Actress Aishwarya Rajesh has opted out of Shankar’s Kamal Haasan-starrer Indian 2 due to date clashes. The film, co-starring Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth and Rakul Preet Singh, began shoot this month.
Following speculations that she was approached for the film, she said in a report by Times of India, “I couldn’t work out the dates. We mutually agreed to part ways. I feel really bad I missed out on working with Shankar sir and Kamal sir. It was a dream project for me. I wish I get a chance to work with them again.”
Aishwarya was supposed to have started working on Indian 2 months ago, but the film, which was scheduled to begin in January, faced many delays and she moved on to her other projects.
She is currently busy with a number of films including Namma Veetu Pillai, Mis Match, Vaanam Kottatum, and a film with Vijay Deverakonda. This week, she had two film releases – Kousalya Krishnamurthy, the Telugu remake of Kanaa, and Mei in Tamil.
The shoot for Indian 2 started on August 12 with Siddharth and Rakul Preet Singh, and Kamal Haasan joined the team on August 15. They filmed in Kotturpuram and Ambattur in Chennai and will move to Hyderabad soon.
Director Shankar also released the second-look poster of the film, featuring Kamal Haasan as Senapathy from the original.
— Shankar Shanmugham (@shankarshanmugh) August 15, 2019
Actor Vivekh recently joined the cast and tweeted that it was his dream to work on this film. He will be seen onscreen with Kamal for the first time in his career.
நிகழும் வரை சொப்பனம்; நிகழும் போதோ பக்குவம். 32 ஆண்டுகள் தந்த நிதானம். முழுமையான ஈடுபாட்டுடன் உழைப்பதே இக்கணப் பிரதானம். எப்போதும் போல் உங்கள் ஆதரவை வேண்டுகிறேன். கமல் சார் க்கு என் அன்பு; ஷங்கர் அவர்களுக்கு என் நன்றி. லைக்கா வுக்கு என் வாழ்த்துக்கள்?? miles to go b4 I sleep!
— Vivekh actor (@Actor_Vivek) August 21, 2019
The sequel of Indian (1996), co-stars Kajal Aggarwal, who reportedly trained in Kalaripayattu to prepare for her part. Siddharth may play Senapathy’s son in the film, and Rakul Preet Singh is said to be paired opposite him. Priya Bhavani Shankar recently also confirmed that she is part of the cast.
Cinematography is by Rathnavelu, who has replaced Ravi Varman who was initially on board. The film has music by Anirudh Ravichander and editing by Sreekar Prasad, and is likely to wrap up shoot in six months.
