The Tamil Film Producers’ Council may be fresh off from launching of tickets for Ilaiyaraaja 75, a tribute planned for the veteran composer but trouble seems to be brewing for TFPC President Vishal who has been under the scanner even earlier for planning the tribute without everyone's consent.
Recent developments indicate that a court summon has been sent to actor Vishal in a defamation case filed by actor Simbu against producer Michael Rayappan. Vishal has been summoned to file his response to Simbu's claim that TFPC along with the South Indian Artistes' Association (SIAA) (of which Vishal is the general secretary) tried to illegally intervene the issue between him and Anbanavan Adangathavan Asarathavan producer.
Added to this a video of Raja Ranguski producers handing out a letter at the TFPC office demanding Vishal's resignation and venting out their frustrations at the inactivity of the TFPC President has surfaced on the internet.
Vishal has been in trouble for quite sometime now and last month some producers even gathered and locked down the TFPC office and handed over the keys to the Police Station, applying for an external audit. Several of Vishal's one-time supporters believed that his practice of not including other members in the council's decisions is what has snow-balled into major rifts.
Producer T. Siva even weighed in on this situation recently and said that Vishal as a leader has created tension between the film industry and the Tamil Nadu government, which has now hampered the smooth relations the council once shared with the government.