Lingaa director KS Ravikumar accuses Rajinikanth of adding ‘artificial’ balloon scene, removing song with Anushka Shetty

Lingaa director KS Ravikumar blamed Rajinikanth for the film’s failure. In a recent interview, he detailed his reasons for blaming the actor.

Director KS Ravikumar blamed actor Rajinikanth for the failure of his 2014 film Lingaa in a recent interview. While the film was made on a budget of ₹100 crore, it received lukewarm reviews from fans and critics. On Chat With Chitra, he accused Rajinikanth of involving himself in the film’s making and editing. (Also Read: Lokesh Kanagaraj denies Rajinikanth's ill health had anything to do with Coolie's shoot)

KS Ravikumar on Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth in the hot air balloon scene referenced by KS Ravikumar.

Ravikumar claimed that Rajinikanth interfered with the filming process and post-production, removing or adding scenes at his will. He also blamed him for the infamous scene in which Rajinikanth jumps from a bridge onto a hot-air balloon in a fight sequence that’s often trolled. Reddit once called it the ‘scene that destroyed’ the filmmaker’s career.

When asked about Lingaa’s failure in 2016, Ravikumar claimed that the film wasn’t a failure at the box office. He compared it to Shankar's 2010 hit Enthiran’s success and told the press, “Lingaa is a Tamil film that grossed ₹158 crore worldwide. People peg it as the highest-grossing film of that year. Only Enthiran performed like that before, collection-wise it’s a hit.”

In the film, Rajinikanth played dual roles as Lingaa and his grandson Raja Lingeswaran. It told the story of a man on a journey of self-discovery after learning about his grandfather. Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty also played lead roles in it.

Upcoming work

Rajinikanth will soon be seen in TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan, which will hit screens on October 10 for Dasara. The film will also see Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, and Manju Warrier as the lead actors. He will soon also be seen in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s highly-anticipated Coolie with Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj and Upendra.

Rajinikanth was hospitalised in Chennai a few days ago for an elective procedure on a swollen blood vessel. He has been discharged and is recuperating now.