Aishwarya Rajinikanth on ‘Lal Salaam’: We Lost 21 Days of Footage, It Was a Huge Irresponsibility

‘Lal Salaam’, featuring Rajinikanth in a pivotal role, opened in theatres on February 9 and ended up being a major flop. The sports drama, shot on a budget of Rs 80 crore, grossed merely Rs 36 crore globally and also failed to impress critics.

In a new interview, director Aishwarya Rajinikanth revealed that the team lost nearly 21 days of footage and termed the incident as a huge ‘irresponsibility’. She added that they reshot a few scenes but eventually had to make do with whatever they had, which affected the quality of the final product. 

“We were shocked as we lost 21 days of footage. It was a huge irresponsibility. It’s unfortunate. During the shooting, we had 500 junior artists almost every day. As a team, we were 2,000 people. We had a 10 camera set-up to shoot a cricket match. Since we didn’t have enough days, we brainstormed on camera angles to shoot a match. The entire cricket match footage was lost. It went missing,” she told Vikatan.

‘Lal Salaam’ centres on the events that transpire when the rivalry between two local cricket teams causes communal unrest. 

Its official synopsis reads: Aspiring cricketers are unfairly kicked off the team despite their talent. They must deal with and overcome this setback to achieve their dreams.

The film features Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth in the lead roles. Rajinikanth plays Moideen Bhai, an industrialist with a past, in the film. ‘Lal Salaam’ marks Aishwarya’s first collaboration with ‘Thalaivar’. This is her first feature film after ‘Vai Raja Vai’ (2015). AR Rahman is the music composer of ‘Lal Salaam’. 

Rajinikanth, meanwhile, is working on ‘Vettaiyan’. The film is being directed by TJ Gnanavel, best known for his work on Jai Bhim. The cast includes Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, and Rana Daggubati. Rajinikanth will also be doing a film with Lokesh Kanagaraj after ‘Vettaiyan’.