Collection data released by Producers’ Association wrong, says ‘Athma Saho’ director

Gopukiran Sadasivan, director of the Malayalam movie ‘Athma Saho’ that is now running in theatres, has alleged that the theatre share collection for his movie released by the Kerala Film Producers’ Association was incorrect. As per the list prepared by the Producers’ Association for movies released in February this year, the theatre share of ‘Athma Saho’ was a mere Rs 30,000. However, the movie has already collected over Rs 7 lakh, claimed Gopukiran.

“My film was released in limited theatres, but it was well-received in PVR, and has already collected over Rs 7 lakh within four weeks,” said the director. He said the movie has received a good response. “It was appreciated by the viewers and benefited from word-of-mouth publicity,” said Gopukiran.

Meanwhile, he expressed surprise over the data released by the Producers’ Association. “I have no idea how they obtained those figures. The association did not approach either the distributors or crew of my movie seeking the details,” said the director.

He also urged the Producers’ Association to stick to facts in such matters. “Misleading reports could hurt the confidence of filmmakers like me, who make films on a low budget. Moreover, post-release business of the film also could be adversely affected,” Gopukiran told ‘Manorama Online.’

Full text of Gopukiran’s statement

Dear friends,

I am the director of the movie ‘Athma Saho’ released on February 28 this year. The film has been produced by my wife, Ashin Kiran, under the banner of Tridev Productions. I am now forced to speak to you regarding the report on the collections for the movie, which is wrong. The report also says that the film is no longer screened in theatres. I wish to ask the people who prepared that chart, and the media personnel who gave it wide publicity, whether you published the report after checking the facts.

In reality, ‘Athma Saho’ is running in many theatres in its fourth week. Then, how can you claim that the film collected only the amount mentioned in your report? We have evidence to prove its actual collections.

Are you certain that the false news you circulated wouldn’t negatively affect the future prospects of my film? Will you cover any such losses? Can your actions attract fresh producers to the film industry? ‘Athma Saho’ is a small movie. Be truthful. Be happy. Don’t spread lies and destroy us, and the movie.

Don’t weaken the new generation. Similarly, I request the people taking part in discussions on TV channels claiming to belong to the old generation of scriptwriters to speak after verifying the truth. I have attached the collection report of the last few days from PVR Lulu in Thiruvananthapuram. The film is running successfully in the fourth week.