CS Amudhan's sly tweet disappoints both Atlee and Thalapathy Vijay fans

Ad man-turned-filmmaker CS Amudhan, who made an impressive debut with Tamizh Padam, is currently busy with Ratham, featuring Vijay Antony, Mahima Nambiar, and Nandita Swetha, and Remya Nambesan, in important roles.

A Twitter user, during the "ask me anything" session, had asked Amudhan to name one film, which worked well for him, as a remake. The director sarcastically responded to the tweet, saying, "Mersal". This didn't go well with the fans of Atlee and Vijay, as Mersal was an original script.

Mersal, also featuring Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menen and Samantha, hit the screens for Deepavali in 2017. Though the film opened to an overwhelming response from Vijay fans, most critics mentioned that Atlee's film reminded them of Apoorva Sagotharargal (1986). The obvious similarities between the Kamal Haasan film and Mersal were too many! Thus everybody quickly pointed them out, on the Internet. That wasn't the first time Atlee was accused of copying other films. His debut film, Raja Rani was identical to director Mani Ratnam’s, Mouna Ragam. His second film Theri was said to be lifted from Chatriyan (written and produced by Mani Ratnam). Interestingly, Kamal Haasan, who watched Mersal at a special screening, said that he found no similarities between the two films.

Atlee, whose latest film was Bigil, will collaborate with Shah Rukh Khan next. Tentatively titled (Lion), the film is expected to be based on an original script and will not be a remake of one of Atlee's previous projects. According to Cinema Express, there are contrasting reports about who will be producing the film. While some reports suggest that it will be bankrolled by SRK's Red Chillies Ent, a few others claim that the film will be produced by Karan Johar, under his Dharma Productions banner.

Lion, tipped to be a commercial thriller high on action, will also mark the Bollywood debut of Nayanthara. "Back in September 2021, Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara shot some important action sequences for Lion in Pune. After that, the team took a break for different reasons. For the past few months, rumours were rife that the film had been dropped. However, sources close to director Atlee rubbished the rumours," read a report, published by India Today.

Marathi actress Rutuja, Sanya Malhotra, Priya Mani, Yogi Babu and Sunil Grover are rumoured to play key roles in Lion. However, an official word is awaited.