Chiranjeevi has agreed to star in the remake of Mohanlal-starrer ‘Lucifer’ which was a big hit in Malayalam. Saaho director Sujeeth was roped in for the project. The megastar is unhappy with the way the adaptation has been progressing.
Work on 152nd movie of Megastar Chiranjeevi titled ‘Acharya’ slated to release next year was temporarily stalled due to outbreak of Coronavirus. Simultaneously, Chiranjeevi green signaled the remake of Malayalam political thriller Lucifer which starred Mohanlal. He was impressed by the storyline and thought it to be suitable for being remade according to the liking of Telugu audiences. Chiranjeevi has involved himself in the project since the beginning and is taking keen interest in the scripting process. There is talk in the town that Saaho director Sujeeth was brought on board and entrusted with the job of adapting the story with elements and characters that are closer to Telugu politics.
Sources say that Sujeeth has been spending considerable time working on the project. Recently, Chiranjeevi sat down with Sujeeth for long discussions over the climax portion which is the highlight of the movie. During the many conversations, Chiranjeevi is apparently unhappy with the way the climax is being shaped by Sujeeth. He has suggested the young director to add a lot of entertainment sequences and make it appealing to the mass audiences who enjoy song, dance and fight sequences that are typical to the industry. The megastar is irked that the current story will appeal only to class audiences since it has a lot of action sequence and less of mass elements. Sujeeth is currently working on incorporating the changes into the story and is getting ready to make a presentation to Chiranjeevi.
It is known that Ram Charan Tej is producing the movie.
Director being at the receiving end is not new
Chiranjeevi’s 150th movie ‘Khaidi No. 150’ was directed by VV Vinayak. Sye Raa directed by Surendar Reddy followed. There was news that Chiranjeevi was furious over the production process and the way it was handled by the director. The acrimony between the two led to Chiranjeevi wanting to replace the director with Raghavendra Rao. The veteran filmmaker convinced him not to do so because it could jeopardize the project. VV Vinayak also could not make up his mind to take up the project midway. At one point, Chiranjeevi wanted to retain Surendar Reddy’s name and tried ghost-directing the movie with someone else, but the ploy didn’t work either. Eventually, differences between the two camps were sorted and Surendar Reddy continued to direct the film.
If there are differences between Chiranjeevi and Sujeeth at the script stage itself, industry insiders opine that two will walk a rough road in the future.
