If the troubles faced by Vijay’s ‘Master’ were attributed by a few to the movie’s first look poster, which looked blurred with the protagonist appearing perplexed by keeping his hand on his forehead, ‘Indian 2’ too had been facing more hurdles, and some people point out to the movie’s poster, in which Kamal Haasan was seen in a similar manner in the midst of old books and a laptop.
While it remains debatable that whether posters could create such issues to their respective movies, one has to recall the problems faced by ‘Master’ and ‘Indian 2’. Mykollywood.com had already published a detailed article on the travails of ‘Master’.
And, as far as ‘Indian 2’ is concerned, the mega budget project involving big names like Kamal Haasan, director Shankar and Lyca Productions, had been witnessing one hurdle after another.
First the shoot was delayed due to various reasons. Then a ghastly mishap took place on the sets of the movie, killing three persons. Then the shoot of the film came to a halt due to coronavirus lockdown.
Some days ago, there were reports in a few sections of the media that the makers of ‘Indian 2’ were planning to shelve the project. However, it emerged on Tuesday that with the Tamil Nadu government giving permission for post-production works to resume despite the ongoing lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the works of ‘Indian 2’ had got a restart.
It is said that since Monday, the editing work of ‘Indian 2’ is taking place at two places, in a bid to catch up the missed time. While wishing the project all success, Mykollywood.com takes a look at some troubled projects of Kamal Haasan which are yet to see the light of the day.
MARUDHANAYAGAM
‘Marudhanayagam’ is a long-delayed historical drama film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan. The film, which started in August 1997 with an exclusive launch by Queen Elizabeth, originally pulled together several prominent names across Indian cinema as its principal cast and crew.
However, after becoming delayed in 1999, the film has not continued production. Kamal Haasan had considered directing a historical film for a period of four to five years and contemplated doing a historical musical on the lines of Ambikapathy (1937), with the idea of making a film which had only verses for dialogue.
Writer Sujatha then suggested that Haasan looked at a folk ballad edited by Tamil scholar Vanamamalai, which introduced them to the historical figure of Muhammed Yusuf Khan, an 18th-century warrior. Haasan immediately agreed to the prospect and felt that the story had the potential to make a good historical film, with the appeal of depicting the rise from the nadir to the top of Khan’s life.
Sujatha revealed that nearly 80% of the film would be adapted from Samuel Charles Hill’s biography of Khan, also known as Marudha Nayagam, and to only use imagination where no solid or substantial information was available, such as on matters concerning his conversion to Islam.
SABAASH NAIDU
‘Sabaash Naidu’ in Tamil and Telugu, titled ‘Shabhash Kundu’ in Hindi, is an unreleased action comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Kamal Haasan.
Starring Haasan in the lead, he will reprise the role of Balram Naidu (a Telugu RAW Officer), a spin off of one of the characters which he played in ‘Dasavathaaram’ (2008).
The film also stars his daughter Shruti Haasan and Ramya Krishnan in major roles.The film was shot in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages simultaneously, and the film’s principal photography commenced in June 2016 at Los Angeles, United States. The film’s music will be composed by Ilaiyaraaja and Jaya Krishna Gummadi will be the cinematographer.
The film was to be directed by T K Rajeev Kumar whose debut directorial was a Kamal Haasan starrer ‘Chanakyan’ released in 1989, but Kumar felt ill on the fourth day of the schedule and Haasan had to direct a song to avoid the delay, and later officially took over as the director.
THALAIVAN IRUKKIRAAN
This was first reported in the media in November 2008 as Kamal Haasan’s next project. In January 2012, the film resurfaced with Kamal Haasan confirming that the film would be simultaneously made in Hindi under the title of Amar Hain.
The media reported that the film would be produced by Aascar Ravichandran, with actors Mohanlal, Ajith Kumar, Ravi Teja and Katrina Kaif also in the cast, though this later proved to be untrue.
After three years of inactivity, in June 2015, Kamal Haasan announced that he was reviving the film and that Saif Ali Khan would feature alongside him in a leading role.
MARMAYOGI
‘Marmayogi’ was first pondered by Kamal Haasan after the release of ‘Aalavandhan’ (2001), however nothing proceeded. After a four-year sabbatical from directing films since ‘Virumaandi’ (2004), Kamal Haasan announced ‘Marmayogi’ as his next project after the completion of ‘Dasavathaaram’ (2008).
The film was planned as a bilingual Hindi-Tamil period film, set in the 7th century. Production house Pyramid Saimira along with Haasan’s company Raaj Kamal Films International were set to produce the venture, and work began in late 2007. But the project did not proceed.
by Naveen
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