people should see and how to think. The agenda of business interests is implemented by taking advantage of the common sense of the people who think that knowledge is not knowledge and art is not art until it is published.”

What Sanal said

“I have understood this better as someone who has had the opportunity to go through certain events that I feel unlucky to be a part of, but know how it works inside. One such experience was in Vazhakk which was co-produced and acted by Tovino Thomas as a gift. The film was shot at a time when the Malayalam film industry was closed due to Covid. It was in just two weeks that the movie which relied on very complex shooting methods was completed. The cost was with a budget of ₹50 lakhs without considering the salaries of Tovino and mine. The budget was found by investing 50% of the money to Tovino and 50% of it to Parrett Mount Pictures, where I also have partnership. My relative Girish Nair and his friend Faisal Sajir Hasan were the ones who spent the money on Parrett Mount Pictures.

I had a very small budget and a very few days, but I was able to make the movie in that time. But the obstacles began once the shoot was over. A famous festival that saw the rough cut of the film sent me an email saying they would like to premiere the film, but the decision changed within two weeks. Many festivals have since rejected the film, shattering my expectations. When the Mumbai Film Festival sent a mail selecting it onto its competition category in 2022, I thought the release would be soon. But when the festival itself did not happen that year, that hope also vanished.

It is in IFFK where there was a remote possibility of the screening of the film. I didn’t expect the film to get selected as the propaganda and political defense against me were strong. That is why I casually asked Tovino to release the film on OTT. Tovino’s argument was that the film was meant for festivals and it will not be liked by normal people. When I said that most festivals have rejected the film, so there is no point in waiting and that there should be a way to bring cinema to people without prejudices, Tovino continued with his reluctance.”

Sanal then continued saying how things changed with the screening at IFFK. “However, Tovino was still apprehensive about the movie’s release and said the film would bomb in box office and he said it was a certainty. At the time, someone who was interested in spending money to bring the movie to theatres came up. Still, Tovino was worried and said it would affect his career.”

He further added, “Now I understand what Tovino meant. Tovino was a riding superstar during the production of Vazhakk. If it had come out that day, the enmity against me would have turned against him. The path to grow into a superstar would be short one. One who knows the equation of trading can bring success to trading. Is what Tovino did wrong? No. Is it true? No. Then what is it? This in injustice.

More details

Sanal has directed films like S Durga and Chola. The logline of Vazhakk, according to the IFFK site, reads, “On the day he agreed to sign a mutual divorce in court, Siddharthan, who is also a lawyer, cheats on his wife Lakshmi, and goes on an inland drive. He urges Lakshmi to postpone the divorce, citing their daughter Tara’s future, but the attempt fails. On his way back, he meets Sathi and her dumb daughter who are leaving their home due to marital issues. The meeting changes Siddharthan’s outlook on life.”

Tovino was last seen in Nadikar. The film follows the life of a superstar, David Padikkal, who shot to superstardom in the Malayalam film industry but is going through a rough patch.