Director Antony has accused director Lakshman of stealing his story to create the upcoming Jayam Ravi – Hansika film, Bogan. In an interview recently, Antony revealed that he’d come up with the idea for the story a long time ago and that he began filming it under the title, Halwa. Due to some production issues, the film was stalled mid-way.
Soon after this, Antony learnt that director Lakshman (who rose to fame with Romeo Juliet) had used a ‘suspiciously’ similar story in his film, Bogan. Produced by Prabhu Deva through his home banner, the film had stars like Aravind Swamy and Akshara Gowda and was said to be the official remake of Face/Off.
Right at the time of the film’s pooja, Antony lodged a complaint with the South Indian Film Writer’s Association, Southern India Cinematographer’s Association, TN Film Producer’s Council. Antony is a member of all these associations.
In an interview with Silverscreen, Antony alleged that no one from the industry came forward to help him out of this predicament. “Everybody tried to silence me with a sum of money. Even director Vikraman sir tried to keep me quiet with money. Everybody wanted the issue to go away, and were wary of approaching the concerned people to make an informed decision,” he had said.
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Antony alleged that he was attacked recently by producer Isari Ganesh’s goons. Isari Ganesh is one of the producers of Bogan. “I was pushed down by some people and attacked in broad daylight. I’ve suffered injuries both physical and mental. If it was anybody else, they’d not have spoken to the press after the kind of mental torture and agony that is being inflicted on me. I’m made of stronger stuff, and that’s why I’m coming out into the open about this issue,” he said.
Antony also plans to publish recordings of the calls he had with several influential members of the film community. In one such call, director Vikraman can be heard trying to convince Antony to accept a sum of Rs. 10 Lakhs.
Director Lakshman and Prabhu Deva were not available for comment. The film’s stars Jayam Ravi, Hansika, and Arvind Swamy are also yet to comment on the issue.