It was earlier reported that Malayalam actor Shane Nigam would make his debut in Tamil cinema with Seenu Ramaswamy’s film Spa. But then recent reports say that actor Vishwa, who made his debut in Champion, will be doing the role that Shane had signed up for.
Vishwa said to the Times of India that Shane’s dates had not worked out and he would be doing the role and also that the movie shall not be titled Spa. Vishwa will be playing a Sri Lankan Tamil in the film and will be speaking that dialect throughout the film. The film is about a Sri Lankan youth falling in love with the Tamil-speaking heroine working in a spa.
Shane has been involved in a controversy in Malayalam cinema, after there were issues between the actor and the makers of the film Veyil. This had led to his ban by the Kerala Film Producers Association. There was also a call by the association to ban the actor from working in any of the South Indian films.
The spat between producers and Shane has been in the news ever since the actor posted a Facebook video, alleging that Veyil producer Joby George had issued death threats to him for getting a haircut. Joby had allegedly been upset that Shane had violated his contract by changing his appearance while in the middle of shooting the film. Shane had also claimed that Joby had abused his family. However, after the intervention of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) and the KFPA, the issue had appeared to be settled. They came to an understanding that Shane would work for a certain number of days more to finish the shooting. But then more issues cropped between the director and the actor when there were delays in the shooting.
Shane’s movie Valiya Perunnal, meanwhile, released in December, amid the controversy. The actor is also reportedly producing two films titled Single and Saramani Kotta.
(Content provided by Digital Native)