Karthick Naren, Gautham Menon in Twitter spat over financial dues for their upcoming film Naragasooran

Young filmmaker Karthick Naren, who shot to fame through his critically and commercially acclaimed debut film Dhuruvangal 16, posted a cryptic tweet on 26 March about his ‘passion getting butchered from all the directions’ for a mistake he did not commit.

Shortly, his tweet led to speculations that Karthick Naren was referring to Gautham Menon, one of the co-producers of his sophomore film Naragasooran, which is currently in the post-production phase. In his exclusive conversation with _Firstpost_ in November 2017 , Karthick said he had wrapped up the project in 41 days and begun work on the post. However, the fall-out between Gautham and Karthick was out in the open when the duo decided to have a go at each other on the micro-blogging platform yesterday with their tweets. While sharing the now-viral video centered on Chennai Super Kings team, GVM tweeted: “While some young filmmakers whine about their passion getting butchered instead of growing a pair, here’s a young team that makes an interesting short about girls, women, cricket, CSK, and liberation.What a connect.So very nicely done!” [sic]. A miffed Karthick quickly responded saying, “While everybody advised against it I had the pair to trust you & collaborate sir. In return we were treated like trash & made to invest on our own. I think its better to whine & confront instead of running away. Please don’t do this to any other young filmmaker sir. It hurts!” [sic].

https://t.co/6whl3aEczn
While some young filmmakers whine about their passion getting butchered instead of growing a pair, here’s a young team that makes an interesting short about girls,women, cricket, CSK and liberation.What a https://t.co/dseipSKVrF very nicely done!

— Gauthamvasudevmenon (@menongautham) March 27, 2018

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Firstpost caught up with Karthick Naren and a well-placed source in the Gautham Menon camp to learn both sides of the story. “We didn’t know anyone in the industry when we had started Naragasooran. Despite multiple warnings, I decided to collaborate with GVM sir and trusted him to the fullest. But the fact is that Ondraga Entertainment (home banner of GVM) never invested any money in the film. What hurts me more is how Gautham sir’s financiers are targeting Naragasooran to recover their money. Later, we had learned from a few people that Gautham sir had borrowed money from financiers referring Naragasooran as his production to fund his ongoing projects (Dhanush’s Enai Nokki Paayum Thota, Vikram’s Dhruva Natchathiram). Badri Kasturi of Shraddha Entertainment funded nearly half of the production,” said Karthick Naren. “I have no money left now. I had invested everything I earned from Dhuruvangal 16 to finish Naragasooran. Although I have announced my third film Naadaga Medai, I don’t have the money required to begin the project. If a senior filmmaker like Gautham sir doesn’t understand how important a second film is to a youngster like me, it’s hurting,” Karthick added. Going public on Twitter was a choice Karthick was forced to take since he didn’t receive any response to his phone calls and messages from Gautham Menon. “I had no other option. I repeatedly tried calling him and sent messages too but in vain. There are salary dues for a lot of people. I have completed the post, and the film is ready for censor certification. I sincerely hope he sorts out the issue and the releases the movie soon.” When we tried to contact Gautham Menon, he was unavailable for comment. However, we got in touch with a bankable source from his camp; they maintain that all the issues will be resolved soon. “We really don’t know why Karthick is blowing this up. Everything is going as per the plan. We need to look out for a proper release date to ensure it reaches a wide audience and that’s the only reason for the delay.” Speaking to Tamil magazine Vikatan, Gautham said, “I have invested Rs 9 crores in the film. Every movie has a journey. We have paid 75% of Arvind Swami’s remuneration, and the due amount will be settled soon. Once it is done, he will complete the dubbing. I have so many partners who invested in the film along with me, and we all need to arrive at a consensus on the release date. We will release the film when it’s the right time for the audience. He has finished the project, and now he can move on his next. We will take care of the release. I like him and he should soar more heights as a filmmaker. The release date will be announced in 10 days.” Tipped to be an intense thriller, Naragasooran stars Arvind Swami, Shriya Saran, Sundeep Kishan, Aathmika and Indrajith Sukumaran in the lead roles.