Lyca responsible for Indian 2 delay, director Shankar tells court
Refusing to take any responsibility for the delay in releasing Indian2, director Shankar alleged the delay had occurred only because of Lyca
Flatly refusing to take any responsibility for the delay in making and releasing the much awaited action thriller Indian2, director Shankar on Tuesday alleged that the delay had occurred only because of Lyca Productions which is producing the film.
Responding to a notice issued by the Madras High Court in connection with a plea filed by the production house seeking to restrain him from taking up other projects before completing Indian 2, Shankar’s lawyer said that the director could not take any responsibility for the delay of the film as it had been caused completely by Lyca.
In his submission, Shankar’s lawyer claimed that the film was originally supposed to be produced by Producer Dil Raju. However, Lyca convinced Dil Raju and took over the production of the film, he said. Pre-production work for Indian 2 began in September 2017 and that it was decided that production of the film would begin from May 2018.
The original budget of the film was over Rs 250 crore but acceding to a request from Lyca, the production was brought down to Rs 250 crore, Shankar’s side claimed.
The project was delayed right from the start by Lyca, Shankar claimed in his plea and said that had the film been produced by Dil Raju, it would have been completed and released by now.
The director alleged that there was delay in allocating funds by Lyca. There were also delays caused because of allergies that Kamal Haasan developed to the make up and an accident that occurred on the sets of the film. This apart, there was a delay caused by the Covid 19 lockdown imposed by the government. Shankar categorically made it clear that he cannot take responsibility for any of these delays.
Stating that Lyca had wasted the time period between June 2020 till May 2021, Shankar said that he could not remain idle during this time.
Pointing out that he was ready to direct from June 1, director Shankar pleaded that the petition filed by Lyca productions be dismissed.
Justice Jeyachandran, who heard the plea, posted the case to June 4 for further hearing.
