Vishal, Tamil Rockers nexus: Irumbu Thirai star breaks his silence

Vishal, actor and president of Tamil Film Produces' Council, has broken his silence after a section of people from the Kollywood demanded his resignation over his alleged involvement in piracy. The actor wants them to provide proof to prove their allegations.

"That's a huge allegation they are making on a production house (referring to the site claiming that a production house is involved in piracy) and I really do hope they have proof to substantiate their claim. Is it a problem that they are funding my films, or other films as well?" The Times of India quotes him as saying.

What is the Controversy all about?

A whistle-blower website Savukku Online came up with a shocking claims stating that Vishal hired an agency to find out the whereabouts of the piracy websites that include Tamil Rockers. The report that he received allegedly claimed that all the domains were booked by 'lycamovie.com,' the website of Lyca Productions, which is funding movies like Rajinikanth's 2.0 and Kamal Haasan's Sabaash Naidu.

And he stuck a deal with Lyca Productions to close the issue.

"The Kerala police have nabbed the admins of TamilRockers. That said, we are trying to cut the mother source because all prints that have been uploaded online have been taken from theatres. That's why we've been asking for a joint meeting with theatre owners. There should be thorough vigilance for at least four days after a film's release inside the theater. Only then can we completely root out piracy," the daily adds Vishal as saying.

Following the allegations, around 40 producers held a press conference demanding Vishal's resignation. But they did not stress much on the piracy issue rather about the functioning of the producers' guild. Interestingly, many refused to believe Lyca Productions' involvement in the piracy.

"I am unable to suspect them because Lyca has asked me if we can make a grand movie on the issues of Eelam Tamils. If they didn't care about Eelam Tamils, they would not have asked me that question. I don't know about the allegations. Without concern on Ealam Tamils, there is no way Lyca would have acted like this. Secondly, they want to invest something in the land in which they are born. So they need that government. Other than that, they are not opposed to the Eelam issue," The News Minute quotes Bharathiraja as saying.

Another producer K Rajan too was unwilling to condemn Lyca Productions.

Radha Ravi, on his turn, said that despite knowing the people behind the piracy sites Vishal has failed to take any action. "We have heard that the production house might be involved in video piracy. As someone who has constantly been saying that he will take down video piracy, why hasn't Mr. Vishal responded yet," the Hindu quotes him as saying.

Other Issues Raised by Producers                   

• Producers questioned why Vishal's Irumbu Thirai was permitted to release in 300 screens while the regulatory committee had decided that a movie can not be released in more than 200 screens.
• They slammed Prakash Raj and Gautham Menon for failing to attend a single meeting in the last nine months.
• Bharathiraja spoke about Vishal's Telugu origin and said he wants a Tamilan to head the council of the producers, while demanding the name of the South Indian Movie Artistes Association to be rechristened as Tamil actors association.
• Apart from questioning, they blamed Vishal for the recent Kollywood strike and claimed that his decision had put the industry under a severe loss.