‘Vilayath Buddha’ runtime trimmed. Unfair to target film over issues with actor: Producer Sandip Senan

'Vilayath Buddha,' directed by debutant Jayan Nambiar and starring Prithviraj and Shammi Thilakan, is currently playing in theatres. While the film saw a strong opening on its first day, its box office collections dropped drastically over the weekend. The film has faced a wave of negative publicity, with many criticising the duration of the movie and storyline, prompting the film's producer, Sandip Senan, to take action.

Sandip has approached the cyber police in Kochi to investigate the online smear campaign targeting the film. Sandip, speaking to Onmanorama, expressed his frustration, stating that the film’s performance has drastically declined, and as a producer, he feels disheartened by the situation. "The negative comments about the film's runtime led us to trim it by 15 minutes and re-submit it for re-certification. We've been screening the revised version since Monday. However, there seems to be a deliberate effort to degrade the film. From a producer’s perspective, it’s deeply unfair to pull down a movie simply because someone has an issue with a particular actor. The whole project is being undermined because of this," he said.

Sandip also revealed that he has filed a case against a YouTube channel for spreading defamatory content about the film. "I want to find out who is behind this campaign. I've seen numerous identical comments posted under our promotional material. As a producer, how am I supposed to survive in this industry if we have to worry about coordinated hate campaigns targeting actors and films?" he added.

He said is yet to speak with Prithviraj regarding the incident and added that he decided to file the case in his capacity as a producer. Sandip has bankrolled some critically-acclaimed films, ‘Thondimuthalum Driksaskhiyum’ and ‘Saudi Velakka’, among others. ‘Vilayath Buddha’ is based on writer G R Indugopan’s novel of the same name and revolves around a sandalwood smuggler Double Mohanan, and a retired school teacher Bhaskara Menon who have a face-off over a sandalwood tree. Actress Priyamvada and Anu Mohan also play pivotal roles in the movie.