Recently, we reported about Murali Kunnumpurath, one of the producers of the horror film Sumathi Valavu, claiming that he faced much loss from the film. In a now-deleted video, Murali said that Sumathi Valavu writer Abhilash Pillai and director Vishnu Sasi Shankar 'cheated' him and 'ruined' his life.

Subsequently, Abhilash and Vishnu held a press conference and responded to Murali Kunnumpurath's viral accusations against them with regard to Sumathi Valavu. Abhilash said that Murali only put around 4 crore into the making of Sumathi Valavu and that there were multiple other investors in the film. Abhilash said that he was warned against working with Murali before starting production on the film, that the producer did not pay dubbing fees to actors and that multiple crew members filed cases against him.

Abhilash added that Gokulam Gopalan, who also produced the film, paid the money owed by Murali to a Chennai-based investor to ensure its release and made certain other settlements. "All this money was transferred through Murali chettan's account, but he must realise that it was not his money," Abhilash added.

Contradicting Murali's version of how much was spent on the making of Sumathi Valavu, the writer suggested a public audit to determine the actual budget. The screenwriter also refuted Murali's statement about giving him a particular amount of money for his work on the film, saying it is less than what the producer claimed. Agreeing that Sumathi Valavu is a financial failure for argument's sake, he rhetorically said that it is not the first film to flop in Malayalam cinema. He added that Murali posted the video by mistake and empathised with the producer. "This is not to tarnish his reputation; his present situation might be bad," Abhilash said, while adding that Murali recently made an advance payment for a Vellam remake in Tamil. "This is a man who said that he would commit suicide because of his financial situation," the writer said.

Abhilash also said that, before Murali's video went viral, he proposed to the producer a collaboration opportunity on Sumathi Valavu 2 and assured him of his support for Vellam's Tamil remake. Refuting the producer's allegation about his collaborator, Abhilash rhetorically said, "Why did he agree to do Sumathi Valavu 2 knowing that Vishnu does not know direction?"

The writer made serious allegations against Unni Mukundan, the star of Malikappuram, his other film with Vishnu. He alleged that Unni played a part in spreading the speculation about him being the director of Malikappuram rather than Vishnu. "How come Unni Mukundan directed his successful films and others helmed his flops?" He added that Unni even called Murali and advised him against working with Vishnu, telling the producer that the filmmaker does not know how to direct a film.