CONFIRMED: Kamal Haasan To Team Up With Lyca Productions, Is It Finally Time For 'Marudhanayagam'?
News
oi-Avinash
By Avinash
When
Lyca
Productions
decided
to
bankroll
India's
biggest
project
Enthiran
2
(2.O),
they
were
bombarded
with
many
questions,
with
the
most
important
of
them
all
being
about
their
long
term
plan
of
producing
Indian
flicks.
Not
only
did
the
representatives
of
Lyca
declared
that
they
intend
to
finance
more
projects
in
India,
they
also
gave
away
their
keenness
on
funding
high
budget
movies
here.
Based
On
A
Biography
Eminent
writer
late
Sujatha
had
revealed
that
nearly
80
percent
of
the
film
would
be
based
on
Samuel
Charles
Hill's
biography
of
Muhammed
Yusuf
Khan
also
known
as
'Marudha
Nayagam'.
Roping
In
Queen
Elizabeth
II!
Kamal
Haasan
managed
to
rope
in
Queen
Elizabeth
II
to
appear
as
the
chief
guest
at
the
launch
of
the
project,
which
took
place
at
the
MGR
Film
City
on
16th
October
1997.
The
Original
Cast
The
original
cast
included
Kannada
actor
Vishnuvardhan,
Nassar,
Om
Puri
and
Amrish
Puri.
While
Hollywood
actress
Kate
Winslet
was
offered
the
lead
female
role
of
Marsha,
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Rajinikanth
were
approached
to
play
guest
roles.
Technical
Crew
Michael
Westmore
and
his
apprentice
Barry
Cooper
were
roped
in
to
take
care
of
the
make-up
department. The
graphics
of
the
film
were
controlled
by
Pentafour.
Sabu
Cyril
was
appointed
head
of
art
direction
and
Ravi
K
Chandran
was
roped
in
as
the
cameraman.
Music
It
was
announced
that
music
composing
would
be
a
collaborative
effort
between
Ilaiyaraaja
and
Andrew
Lloyd
Webber
with
prominent
Carnatic
singer,
MS
Subbalakshmi
singing
for
the
film.
Filming
Official
filming
began
in
Velangudi
on
10th
August
1998
with
a
scene,
where
a
companion
of
the
lead
character,
played
by
Kamal
Haasan,
is
hanged
prompting
a
brief
altercation.
Problems
Galore
Works
suddenly
ceased
after
a
British
company
that
had
planned
to
co-produce
the
film
backed
out
and
the
film
has
been
indefinitely
postponed
since.
The
Hunt
For
Financiers
Kamal
Haasan
met
American
producers
during
his
visit
to
Los
Angeles
in
June
2006
to
try
and
find
a
financier
for
the
film,
but
the
talks
were
unfruitful.
The
Resurrection
Games
The
star
actor
announced
that
he
intends
to
restart
work
on
the
film
in
2012,
mentioning
that
the
movie
could
be
made
within
a
budget
of
150
Crores,
and
may
feature
contemporary
leading
actor
Rajinikanth
in
another
role.
Ready
To
Be
Screened
Kamal
Haasan
also
revealed
that
about
30
minutes
of
the
film
is
ready
to
be
screened
and
that
remaining
1
hour
and
15
minutes
would
be
shot
whenever
the
film
is
revived.
Not
surprisingly,
speculations
were
rife
that
Lyca
Productions
may
bankroll
Kamal
Haasan's
dream
project
Marudhanayagam,
since
the
film,
which
went
on
floors
way
back
in
1997,
had
to
be
stalled
owing
to
financial
issues.
Now
that
Lyca
is
willing
to
produce
extortionate
movies,
the
hearsay
of
Kamal
Haasan
joining
hands
with
them
to
revive
Marudhanayagam
seemed
rational.
But
that
was
few
months
before,
now,
it
is
certain
that
the
legendary
actor
will
team
up
with
one
of
the
most
prestigious
production
companies.
"Lyca
is
proud
to
associate
with
Ulaganayagan
Kamalhassan
avargal",
Raju
Mahalingam,
the
Creative
Head
of
Lyca
posted
on
his
social
media
page
along
with
a
picture
of
himself,
Subaskaran
(Founder
&
Chairman
of
Lyca)
and
Kamal
Haasan.
Though
it
is
still
not
clear
on
what
this
exciting
team
will
work
on,
chances
are
that
they
might
revive
the
long-stalled
project.
Interestingly,
Ayngaran
International
had
posted
a
revamped
poster
of
Marudhanayagam
on
their
official
Twitter
page,
giving
rise
to
speculations
that
they
may
co-produce
the
flick.
That
too
is
a
possibility
as
Ayngaran
International
and
Lyca
Productions
have
jointly
bankrolled
movies
in
the
past,
prime
example
being
Ilayathalapathy
Vijay's
Kaththi.
Marudhanayagam,
a
historical
film
loosely
based
on
the
life
of
Muhammed
Yusuf
Khan,
a
17th
century
warrior,
was
planned
on
a
lavish
budget
of
85
Crore
rupees
(an
equivalent
of
₹500
Crore
in
2015).
Kamal
Haasan
had
reportedly
spent
around
a
whopping
1.5
Crores
on
a
scene
featuring
a
battle
sequence.
The
film
subsequently
came
to
a
standstill
as
the
actor-producer
couldn't
cope
with
the
inflating
budget.
Click
on
the
slides
above
to
know
more
about
Marudhanayagam,
along
with
some
mind-boggling
stills
from
the
movie.