Chennai: It was only yesterday that actor Ranveer Singh announced his next biggie with director S Shankar – a Hindi adaptation of his Tamil film Anniyan that starred Vikram in the lead. A day after the announcement was made, the producer of the film – V Ravichandran of Aaskar Films – has released an open letter to Shankar asking him to immediately stop working on the new film. In his letter shared on social media, he has mentioned that rights to the original movie lie with him, therefore, it’s both unethical and illegal for anyone to announce a remake of the film without his consent.
A part of the letter on Twitter read, “I am utterly shocked to know that you are likely to undertake the Direction of a Hindi film by adapting the story of the movie Anniyan. You are well aware of the fact that I am the Producer of the said movie Anniyan. The entire story rights were purchased by me from writer Sujatha (alias late Rangarajan) for which full payment was done by me to him and necessary records are also available. I am the whole and sole owner of the rights of the storyline. As such, any such adoption or remaking or copying the main plot of the said movie, without my permission, is totally illegal.”
The producer also said he helped Shankar by putting his faith in him and giving him the opportunity to direct the Anniyan when he was going through a difficult phase and he shall not forget that. “Still I have provided you the opportunity to Direct the film Anniyan, after which you gave regained the lost ground, only because of my support. It is a sorry state of affairs that you have conveniently forgotten the same and without even informing me, you have tried to reap the accolades of my successful movie ‘Anniyan’ by associating yourself and adaptation of Hindi version of the same.”
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After his announcement on Wednesday, Ranveer talked to news agency PTI and said, “To lead a film like Anniyan is a dream come true for any artiste. Vikram sir, one of our country’s finest talents, an artiste who I hugely admire, gave a colossal performance in the original, one that can never be matched. I can only hope that my interpretation and rendition of the part also connect with audiences in the same way. It’s undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime performance piece, and I am ready to give this role every single ounce of my being.”
Shankar is yet to respond to the allegations.