Malayalam producer Venu Kunnappilly has publicly backed several claims made by Vellam-fame businessman-turned-producer Murali Kunnumpurath, whose emotional video about financial ruin and alleged betrayal in the film industry went viral earlier this week.
Venu, best known for backing blockbuster films 2018: Everyone is a Hero, Rekhachithram and Aadu 3, shared a lengthy social media post on Wednesday after watching Murali’s now-deleted video. Significantly, Venu had earlier co-produced the blockbuster Malikappuram, directed by Vishnu Sasi Shankar and written by Abhilash Pillai, the duo who later made Sumathi Valavu, one of the films at the centre of Murali’s accusations. The Mamangam producer had also co-produced Anand Sreebala, scripted by Abhilash, which was reportedly a commercial failure.
In the note, Venu said the viral clip had prompted him to write about the “pitfalls of cinema”. Referring to Sumathi Valavu, he claimed he had heard the story years ago and later met Murali in Dubai before shooting began. “I still remember telling him about the shortcomings of a story that was of serial-level quality, and advising him, as far as possible, not to move forward with this film,” Venu wrote. He added that Murali nevertheless proceeded with the project after being influenced by the promises of those involved behind the scenes.
Venu further alleged that a story which only had the scale of a ₹5–6 crore film ended up costing around ₹15 crore once made into a feature. He also claimed that by the time production and release expenses were added, the overall spend was close to ₹20 crore. “I got a chance to watch the film before its release. After seeing it, I held my head in disbelief,” he wrote, adding that he had then advised Murali not to bring the film to theatres without securing some form of pre-release business.
According to Venu, “Most of the things he says in the video are true to my knowledge,” though he added that he was not commenting on the abilities of the writer or director. Using the controversy to address wider industry issues, Venu said the incident was “never an isolated case” and claimed that hundreds of producers were carrying severe losses while “travelling along the edge of suicide”, with many choosing not to speak publicly for fear of humiliation.
He also criticised what he described as a section of the industry with “not even a trace of sincerity”, alleging that some people rise on the strength of others’ money while behaving with arrogance. Venu further questioned how long filmmakers who double budgets, add new producers midway through projects, and lack basic competence would continue unchecked. “Unless such people are permanently kept away from cinema, tragedies like this will continue,” he wrote, before asking when the heads of film associations would finally “open their eyes”.
Meanwhile, Murali made additional claims to media outlets on Wednesday, alleging that Malikappuram was in fact directed by its lead actor Unni Mukundan rather than the credited filmmaker.
A press meet has also reportedly been called for Thursday in connection with the controversy, though it remains unclear whether it is being organised by Murali or by those named in his allegations. As of now, there has been no formal public response from those accused by Murali or from the makers associated with Sumathi Valavu.