Actor Sivakarthikeyan has filed a petition against producer Gnanavelraja of Studio Green Films for not having paid his remuneration of ₹15 crores in full for having acted in the movie Mr Local in 2018-19 and also not remitting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) to the Income Tax Department.

The actor has asked the court to stop the producer from investing any further money in his current projects, Rebel, Chiyan 61, and Pathu Thala, and to prevent him from transferring any rights to the three films to film distributors for theatrical release or to Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms. According to the actor, he had entered into an agreement with the producer on July 6, 2018, for playing the lead role in Mr Local. His remuneration was fixed to be ₹15 crores which is to be paid in different tranches with the last of ₹1 crore to be paid before the release of the movie.

Though the movie got released on May 17, 2019, the producer had paid only ₹11 crores and the balance of ₹4 crores remained unpaid. The balance payments did not come by despite repeated reminders. Sivakarthikeyan was also slapped with a notice by the Income Tax Department on February 1 this year. he has also demanded an order to pay the TDS amount as it was not paid to the Income Tax Department.