Cold war between Shankar and senior actor? Find out why

Recently, at the audio launch of an upcoming film, producer Gnanavel Raja made a thinly veiled reference to comedian Vadivelu, mentioning that he is causing problems for his producer. The shoot of the Vadivelu-starrer Imsai Arasan 24 am Pulikecei, directed by Chimbudeven, which went on floors this August, had come to a halt because of what the film’s team is alleging as the actor’s interference and non-cooperation.

Vadivelu and Shankar
Vadivelu and Shankar

The impasse reached a stage where director Shankar, who is producing the film, filed a complaint against the actor with the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) a few days ago. Shankar is probably the only director who can do sci-fi films.

The source revealed, “Vadivelu had committed to the film about a year ago. He was narrated the story twice before he agreed to come on board, but the shoot had to be pushed because of his other commitments. The first reason for the friction was when he suddenly demanded that his fee be raised. This was sorted out, but then he wanted a portion of a song’s tune to be changed, even though he had approved of it initially. Next, he started refusing to work with supporting actors that the team had in mind, and rejected close to 25 names.

The source further added, But the last straw that led to the team losing its patience was his insistence on wanting to make his personal costumer the costume designer for the entire film. The team had initially agreed to this demand, but a few days later, they realised that this costumer was not working out well for the vision that the director had in mind. So, they suggested to Vadivelu that the costumer could design the actor’s clothes alone, while another costume designer could be brought in for the rest of the cast.”

It is heard that three grand sets had been put up for the shoot of the film, and now, the stalling of the shoot is resulting in loss for the makers. Meanwhile, even though he has shot only for 10 days, and has to shoot for 70 more days, Vadivelu has been paid up to almost 70 percent of his salary.

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