Anurag Kashyap and Chiyaan Vikram have taken to Twitter to clear the air just a day after the filmmaker revealed in an interview that the Ponniyin Selvan star hadn’t responded to him when he tried to approach the actor for a lead role in his latest film Kennedy.
Vikram took to Twitter on Monday to respond to the director’s claims after the latter’s interview was reported by media outlets. “Dear Anurag Kashyap. Just revisiting our conversation from over a year ago for the sake of our friends and well-wishers on social media,” he began his clarification.
When I heard from another actor that you had tried to reach me for this film & that you felt I hadn’t responded to you, I called you myself immediately and explained that I hadn’t gotten any mail or msg from you as the mail id that you had contacted me on was no longer active and my number had changed almost 2 years before that,” he explained.
The actor also wished the director for the success of Kennedy, which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in France. “As I said during that phone call, I’m very excited for your film Kennedy and even more so because it has my name. I wish you great times ahead. Lots of love, Chiyaan Vikram aka Kennedy,” his tweet reads.
Anurag responded to the actor’s tweet, confirming the conversation between the two. “Absolutely right Boss sir. For the information of people, when he found out from another actor that I was trying to reach him, he called me directly and we realised that he had a different WhatsApp number. He gave me his correct information to reach out and even showed interest in reading the script but by then we were all locked and a month away from shooting.”
"He also graciously blessed us to use the name ‘Kennedy’ for the film. What I stated in the interview was the story behind how the film got to be called Kennedy. There is no need for any overreaction. And definitely, I think neither Chiyaan sir nor I am retiring without working together. FYI we go back to pre- Sethu days,” he wrote.
Earlier, The Gangs of Wasseypur director had revealed that Kennedy was written for and titled after Vikram, but the actor hadn't responded to his call. “I actually had a specific actor in mind when I wrote this film; which is why the film is called Kennedy. The film was called Kennedy. It is Chiyaan Vikram, whose real name is Kennedy. I reached out to him. He never responded. So then, I reached out to Rahul (Bhat),” he had said.
Kennedy will premiere at Cannes 2023 in the Out of Competition Midnight Screenings section. Starring Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone, Kennedy follows an insomniac ex-cop who is assumed dead but continues to operate as an assassin for the corrupt department.
