X: Past Is Present makers to sue Drishyam Films over unpaid dues

Little is known about this independent film, but a year after its release, X: Past Is Present, a rare film that was directed by 11 filmmakers, is making news for all the wrong reasons. Sudhish Kamath, one of the 11 and a co-producer of the film, is livid with Drishyam Films founder Manish Mundra for not clearing their dues. He also accused Drishyam of copyright infringement.

Kamath launched a social media attack on Mundra. He and the other directors have also initiated legal action against Mundra.

Kamath claimed that Mundra had taken money from all the directors but wanted sole producer credit for the film. The director expressed shock at how Mundra distributed the film without their consent.

Backing Kamath, writer-critic Raja Sen, one of the 11 directors of the film, said, “I can confirm that none of the directors was paid any part of the direction fees.”

Asked why it took all the directors so long to take action against Drishyam Films, Sen said, “We were assured that the fees would be paid after the film was distributed to Netflix, but now Drishyam is shirking all its dues. We had no option but to take legal action."

X: Past Is Present featured actors like Rajat Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Anshuman Jha and Huma Qureshi. The film was not an anthology but one single story with the 11 directors making parts of it. The film was released on 15 November last year.