Malayalam actor Shane Nigam approaches AMMA, refutes charges

However, when Shane expressed doubts about the length of his character, after the shoot, the director asked him to wait to see the final edited version.

Malayalam actor Shane Nigam. (Supplied)

Regarding other allegations, Shane Nigam clarified that he had to reschedule his dates as the shooting of RDX got extended. This, in turn, resulted in a clash with another movie and he had to return the advance payment.

Shane also alleged that he was “upset and angry” with the producer’s husband who treated his mother with disrespect.

Meanwhile, a letter reportedly mailed by Shane Nigam to RDX producer Sophia Paul went viral online.

In the letter, Shane Nigam raised concerns that his role was not being given the adequate importance that a lead character usually demands. Further, he “humbly requested the producer to give primary importance to his role during marketing, promotion, and branding of the movie”.

Shane also wrote that his character be “given primary importance while launching the poster and trailer, and it should be branded in such a manner that in the eyes of the viewers his role should be reflected as the lead role”.

RDX is written and directed by debutant Nahas Hidayat. It casts Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, Baiju Santhosh, Shammi Thilakan, Nishanth Sagar, and Maala Parvathu in key roles.

“I humbly request you to give primary importance to the role of mine at the stage of marketing, promotion and branding of the movie” – #ShaneNigam‘s demand from his controversial letter to #RDX producer #SophiaPaul…!! pic.twitter.com/2cDzCFxPWH

— AB George (@AbGeorge_) April 27, 2023

Sophia Paul’s complaint

In her complaint raised with the Producers’ Association, producer Sophia Paul alleged that the shooting of her upcoming movie RDX was getting stalled due to Shane Nigam.

She also pointed out the unprofessional behaviour of the actor and his mother towards her and the production team during the shoot.

‘RDX’ producer Sophia Paul. (Supplied)

“As you may be aware, the shooting of my film, which was scheduled to begin on 5 September 2018 had to be postponed due to an accident involving one of the protagonists, Anthony Varghese.

Despite having made all the necessary preparations and payments to the technicians, the shooting had to be rescheduled after the doctors advised Anthony to rest.

During the filming of a seven-day carnival and fight scene, which was a significant daily expense, Shane Nigam demanded that he and his mother would only participate in the shooting if they were given prominence in the edited footage.

As the main actor in the film, I offered to show Shane the footage but not to others due to technical issues.

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He partially agreed but then sent an email to my production company with new demands, stating that he would only continue shooting if his demands were met and signed by the producer.

The letter included demands for a free hand in film promotions and that posters should not be released without his consent.

But when I realised that it would be counterproductive to the marketing of my film, I got in touch with the Association, and it was only after B Unnikrishnan spoke to Shane that the shooting could be resumed.

Malayalam actor Sreenath Bhasi. (Instagram)

Currently, I am not sure if he will cooperate during the dubbing and promotion of the film.

I also experienced a huge loss on the final day of the shoot. In the morning, we had made all preparations to shoot a championship. Even though all the junior artists were waiting, the main artists including Shane Nigam did not arrive on time.

So, we had to cancel that location and shift to another location as per schedule by noon.

We had to take unnecessary breaks due to Shane’s indiscipline, non-cooperation, and unprofessionalism. And this has caused me and my production company great embarrassment and financial loss.”

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Sreenath Bhasi applies for AMMA membership

Meanwhile, actor Sreenath Bhasi today visited the AMMA office and applied for its membership. However, his application will be accepted only after getting the executive approval.

Bhasi’s move came after the film bodies declared that the AMMA registration number should be mentioned in the contracts signed with producers.