The Madras High Court has been approached by actor D. Sivakarthikeyan, who filed a complaint against Studio Green Films producer K.E. Gnanavelraja, claiming that he has not received his complete payment for the film "Mr. Local," the total sum being Rs. 15 crore, which was agreed upon prior to the production and release of the film several years ago. He also alleged that the producer had not deposited the TDS required for the film's earnings to the Income Tax department.



Allegations linked to ‘Mr. Local’ remuneration



According to The Hindu, Sivakarthikeyan says that he entered into a contract with the producer on July 6, 2018 for playing the main character in the film "Mr. Local." The contract stated that his total amount owed was Rs. 15 crore and that payment would be made in several installments. According to the contract, the last payment of Rs. 1 crore was due to be made prior to the release of the film. Sivakarthikeyan claims that the payment was never made.



Rs 4 crore still unpaid after film’s release



While ‘Mr. Local’ hit theaters on May 17, 2019, Sivakarthikeyan alleges that only Rs 11 crore had been paid by that time. The remaining Rs 4 crore, he says, was never cleared despite repeated follow-ups and reminders. The non-payment continued even after the film’s release, prompting the actor to seek legal intervention.



The income tax notice complicates the issue



As stated by The Hundu, the situation reportedly escalated when Sivakarthikeyan received a notice from the Income Tax Department on February 1 this year. The notice was issued after the producer allegedly failed to remit TDS for the Rs 11 crore already paid. Though the actor challenged the notice by filing a separate writ petition, Rs 91 lakh was deducted from his bank account for the assessment years 2019–20 and 2020–21, leading him to file the present case.

Plea to stall producer’s ongoing projects



In his petition, Sivakarthikeyan has urged the court to restrain Gnanavelraja from making further investments in his ongoing projects ‘Rebel,’ ‘Chiyan 61,’ and ‘Pathu Thala.’ He has also sought an injunction preventing the producer from transferring any rights related to these films to theatrical distributors or OTT platforms until the dispute is resolved.



Court lists matter for hearing



Justice M. Sundar has listed the matter for hearing on Thursday. The case is expected to bring renewed focus on contractual disputes and payment transparency within the film industry.