Galatta Exclusive: Venkat Prabhu on Party's release delay controversy

Venkat Prabhu’s long-pending film Party is a multi-starrer film entirely filmed in Fiji Islands. It’s a casino-based comedy film produced by T Siva under his production banner Amma Creations. The film was supposed to release in 2018 but was postponed due to undisclosed financial reasons. During an exclusive interactive conversation with Venkat Prabhu, the director opens up about the delay of Party and about his working experiences with leading heroes' like Ajith, Suriya and Karthi:

“Since I knew Ajith sir way before Mankatha happened, it wasn’t difficult for me. I have acted with Ajith sir in Jee, I know him very well since then. So, it was very easy to work with Ajith sir. In fact, it was easy to work with actors like Suriya and Karthi too. Maybe, I would have some fears in my mind on the very first day of shoot. I think every filmmaker undergoes that tension while starting a new film. But when I was working with big heroes like Ajith or Suriya, I made sure, I didn’t let them think that I don’t know the art of filmmaking. I wanted them to feel excited during the process of shooting. So, it was fun. I have worked with a lot of artistes in my directorial career. In fact, my upcoming Party is loaded with actors from yesteryear Superstars like Sathyaraj sir, Ramya Krishnan ma’am, Nassar sir to the young bread of actors like Jai, Shiva, Regina, Sanchitha, Nivetha, Shaam and Kayal Chandran. So, to shoot a film with all these big stars together in a film was fun but at the same time very challenging. We shot in Fiji; we didn’t have any caravans. So, the entire team used to be together all the time. It was a very different experience.

Regarding Party’s release, Venkat Prabhu said - “Producer Siva sir is planning to release the film on theatre and not directly on OTT. Actually, the film was planned to hit the screens for Summer 2020 but because of this COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s release got postponed. The film is ready to release, the copy is ready. Party is a pakka theatre film, a film that you can go with your friends and have a treat. Siva sir is trying his best to release the film as soon as possible. But if this theatre lockdown gets extended even further, then I think, he might think of other options like direct OTT release. Let’s see.