Over a year after Mersal’s release, magician Raman Sharma has revealed that Thenandal Films, the producers of the movie, are yet to pay him his salary. In a series of tweets he says the production house owes him Rs 4 lakh, including the 1 lakh he has had to pay for legal support.
In his videos, the Canada-based magician says that he spent five months in Chennai, away from his family, working on Mersal, and the movie was special to him. He also says he was the one to recommend to director Atlee the many tricks used in the movie, including the one where Vijay pulls a trishul out of a bag.
Part1: Thenandal Studio's PAY ME!!! #mersal #fraud #emptypromises #ethics #honour @VJFansToronto @ThenandalFilms @Hemarukmani1 pic.twitter.com/GShfOGfwsD
— Raman Sharma Magic (@RamanMagic) November 15, 2018
Raman says he repeatedly tried to contact Murali from Thenandal Films, who promised payment by the end of August, but never got back. The production house has been ignoring his calls since then.
What other proof can I give? His personal number? pic.twitter.com/mfYaBUHZ6j
— Raman Sharma Magic (@RamanMagic) November 15, 2018
Mersal, directed by Atlee, released during the Deepavali weekend last year. The movie went on to collect about Rs 250 crore. It starred Vijay in a triple role, and cast three female leads – Nithya Menen, Samantha Akkineni, and Kajal Aggarwal. Also starring in the movie are Vadivelu and Sathyaraj.
The movie was about corruption and malpractices in the medical industry. Vijay played the roles of a father, fondly called Thalapathy, and that of two estranged brothers – a magician and a doctor. Like his latest movie Sarkar, Mersal too was mired in controversy. BJP objected to scenes that criticized GST and Digital India. People from the medical industry took offence, and demanded removal of scenes. But Mersal went on to become Vijay’s biggest box-office hit.
In Raman’s tweet tagging Mersal’s production house, Thenandal Films, and its CEO Hema Rukmani, he says, “The most interesting thing is that movie has to do with ethics and corruption… when you [the production house] have promised me something and failed to deliver.”
Thenandal films are yet to publicly respond to Raman’s claims.
