If AR Murugadoss wasn't paid so much, Rajinikanth's Darbar wouldn't have been a loss film at box office: Keyyar

AR Murugadoss is being singled out by the industry insiders in Kollywood over Darbar's poor performance at the box office. The director's inability to narrate the story in an entertaining way, wrong release date and poor planning are said to be the main reasons why the Lyca Productions-funded flick failed to set the collection centres on fire.

A Greenhorn a Better Choice than AR Murugadoss
Producer-distributor Keyyar, who is known for his outspoken qualities, has said that AR Murugadoss was the wrong choice to helm the project. According to him, the film ran completely on Rajinikanth's shoulders and a newbie could have done a better film than Darbar.

"He was not the right choice because there was no need to pay me such a big pay-check and bring him on board. I heard that was paid Rs 33 crore. Today, we have many talented directors, who are looking out for opportunities. They would have handled the film, well, if paid just Rs 30 lakh. If Murugadoss wasn't paid so much, Rajinikanth's Darbar wouldn't have been a loss film at box office," he adds.

Lyca Suffered Loss Even Before its Release
In the same interview, Keyyar claims to have heard from the industry insiders that the producers suffered loss somewhere between Rs 30-40 crore even before the release. He pointed out that had AR Murugadoss was not signed for the film, the production house would not have been at loss.

"This loss is because of the amount paid to the director. He did not come up with a genuine content and Darbar was not a Murugadoss film at all. He is a great director and has given many successful films. But in the recent years, after Spyder, his involvement and attention in filmmaking have come down," he adds.

Keyyar do not back the distributors, who wanted Rajinikanth to compensate them for the losses. He claims that the superstar did justice to the film in every single frame and Rajini should not be targeted. The producer-distributor blames Lyca Productions' poor planning led to such a disaster at the box office.