Producer Sandra Thomas to take legal recourse after rejection of nominations for KFPA office-bearer election

The nomination papers filed by film producer Sandra Thomas for the post of president and treasurer of the Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) were rejected here on Monday.

The scrutiny of the nominations for the election to the executive committee of the producers’ body witnessed dramatic scenes as Ms. Thomas challenged the decision, alleging that the returning officer was acting at the behest of a few persons who had been controlling the apex body of producers for long.

Her nomination papers were rejected on the grounds that she did not meet the eligibility criteria for contesting to the post of a key office-bearer. The returning officer claimed that she has only produced two movies under her production banner named Sandra Thomas Productions. However, the rules permitted her to contest for the post of member of the executive committee.

Citing bylaws

Ms. Thomas rejected the contention stating that she was a managing partner of another firm and the films made by it were censored under her name. She said the bylaws permitted a person having three movies censored in their name to contest the election.

A war of words erupted when she raised doubts over the impartiality of the returning officer and producer G. Suresh Kumar countered it. She later told mediapersons that she would approach the court against the returning officer’s decision. She also challenged her opponents to defeat her through elections and not by adopting shortcuts.