Shoot for Vishal’s upcoming film Ayogya, a remake of the Telugu film Temper, was stopped recently at Kooni Medu village in Vizhupuram district, according to reports.
Cinema Dinamalar says, police had to stop them because the film’s producers had not taken prior permission to shoot in the area. The shoot in Kooni Medu was said to happen on December 6, near a mosque in the area. Since the day marks the demolition of Babri Masjid, police say they had to stop the shoot as a precautionary measure.
The producers of the film however claim that they had taken permission, and the film now faces a loss of Rs 12 lakh because of the cancellation. The team and the film unit that traveled from Chennai had to go back.
Ayogya is being directed by debutant Venkat Mohan, a former assistant of AR Murugadoss. Shoot for the film began in August, and Vishal’s family, Murugaodss, and producers like GK Reddy, Kalipuli S Dhanu, KS Ravikumar had attended the pooja in ECR, Chennai. Most of the filming too has been happening in ECR.
Last month, Ayogya was in a controversy again when PMK founder S Ramadoss slammed Vishal for holding a beer bottle in the film’s first look poster.
He asked for a ban on the poster and tweeted, “What is the actor trying to tell his fans through this poster? I expect some social responsibility from the Secretary of Nadigar Sangam. I had written to him about banning scenes that show smoking, but now, I see him holding beer bottles.”
‘அயோக்யா’ திரைப்படவிளம்பரத்தில் கதாநாயகர் விஷால் பீர் புட்டியுடன் தோன்றுகிறார். நடிகர் சங்க பொதுச்செயலர் என்ற முறையில் புகைக்கும் காட்சிகளில் நடிகர்கள் நடிப்பதை தடை செய்ய வேண்டும் என கடிதம் எழுதினேன். இப்போது புகையை தாண்டி பீர் பாட்டிலுடன் நடிக்கிறார். என்னவொரு சமூகப் பொறுப்பு!
— Dr S RAMADOSS (@drramadoss) November 20, 2018
Vishal however, clarified that he was simply holding the bottle and not drinking from it.
“Holding doesn’t mean drinking. I play a cop in the film and there is a scene in which the bottle is the evidence for my investigation. That is what we tried conveying in the poster,” he said.
Ayogya is Vishal’s 26th films as an actor. Raashi Khanna plays the female lead in the film. R Parthiepan, KS Ravikumar, Sachu, Vamsi and Pooja play other roles. Sam CS is the music composer, R Karthik is the DOP, and Ruben is the editor.
The film’s original version in Telugu, Temper, released in 2015. It was an action film written by Vakkantham Vamsi and directed by Puri Jagannadh with Junior NTR and Kajal Aggarwal playing lead roles.
Ayogya was earlier expected to release on Pongal this January, along with Ajith’s Viswasam. But it has now been confirmed that Viswasam will release on January 26 and not on Pongal. This leaves Ayogya with more screens.
