Producer Suresh Kamatchi has announced that actor Silambarasan is no longer part of director Venkat Prabhu’s political thriller Maanaadu, co-starring Kalyani Priyadarshan.
The producer earlier said the film was facing delays because Simbu was busy with other projects. He told Silverscreen today that he is not part of the project, and they will begin work soon with a new actor. “The decision had to be taken due to the repeated delays,” he said.
In a press note this morning, he said, “Simbu gave me the responsibility of producing the film with him and I thank him for that. But the film has been facing delays and I don’t want things to get bitter with time. I believe in starting on schedule, with dedication to the work. We took this decision since there was no sign of starting.”
He added, “I could not give up the film. Simbu’s affection for us will continue and I thank all his fans for the love. Venkat Prabhu’s directorial Maanaadu produced by me will have a new beginning.”
The film was announced by Venkat Prabhu in December 2018, and a first-look poster was released.
The moment all you #Strfans waiting for!!! We are really proud to announce our next #strvp title!! It’s #strmaanaadu #maanaadu #aVPpolitics #vp9 @sureshkamatchi @Deepanboopathy @Vijayakumar1959 @subbu6panchu with all your love and blessings!! #titleposter pic.twitter.com/mg5NWqm0YH
— venkat prabhu (@vp_offl) July 10, 2018
The director said in an interview to Firstpost, “STR and I have been talking about a collaboration for a long time now. He called me one day when I narrated the outline of the script and his character, and he liked the idea and gave his nod. This will be a different experience for STR, and his fans will find his character exciting.”
The film was set to begin in February 2019 and release this summer, but was postponed. Reports also speculated that the project was shelved, but producer Suresh Kamatchi took to Twitter to put the rumours to rest. He said STR was in the US to get in shape for the role.
Kalyani Priyadarshan came on board for the female lead. Yuvan Shankar Raja is the music composer, and cinematography is by PC Sreeram.
Can’t wait to bring that amazing script to life! @vp_offl #STR @sureshkamatchi#maanaadu
— Kalyani Priyadarshan (@kalyanipriyan) March 29, 2019
Due to unknown reasons, the film did not being even after STR returned to India. Director Venkat Prabhu later moved on to work on his new web-series with Kajal Aggarwal.
