Kantara Chapter 1's Kerala release in trouble over profit-sharing dispute

Rishab Shetty's highly anticipated 'Kantara: Chapter 1' is facing a setback in Kerala as the Film Exhibitors Union of Kerala (FEUOK) has decided not to screen the film. This decision stems from a dispute over the profit-sharing agreement between the film's distributors and the exhibitors.

The controversy arose when the distributors, Prithviraj Productions headed by actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran, demanded a 55 per cent profit share from theatre collections for the first two weeks of the film's release. This demand exceeds the 50 per cent profit share that has been fixed by the exhibitors in Kerala for other films. The refusal to meet this demand led to the FEUOK's decision to halt the film's screening in the state.

Vijayakumar, the president of FEUOK, expressed his dissatisfaction with this arrangement by highlighting that Malayalam film producers receive only a 40 per



cent profit share when their films are released outside the state. "Why are these distributors so adamant about helping other language producers make gains when our producers don’t get that much share," he questioned.

The exhibitors' union stated that they will not retract their decision unless there is an initiative for discussions from the distributors. "If any meetings should happen, they should initiate it. They haven’t done it yet," Vijayakumar added.

'Kantara: Chapter 1', a prequel to the film of the same name, helmed by Rishab Shetty, is gearing up for a grand release on October 2. With a looming crisis in Kerala, one needs to see if the issue will be resolved before the film's release.

Written and directed by Rishab Shetty, the film also stars him, Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, Rakesh Poojari and Gulshan Devaiah and several others in lead roles.