Director Hits Out At Cricket League

National Award winner Seenuramasamy is miffed that the recent Celebrity Cricket League has put his hero, Vishnu, out of action

The Chennai team might have won the celebrity cricket cup, but it looks like not everyone in Kollywood is happy. And the foremost among them is director Seenuramasamy, whose film’s shooting has been affected by the tournament.

The director, who has cast actor Vishnu, a key player in the Chennai team, as the lead in his film Neer Paravai, produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, will now have to wait for more than a month before resuming shooting, thanks to an injury suffered by the actor while batting in the final match.

The actor had revealed on his micro-blogging page that the nature of his injury was a major fracture. “Don’t know whether to feel sad about getting hit or happy about winning. But we won and that’s more important,” he tweeted and added that he will have to undergo surgery and require six weeks to recuperate.

Says an irate Seenu, “Already, I have lost valuable days of shooting due to the wage issue between FEFSI and the producers. And when the government stepped in to resolve the issue, I decided to resume shoot tentatively by February 20. But now, my film’s hero has gotten himself injured after playing in the league and will not be available for the next six weeks. And, the producer and I are forced to wait till he returns.”

Seenu also adds that that cricket is a sport where injuries happen frequently, even for professional players. “Cricketer Raman Lamba died after suffering an injury during net practice. When that is the case, our stars, who are not professionals, are playing with an actual cricket ball with little protection. I caught the matches on TV and I could see some stars not even bothering to wear helmets while batting. The risks in such circumstances are too high to be ignored,” he says and asks, “Are these stars insured? What happens to their films? Will they be insured as the producer loses money and manpower in the process?”

The director feels that the tournament, which is supposed to be a form of entertainment that brings together people from various film industries, is actually only festering ill will. “The opposite team players are being considered as rivals and there is the lurking danger of this intense rivalry spilling off the field,” he warns.

Now, the National Award winner wants the various film bodies in the industry to monitor the tournament. “The producers’ council, directors’ union and the Nadigar Sangam must look into these issues and come up with safeguards so that film production, which is the prime responsibility of these stars, does not get affected. For one, they could replace cricket balls with tennis balls to reduce the risk of injury. If the organizers do not agree to their terms, they should be strict enough to even cancel the tournament,” he says.

Photo: Johan Sathyadas

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