RGV's crime drama Dangerous release halted, drama ensues between filmmaker and producer Natti Kumar

Anything that involves filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) is bound to invite drama and controversy and his upcoming film, Dangerous, is no exception to it. The crime drama, starring Naina Ganguly, Apsara Rani, is centred around a lesbian couple. The film was slated to hit theatres in multiple languages on April 8 but all its release plans have come to a grinding halt owing to a flurry of factors ranging from a High Court stay to non-cooperation from theatre owners owing to the film's theme. 

RGV confirming the film's postponement tweeted, "I regret to inform that we are postponing the film KHATRA DANGEROUS due to non cooperation of many theatres due to its lesbian theme ..We will proceed in all ways to fight this injustice and come at a later date." Earlier this week, two multiplex chains Inox and PVR refused to allot screens for the film, allegedly for its story revolving around lesbians, and the maker took to Twitter to share his displeasure about the same.

Later in the day, there was more drama as Hyderabad-based producer Natti Kumar earned permission from the court to stay the film's release. The producer claimed that RGV owed him and a group of financiers a sum amounting to Rs 5.3 crore, whose payment was supposedly delayed by the filmmaker despite several reminders. Natti Kumar added that RGV agreed to pay Rs 50 lakh prior to the release of his every project and has been making excuses to avoid payment for a long time.

Denying the claims made by Natti Kumar, RGV responded strongly by saying that he'll take the legal route to answer him. "His only purpose is to stay in the limelight through press meets. I don't wish to respond to his personal attack on me. If he wants to take legal action, my lawyers will take care of the rest. If he resorts to other means to threaten me too, I'm ready for it. I won't comment on him or this issue any further. The only reason behind Dangerous release postponement is with the refusal of theatre owners to screen the film and not him," the director stated.

Whether due to the court stay or the theatres' non-cooperation issue, a clarity on Dangerous' release is expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, the filmmaker's web production Dhahanam will release on MX Player on April 14.