India
In an exclusive interview with Latha Rajnikanth, she shares some insights on how she feels about fighting for a cause. In the four facets of Latha captured, here's a sneak peek into the second. Stay tuned for the rest.
A punch dialogue of Rajinikanth in the movie Kochadaiiyaan, goes like this: "Edhirigalai ozhikka eththaneyo vazhigal undu... mudhal vazhi, mannippu (there are many ways to get rid of your enemies... the first route is, forgiveness)." As one of the guarantors of Media One Global Entertainment, which produced the animation feature, directed by the superstar's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, least did Latha Rajinikanth realise that this flick will bring forth an enemy in the form of a challenging case to fight at court.
"Every day I wake up not knowing which way the arrow is coming," said Latha Rajinikanth, who is accused of allegedly not paying Rs 6.2 cr to Ad Bureau, the company that financed Kochadaiiyaan. "While I prepare to release statements to reveal my side of the story, it's disheartening to see news that is out without any verification," she said. Her statement said that the dispute arose out of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) concluded between M/s Mediaone and M/s Ad-Bureau advertising, under which the Ad- Bureau undertook to grant M/s Mediaone a loan of Rs 20 cr towards postproduction of the film Kochadiyaiiyaan, which was produced by M/s Mediaone. Mrs Rajnikanth doesn't have any part in the said memorandum of understanding, and it is very clear from the beginning .
Under the MOU, M/s Ad-Bureau was given full distribution rights for the film in the state of Tamil Nadu along with the minimum guaranteed profit in return for the loan amount. However, only Rs 10 cr out of Rs 20 cr was arranged under the MOU that was advanced by the Ad-Bureau.
Because of this, the release of the film Kochadiyaiiyaan was postponed by several weeks. But, till date, M/s MediaOne has repaid Rs 9.2 cr out of the total loan amount of Rs 10 cr in timely payments under the MOU and remains willing to pay the remaining Rs 80 lakhs due under the MOU.
Still, in further breach of the MOU, M/s Ad-Bureau has asked via letter dated 11 November 2014 that M/s MediaOne must pay a sum of Rs 10 cr along with interest offers of Rs 4.30 cr for six months amounting to a rate of interest of 80 per cent per annum.
Such a request is not only unsupported by the terms of the MOU, but is still also in violation of Tamil Nadu state law that prohibits collection of extreme interest, which is a Penal Offence, and a criminal complaint was given to the commissioner of police.
Last year too, Latha was accused of not paying the rent for the school she runs in Chennai. "It's all about headline mania today. There is a lot of lack of information. The language and vocabulary of the news report are deliberately and selectively placed to draw the attention of readers/viewers," she said.
However, Latha is willing to face them all with a "balanced mind". She seems to believe in a spiritually anchored life. "This is not the end, after all!" said Latha, with a smile, almost echoing the sentiment of that same dialogue in the film.
Also Read: Rajinikanth’s wife Latha in exclusive interview with MyNation: Spiritual politics runs in family
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