The Tamil remake of Kannada blockbuster Mufti, starring Simbu and Gautham Karthik in the lead, is believed to have been shelved, according to industry sources.
After shooting the first schedule in Bellary, Karnataka a few months ago, the team is yet to resume the next schedule. Reports have emerged that the project has been dropped after a fallout between producer Gnanavel Raja and Simbu.
Apparently, the producer incurred loss of Rs 40 lakh in the first schedule due to Simbu (who features in the first schedule) and he has raised complaint against him in the Producers Council.
In April, the makers said in a statement that they were thrilled to sign Simbu for the project.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be teaming up with STR for the first time. A mega budget action thriller starring Simbu and Gautham Karthik. Directed by super talented Narthan,” read the statement.
Mufti starred Shivrajkumar, Srimurali, Shanvi Srivastav and Chaya Singh. The film revolves around a police officer, played by Srimurali, who goes head to head with an underworld boss, played by Shivrajkumar.
Writer-lyricist Madhan Karky, who is also part of the project, has been roped in to write the dialogues.
It is yet unsure if the project will continue as there are also reports that Simbu might be replaced with another actor. Not long ago, Simbu was dropped upcoming Tamil political thriller Manaadu.
In a statement released in August, Manaadu producer Suresh Kamatchi said that he’s tired of waiting for the project to take off, and has finally decided to shelve the idea of making it with Simbu. He thanked Simbu for initially agreeing to be part of the project which will be directed by Venkat Prabhu.
Originally announced nearly two years ago, Manaadu was tipped to be a political thriller and was supposed to mark the Tamil debut of Kalyani Priyadarshan, who eventually was signed opposite Sivakarthikeyan in upcoming Tamil film, Hero.
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