The legal battle between filmmaker Sudha Kongara and production house Dawn Pictures over Parasakthi has taken a fresh turn, with the latter alleging before the Madras High Court that the director failed to disclose a Rs 4.12 crore payment she had already received from 2D Entertainment.
According to Dawn Pictures, Sudha had originally signed on to make Parasakthi with 2D Entertainment in 2021. When the project did not move forward under that banner, she reportedly approached Dawn Pictures to take over production. The company claimed that before joining hands with Dawn, she formally ended her agreement with 2D Entertainment in December 2024 after receiving Rs 4.12 crore as a full and final settlement.
The production house further stated that it later acquired the film's rights from 2D Entertainment by paying Rs 5.8 crore and subsequently entered into a fresh agreement with Sudha Kongara, under which it has already paid her Rs 8.5 crore, excluding GST, towards her remuneration. Dawn Pictures alleged that it was unaware of the terms of her settlement with 2D Entertainment at the time these payments were made.
The submissions were made in response to Sudha Kongara's plea seeking to restrain the release of Dawn Pictures' upcoming film Idhayam Murali, starring Atharvaa, until the company clears her alleged pending dues of Rs 8.39 crore.
Dawn Pictures argued that the dispute cannot be viewed as a standalone payment issue, claiming that all agreements connected to Parasakthi must be considered together before deciding the financial liabilities of either party.
The production house also told the court that Parasakthi faced multiple setbacks during production, including the leakage of footage online, which allegedly forced it to spend additional money on anti-piracy measures and affected the film's OTT value. It further pointed out that it had to defend a copyright lawsuit filed shortly before the film's theatrical release, resulting in further legal expenses.
Maintaining that there are financial claims on both sides that require a detailed examination, Dawn Pictures urged the court not to grant any interim relief preventing the release of Idhayam Murali. Justice K Kumaresh Babu has reserved orders on Sudha Kongara's application.
