Thiruvananthapuram, 26 June

The remark by Malayalam actor Joju George that he was not given remuneration for his cameo appearance in the 2021 film ‘Churuli’ (The Spiral) by celebrated director Lijo Jose Pellissery, was denied by the film maker in a Facebook post on Thursday.

George made the claim in a recent interview to an English daily that he was upset with the producers for the unpaid dues.

Clarifying the issue in his post, Pellissery, who is also the co-producer of the movie, also attached the details of the payment made to the actor for his three-day call sheet.

The director said the explanation was being given based on the emotional distress caused to his co-producers.

He said the film was given an ‘A’ certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and a release in theatres was difficult.

Based on a writ petition, the Kerala High Court had also made a mention about the use of expletives in the film which had prevented the producers to go for a theatrical release, he said.

The film was later released on SonyLiv in November 2021, after its premiere at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in Feburary.

Pellisseery also denied George’s claim that he did not know the character well before agreeing to act in the movie. “Thankan (his character in the film) knew exactly what he was supposed to do in the film,” he said.

The director also gave the details of payment made to Joju George for his guest appearance in the movie.

Reacting to the Facebook post, George said he had no issues with Pellissery, but he was misled by the team that the film was only meant for the festivals. “Otherwise, I would not have acted in such a film in which I had to use abusive language,” he said.

He said after the producers got big profit by selling it on OTT platform, he had approached them and complained about the remuneration, but there was no response.

George said two versions were dubbed for the film, one of which was without expletives. However, the version with abusive language was released on OTT.

“I had to face a lot of personal problems after I acted in that role. I was getting trolled by social media with the language I used in the film,” he said.

It was not merely a question of payment, but the lack of proper communication between friends, he said, adding that he had great respect for Pellissery as a director.

Pellissery, in his post, also said the film will be released in theatres if an opportunity comes.

‘Churuli’ had won critical acclaim for its visuals and complex storyline, while the use of extreme profanity in the film drew negative responses.