Lyca Productions has denied backing out of director Shankar’s Indian 2, the big-budget sequel that was delayed because Kamal Haasan was busy with elections. The film is likely to resume by the end of June.
Speaking to Silverscreen, an executive from Lyca Productions said, “We are doing Indian 2, there are no issues. Reports have been drawing these conclusions without any basis. We have been held up with other work and the film will resume soon.” He also added that the budget has been finalised with director Shankar and there were never any financial constraints.
Reports this week said that Shankar had decided to do away with expensive VFX works for the film, and modified the script into a graphic design book with sketches of how he envisioned every scene. It was said that he then approached Reliance Entertainment and Sun Pictures with a copy of the script, and talks with both production houses were on.
The film went on floors in January this year, with Kajal Aggarwal joining the cast. A first-look poster featuring Kamal Haasan as Senapathy from the original film was released.
Happy #Indian2 Day ??? Shooting Starts Today!! @ikamalhaasan @shankarshanmugh @anirudhofficial @dop_ravivarman @sreekar_prasad @muthurajthangvl pic.twitter.com/tcqGckSO63
— Lyca Productions (@LycaProductions) January 17, 2019
In April, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, it was speculated that the film was shelved because Kamal was busy with elections, and so Shankar reportedly decided to begin work on his next film, also a big budget project that has been in the pipeline for many years. Jason Sanjay, actor Vijay’s son and Dhruv, actor Vikram’s son are likely star in this film. Auditions for the rest of the cast have been on, and Shankar is in talks with Reliance Entertainment to produce the film.
Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan’s post-election work will include hosting Bigg Boss 3. The promo for the show released yesterday and the contestants are being finalised. The actor had said earlier that Shankar’s Indian 2 would be his last film before he moves on to full-time politics.
