Sudha Kongara moves Madras High Court claiming unpaid fees of ₹8.39 crore for Parasakthi film

Film director Sudha Kongara on Tuesday moved the Madras High Court under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act over ₹8.39 crore allegedly due to her as remuneration for the Tamil film Parasakthi. [Sudha Kongara v. Dawn Pictures]

Kongara has sought interim protection from the Court, claiming that despite the release of Parasakthi and invoices being raised, a substantial part of the amount payable to her remains unpaid. She also sought a stay on release of the film Idhayam Murali, contending that it was produced by Dawn pictures, the makers of Parasakthi.

Justice Kumaresh Babu directed that there should be no satellite release of Parasakthi till July 8. He also directed the respondent to file its counter by July 7 on Kongara’s plea to restrain the July 10 release of Idhayam Murali.

Appearing for Kongara, counsel submitted that the total consideration payable to her under the agreement was ₹15 crore. GST was payable separately, taking the total amount to ₹17.70 crore. The Court was told that only ₹9.31 crore had been paid, leaving ₹8.39 crore outstanding.

Kongara’s case is that the agreement specifically recorded that she had transferred the entire intellectual property in relation to Parasakthi. However, despite the film having already been released, the full consideration had not been paid.

Counsel further argued that the same respondent was now proceeding with the release of Idhayam Murali, slated for July 10, while claiming inability to clear Kongara’s dues.

Kongara’s counsel also submitted that the respondent had declared Parasakthi a success and claimed that the film had made ₹100 crore, but had still failed to pay the balance amount. He said that Kongara had approached the Court well before the release of Idhayam Murali so that the respondent could not later argue that the plea was filed at the last minute.

“They should not come at that point of time and say that you are coming at the back end of the release. That is why I have come much in advance.”

It was clarified that the OTT release of Parasakthi had already taken place and that the relief pressed in relation to Parasakthi was confined to its satellite release.

The matter will be heard next on July 8.

Parasakthi, directed by Kongara and produced by Dawn Pictures, is a Tamil political drama starring Sivakarthikeyan, Ravi Mohan, Atharvaa and Sreeleela. The film released in January 2026 and was reported to have crossed ₹100 crore worldwide within 11 days of its release.

Advocates Nityesh Natraj and Vaibhav Venkatesh represented Kongara.