The day actor and film producer Vishal Krishna has filed his nomination papers to contest in the RK Nagar bypoll, a group of producers led by Cheran has raised a banner of revolt against him.
Cheran, also an actor and director, addressed a media conference in Chennai on Monday threatening to stage a sit-in protest if Vishal did not resign his post as the president of the Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC).

“Either he has to withdraw his nominations or he has to resign from his post in TFPC,”Cheran said, claiming a majority of producers are for the announcement he had made and have signed the open letter addressed to him.

He said the producers do not have any objection to Vishal contesting from RK Nagar or Ashok Nagar or KK Nagar, but he should not enter into fray while heading the TFPC. “The producers’ council is an apolitical body with 1230 members but functions on the support extended by the state government. In that case, his decision to enter the poll fray will affect our council, 24 other associations, distributors and even poster boys. It will affect almost 10 lakh people,”Cheran said.

Terming Vishal’s move to contest in the by-election independently as childish, he said it was taken to raise his stature alone and leave the film industry in the lurch. “If he is not going to yield, then we will have to seek disciplinary proceedings against him,”he said.

Surrounded by small producers, Cheran also said the government after 8-long years has offered subsidy to 146 small budget films and also brought down the tax on ticket price and it if decides to revert these, the producers would be affected. “We are not insisting him to resign from his general secretary post of Nadigar Sangam because it does not have anything to do with the government,”he added, citing the cases of producers Rama Narayanan and Alagappan who stepped down from the headship soon after the change of guard in the past.

Meanwhile, the political leaders too gave their opinions regarding Vishal’s decision. VCK leader Thol.Thirumavalavan told reporters in Erode that he sees it as a foundation for his entry into politics. “Votes will split as Vishal is also contesting, but only DMK will win,”he said.

CPM leader T.K.Rangarajan dismissed it saying, “Any voter doing any kind of work can holds the right to stand as a candidate in elections.” SDPI, a Muslim outfit, that does not want to support any party in RK Nagar bypoll wondered what Vishal has done for the people with the money he earned so far. “He is showing interest in politics only to have access to power,” its state president K.K.S.M.Tehlan Baqawi said in Chennai.

Earlier, Vishal kickstarted his political journey by offering tributes at the memorial of late AIADMK leaders M.G.Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa at their memorial on the Marina. Only then did he go to the election office to file his papers. It is said AIADMK rebel candidate T.T.V.Dinakaran is behind Vishal’s candidature in the constituency which is highly populated by Telugus. AIADMK candidate and senior leader E.Madhusudanan and Vishal are Telugus.