It is known that Visakhapatnam-based popular distributor Bathula Satyanarayana alias Satish has filed a petition in the City Civil Court of Hyderabad to stop the release of the movie ‘Bhola Shankar’. Satish accused Anil Sunkara and Garikapati Krishna, the owners of AK Entertainments, who produced the movie ‘Bhola Shankar’, of cheating him by taking Rs.30 crores. Satish released a video message saying that besides cheating him in the matter of the distribution rights of the movie ‘Agent’, they have revealed their true nature.
‘Agent has written me an agreement that they will give the film distribution rights to three states, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for five years to Gayatri Devi Films, which I own. They took Rs.30 crores from me. There is strong evidence that I have paid for the three state rights of the movie Agent. The agent gave the film distribution rights only up to Visakhapatnam district at the time of release, breaking the agreement. They gave me an agreement that they will pay the rest of the money due to me within 45 days, if not before the release of their next film. Satish said in the video, “I told this matter to the elders of the film chamber, but there was no result, so I went to the court under mandatory circumstances.”
However, the court after hearing the arguments of both sides on Wednesday postponed the verdict till Thursday. The judge said in the judgment announced today that the release of the movie ‘Bhola Shankar’ cannot be stopped. The court dismissed the petition to stop the release of the film. However, it seems that the court has given a green signal for the release of ‘Bhola Shankar’ as the producers have told the court that they will pay the amount due to the distributor. But producer Natti Kumar says that injustice has been done to distributor Satish.
Reacting to the court verdict, Natti Kumar said that it is a dark day for the distributors. A distributor lost Rs.30 crore and is on the road. Movie bosses should take the initiative. We will approach the High Court against the judgment of the City Civil Court. Distributors are being sacrificed for the luxury and enjoyment of some. We will go to any lengths to fight for our money. Natti Kumar said if Film Chamber and Producers Council care about the problems, why do we go to the courts.
