The crew of the recently released Malayalam film Santacruz came down hard on actor Noorin Sherif. They alleged that many promotional programmes for the movie were cancelled owing to the non-cooperative attitude of actor Noorin, who played the lead role in the film.
“Shouldn’t the actor work sincerely for at least Rs 2 when she charges Rs 10?” asked producer of Santacruz, Raju Gopi Chittethu. The crew members criticized the actor while speaking at a press meet in connection with the movie.
“We have paid what she had asked for in full and she had agreed to come for the film’s promotional programmes. If she came and urged people to watch the movie, at least a few more would have reached the theatres. When she takes Rs 10 as her pay, she should at least work for Rs 2. No need to work for Rs 8, but sincerity to work worth at least Rs 2 must be put in towards the project. Isn’t that a moral sense? She does not attend calls or respond to messages. She asked us whether we invested in the movie seeing her,” the producer said.
The film’s director Johnson John Fernandez alleged that the crew lost many platforms for promotion just because Noorin was not ready to join. “The producer is not against OTT release. He just shared his anguish. Who will come forward to do a film casting newcomers? I had stopped him from talking against Noorin during the press meet prior to the release of the movie. But now, it has to be said. We are not getting any channel promotion programmes just because Noorin won’t turn up. I m not blaming her. She may not have any benefit from it. As Noorin did not cooperate, we were to face such situations. Channels say they are ready to give us a slot if Noorin joins the programme. Everybody asks about Noorin’s presence. This film does not have many popular actors. Aju Varghese does a cameo appearance. Actor Indrans is ready to come anytime we call. He is on a tight schedule though,” said Johnson John.
Actor Noorin Shereef has not yet responded to the accusations by the director and the producer of Santacruz. Sources close to Noorin, speaking to Manorama Online, said that she would not react to this allegation, for the time being.
Meanwhile, the success celebration of the Santacruz movie was held at Sangeetha Theatre in Kochi on Sunday. Film actors Sneha Sreekumar, Marimayam Sreekumar and Veena Nair took part in the event along with the film’s crew members.
Producer Raju Chittethu expressed his gratitude to the audience who accepted this small film amid many crises. “It is the movie-loving audience who made the film run for three weeks in the theatres even without a lot of promotional activities. I would continue to be a part of the films I love as a producer,” Raju said