Vikram’s highly anticipated film, Iru Mugan, has passed the censor board with a U/A certificate. Directed by Anand Shankar of Arima Nambi fame, the film will release on 8 September. The film was earlier slated for a 1 September release.
With most filmmakers aiming for a U certificate from the board, Iru Mugan‘s U/A certificate makes the film ineligible to seek 30 per cent tax exemption.
Since July 2011, stricter norms on entertainment tax have come into force. According to this, only films which are given the U certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification will be eligible for tax exemption. Bearing this in mind, most directors choose to re-edit their films, taking away any content that may be deemed objectionable by the CBFC.
According to reports, director Aanand Shankar will not send his film to the revising committee and is planning to release his film in its current form.
Irumugan has Vikram in dual roles – as RAW officer Akhilan and the transgender villain, Love. Set in present day Malaysia, the film follows Akhilan’s efforts to nab Love. Much of the film’s shooting was done in Kashmir.
Initially, the film faced a few delays with actors, producers, and composers opting out of the project. Kajal Aggarwal and Priya Anand were signed on to portray the lead actresses, while Manush Nandan and Anirudh Ravichander were approached to take care of the film’s cinematography and music respectively.
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Due to some production issues, Priya Anand walked out of the film, with Bindu Madhavi announced as her replacement. These unexpected developments effectively stopped the team’s Malaysia shoot and production was stalled. Eventually Nayanthara and Nithya Menen were finally roped in, with music composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film also has Nasser, Riythvika, and Karunakaran in supporting roles.
Produced by Shibu Thameens, Iru Mugan is expected to be one of the biggest releases of the year. The film had a grand audio and trailer launch on 1 August at Sathyam Cinemas, with many A-list actors in attendance.