Malayalam Biopic Aami, based on the life of author Kamala Das, has been making it to headlines ever since the announcement of the film.
The latest news is that Malayalam actress Manju Warrier has been roped in for the role, replacing Vidya Balan.
Even though the producers are miffed with the national award winning actress for opting out last minute from the film based on the life of the late author and poetess Kamala Das, the director Kamaluddin Mohammed Majeed says he’s quite happy to have Manju on board for Aami.
According to a report filed by DNA, filmmaker Kamal is trying to dissuade Aami producers who are seriously contemplating on taking a legal action against Vidya Balan. “The producers feel humiliated. My producers are businessmen, and at the end of the day they look at films as business ventures. They’ve lost substantial money because of Vidya’s abrupt departure. We now have to build the market’s confidence in our project from scratch. Moreover, taking an action against will not serve any purpose. What is done is done. We’ve now found a fabulous replacement for Vidya. It’s time to move on,” said Kamal.
Having controversies associated with Malayalam author Kamala Das for embracing Islam, the decision of casting Manju for the film also hasn’t gone down too well among hate mongers on social media. And therefore, soon after accepting the role, the actress, according to sify.com, had to release a statement requesting for the support. “Don’t mix politics with cinema. Please spare the film from controversies. Madhavikkutty is a legend and an opportunity to do a character based on her life on screen excites me. Kindly consider ‘Aami’ as only a movie and mine as a character,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, director Kamal has his fingers crossed as the the shooting of the film is likely to begin in March.