Why would Sun Pictures, the production house of 'Jailer', gift exotic cars to Rajinikanth, Nelson and Anirudh? Why did P K R Pillai, producer of ‘Chithram’, gift Mohanlal a brand new Ambassador in 1988? Also, why did K T Kunjumon, the Malayali producer of the Tamil blockbuster 'Gentleman', shower expensive gifts on Shankar and his assistants in 1993? K T Kunjumon's answer is straightforward, "Those people worked hard to make the film a grand success."
Can you believe it? The true value of Rajinikanth's BMW X7 and the Porsches owned by Nelson Dilipkumar and Anirudh Ravichander is the same as that of Mohanlal's Ambassador and S Shankar's Maruti 800. They were all tokens of appreciation.
Kunjumon did not stop at the Maruti 800, he went on to gift Shankar a three-bedroom flat and gave all his assistant directors a Kinetic Honda each. He gave gold coins to the rest of the crew as well.
“I realised that I had to do something to show my token of appreciation. Maruti 800 was then considered to be a ‘superstar’ among cars. Since Shankar didn’t own a house then, I also decided to purchase a house for him,” he said.
“Most of the actors were well-off and did not need a car or a house. However, I gifted a Kinetic Honda, which was the rage then, to every assistant director who worked in the film,” he added.
Fast forward to the present. In 2017, after 'Oru Mexican Aparatha' became an industry hit, producer Anoop Kannan decided to distribute a share of profits from the film to every actor and technician.
“I started as a filmmaker, so I am aware that the success of a film depends on the efforts of every individual associated with the project. It was that humble thought that prompted me to give everyone a share of the profit,” he said. Tom Emmatty, who directed the blockbuster, was gifted the latest Innova model.
Other producers like Vinod Shoranur, who bankrolled the hit film 'Oru Vadakkan Selfie' starring Nivin Pauly, Vineeth Sreenivasan, and Aju Varghese in the lead, invested a substantial share in director G Prajith’s home following the film’s enormous success. "It was a noble gesture on Vinod's part," said Prajith.
Last year, Unni Mukundan, who made his debut as a producer with the film ‘Meppadiyan,’ gifted a Mercedes-Benz to filmmaker Vishnu Mohan after the film became a hit. Unni had also posted a heartfelt note to the director on Instagram, stating that the luxury car was not a 'gift but something the director deserved.' It should be noted that Mammootty, whose production company Mammootty Kampany had bankrolled the film ‘Rorschach,’ gifted Asif Ali a Rolex watch during the film’s success celebrations in 2022.
Anoop Kannan felt that the Malayalam film industry should not be compared to the Tamil industry, which produces back-to-back high-budget movies. “Our films are made on a smaller scale, and the profit and turnover of most of our films made here are comparatively low. So, it would not be feasible to share profits or lavish expensive gifts on the cast and crew. But there have been rare instances,” he said.
Meanwhile, K T Kunjumon felt that the trend of showering expensive gifts only on the star cast is not fair. “I am not saying not to gift expensive cars to actors like Rajinikanth, who still managed to pull off a hit even in his 70s. However, the producers should also ensure that every technician who worked behind the film benefited from their generous gesture. It’s something I believe in and what I have done.”
