Malayalam film industry faces deep financial crisis amidst internal rift
Kochi: The Malayalam film industry is grappling with a severe financial crisis, with producers and actors locked in a public dispute over rising production costs and remuneration demands. The Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) has announced an industry-wide strike from June 1, citing unsustainable expenses and declining box office returns.
KFPA Vice President G Suresh Kumar blamed actors and technicians for inflating their fees after a few successful films, leading to financial instability. He claimed that even movies entering the so-called ₹100 crore club do not yield significant profits for producers. "If a film earns ₹1 from theatres, only 25 paise reaches the producer," Kumar stated.
However, prominent producer Antony Perumbavoor criticised the strike decision, arguing it lacked proper discussions among stakeholders and would negatively impact many industry workers. Several actors, including Mohanlal, Prithviraj, and Unni Mukundan, supported Antony’s stance, intensifying the divide within the industry.
The dispute escalated after KFPA, along with film distributors and theatre owners, proposed banning films produced by actors from being screened. This move, seen as an unprecedented challenge, could lead to open confrontation with stars like Mammootty, Prithviraj, and Fahadh Faasil, who own production companies.
KFPA estimates that the Malayalam film industry suffered losses of ₹700 crore in 2024, despite a total investment of ₹1,000 crore. While 207 films were released last year, only 24 were considered successful. In January 2025 alone, 28 films hit theatres, but only one, Rekhachitram, made it to the hit list.
According to Saji Nanthyatt, Secretary of the Kerala Film Chamber, poor financial discipline, high daily production costs, and increasing wages for technicians and actors are pushing producers into crisis. He noted that changing audience preferences are also affecting the industry, with younger viewers dominating theatres while family audiences decline.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, several Malayalam films, including Drishyam 2 and Minnal Murali, found success on OTT platforms. However, streaming services have since altered their strategies, now preferring films with strong theatrical performances. This shift has further reduced revenue opportunities for struggling producers.
Amidst the crisis, industry leaders are urging the Kerala government to address double taxation on movie tickets and provide financial support by officially recognising the film sector as an industry. Discussions with authorities are expected, failing which the indefinite strike may proceed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Baramati plane crash: Rohit Pawar alleges attempts to shield VSR Ventures
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday alleged that someone was trying to save VSR Ventures in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and claimed that the AAIB preliminary probe vindicated the doubts earlier raised by him.
He also accused VSR company of indulging in several grave lapses in the past.
The Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati air strip in Pune district on January 28, killing Pawar and four others.
In its 22-page preliminary report on the VSR Venture's Learjet plane crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level. It also flagged about fading marks on the runway and presence of loose gravels on the runway surface.
Pawar said, "I am not against VSR or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Ajitdada was travelling in a VSR aircraft. Unless we go into the depth of every aspect, we will not know the truth. But someone is trying to save this company. The doubts we had raised have been proven correct in the inquiry report."
He also claimed that the AAIB report contained discrepancies, including mentioning Baramati as a district, and questioned how seriously the probe had been conducted.
Pawar, who has been regularly holding press conferences to raise issues concerning the Baramati plane crash, also contested the report's conclusion that the aircraft hit trees before crashing.
"The report says the aircraft struck trees and then fell. But there are no trees at that spot. There is only a small bush which the aircraft did not even touch. What is stated in the report about hitting trees is incorrect," he said.
Pawar further alleged that VSR Ventures had displayed irresponsibility on multiple occasions, citing an incident involving the then chief minister Eknath Shinde's Davos visit on January 20, 2023.
He claimed that the aircraft carrying Shinde had entered Iranian and Iraqi airspace without overflight permission, following which fighter jets from the two countries allegedly warned of action, forcing a change in route from Bahrain to Zurich.
"There have been several such grave lapses by VSR," he said.
Pawar demanded to know from where VSR Ventures derived its "audacity", and sought details about its investors and officials, though he added that he was not personally concerned with who they were.
Drawing a comparison, he said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken over the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death within two days, whereas a month had passed since the Baramati crash without a similar action.
He claimed that VSR Ventures had two directors and three shareholders, and that there were eight common names across two related companies.
He further alleged that the owner of VSR was related to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and questioned why the company, though registered in Delhi, had made high-value investments in Jubilee Hills (upscale area in Hyderabad) at rates allegedly Rs 17 crore above the market price.
The MLA representing the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district also raised concerns about the legal and institutional framework of the AAIB under the 2017 rules, claiming it was neither a statutory nor an autonomous body and remained answerable to the secretary and the minister, besides being attached to the DGCA.
"There is no independent investigative agency," he alleged.
