The actor was in Kochi to promote her upcoming film 'Shaakuntalam' where Dev Mohan plays King Dushyanta; director Aashiq Abu on 'Neelavelicham' controversy.
Samantha with Dev Mohan at the promotions of 'Shaakuntalam'. (Saaaaaprabhu2/Twitter)
South Indian actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu made headlines a few months ago after the news about her myositis, an autoimmune condition, went viral on social media.
Despite her ill health, she did the dubbing for her previous release Yashoda and even promoted the film which garnered good reviews and became a decent hit.
And now, the actor is pinning all her hopes on her forthcoming pan-Indian movie Shaakuntalam, directed by Gunasekhar and produced under his home banner Gunaa Teamworks.
Team ‘Shaakuntalam’. (Samanthaprabhu2/Twitter)
The historical drama features Samnatha as Shakuntala and Malayalam actor Dev Mohan as King Dushyanta.
The actress was in Kochi for movie promotions where she became vocal about Malayalam actors and the industry.
Samantha was all praise for actor Fahadh Faasil with whom she had shared the screen space in the Tamil movie Super Deluxe (2019).
“Malayalam actors are always inspiring. When I feel that my acting is getting repetitive or boring, I watch Malayalam films. When I was working with Fahadh Faasil in Super Deluxe, I was truly shocked and blown away by his performance. There is a freshness in him.”
Samantha said she wants to work with Fahadh Faasil again in a full-length movie. “Every single Malayalam actor/actress is great. They have an edge in their acting,” she said.
The 35-year-old also revealed that her mother is from Alleppey in Kerala. “My mom did not teach me Malayalam. But I promise you that I will learn Malayalam soon and dub my voice if I get an opportunity to work in Malayalam with my favourite actors,” she avowed.
Issss true 🙌 https://t.co/kTbIUQ9HQB
— Samantha (@Samanthaprabhu2) April 2, 2023
About her upcoming period film Shaakuntakam, Samantha said the whole crew is proud of the project.
“We worked hard for this movie. We hope everybody will like it. I always dreamt of doing a film that is far away from reality and disconnects from day-to-day problems and gets transported to a different world. That’s what my director did with Shaakuntalam,” Samantha said.
Shaakuntalam also casts Aditi Balan in a key role.
The movie will be released in theatres on 14 April. Mani Sharma is the music director and Prawin Pudi is the editor.
Clicks from the Press Interaction of Team #Shaakuntalam @ LuLu Mall, Kochi 📸🤍@Gunasekhar1 @Samanthaprabhu2 @ActorDevMohan #ManiSharma @neelima_guna @neeta_lulla @GunaaTeamworks @SVC_official @tipsofficial @shreyasgroup#ShaakuntalamOnApril14 ✨ pic.twitter.com/PfLAaJcenh
— Gunaa Teamworks (@GunaaTeamworks) April 1, 2023
On Sunday, 2 April, Director Aashiq Abu denied the allegations that the songs from the 1964 movie Bhargavi Nilayam were used in his new film Neelavelicham without permission.
The daughter of music composer late MS Baburaj sent a legal notice to director Aashiq Abu and composer Biji Bal, accusing them of using the songs from Bhargavi Nilayam in their Neelavelicham. A complaint was also lodged with the Cultural Minister.
In the complaint, it was said that the new version of Baburaj’s songs in Neelavelicham destroyed the uniqueness of the original songs.
A poster of ‘Neelavelicham’. (aashiqabu/Instagram)
Meanwhile, in a press release, Aashiq Abu clarified that all rights and permission were acquired to recreate and reuse the song of Bhargavi Nilayam.
“OPM Cinemas, the producers of Neelavelicham, followed all legal procedures, signed an agreement, and paid the required compensation to obtain the rights to rightfully reproduce those songs. We have all the relevant documents and records of all agreements, new and old,” the filmmaker said in the statement.
According to the statement, the production company that owned the copyright for the 1964 movie Bhargavi Nilayam acquired the necessary rights and permission to recreate and reuse its songs.
It also included the right to use new singers or change the orchestration.
They obtained these rights from both the lyricists P Bhaskaran, and the descendants of music director MS Baburaj, who were authorised to grant them.
The director also noted that as a tribute to the eminent musician MS Baburaj, the crew duly informed Sabira, his eldest daughter, of our intention to reproduce them for use in our new film Neelavelicham.
“We only began the project after receiving her wishes, affection, and consent. We believe that misunderstanding and lack of understanding of the facts are the reasons for current disputes and we are trying to clarify the issue amicably with MS Baburaj’s family.”
Neelavelicham is based on a novel by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. It has Tovino Thomas and Rima Kallingal in the lead. Roshan Mathew, Chemban Vinod Jose, Shine Tom Chacko, and Rajesh Madhavan appear in major roles.
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