One of the biggest hits in Vadivelu’s career was Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi. The film was directed by Chimbu Devan and produced by S Shankar under his banner S Pictures. The historical comedy was released in 2006 to a massive response and after more than a decade its makers decided to go in for a sequel.
The shooting of the sequel, Imsai Arasan 24am Pulikesi, did commence on August 23 last year but was stalled a few days later after allegations from the makers over Vadivelu’s intervention in almost every department of the film.
Following these reports, the project was stalled for a few months and only after the Nadigar Sangam got involved did Vadivelu come out and speak about the various allegations against him.
In a letter to the Nadigar Sangam, Vadivelu accused the makers of Imsai Arasan 24am Pulikesi of wasting his dates and clarified that he did not want to work with them.
“I gave them my dates till December 2016, but the shoot got delayed for various reasons and went on the floors very late. They changed my costume designer. They belittled me by filing a complaint against me in the Tamil Film Producers’ Council. Due to their delay in the commencement of the project, I couldn’t act in a few films which have cost me heavily.”
After waiting for several months, with no signs of the shooting resuming, director-producer Shankar had approached the Tamil Film Producers’ Council with a complaint. He pointed out that he had spent Rs 9 crore on the shooting of the sequel but Vadivelu, the lead star in the film, failed to cooperate.
In a counter to the complaint, Vadivelu stated that he would resume shooting if the dues to the tune of Rs 2 crore owed to him are settled by the producer.
According to a report in TOI, TPFC members spoke to Vadivelu and he allegedly asked for an additional Rs 1 crore to complete the work on 24am Pulikesi. In response, the Council is reported to have given the actor two options – either he completes the film without any conditions or pays Rs 9 crore to the production team. Vadivelu has been given a week’s time to take action.
While Parvathy Omanakuttan was signed to star opposite Vadivelu, the film also features a bevy of stars in the supporting cast. Ghibran was roped in to compose the music.
With the intervention of the TFPC, hopefully all issues between the filmmakers and Vadivelu will be resolved at the earliest.
(Content provided by Digital Native)