It was announced in May this year that actor-director Arjun Sarja will be directing a Telugu film starring Vishwak Sen in the lead role. Arjun's daughter, Aiswarya, was set to make her Telugu debut as the female lead with the film. After reports about Vishwak walking out of the project emerged recently, Arjun addressed the press on Saturday evening in Hyderabad to share his side of the story.
Arjun, who is also producing the film, stated that Vishwak was thrilled about the script and was eager to begin filming for the project. He went on to share that when everything was set for the film to go on floors, Vishwak requested him to cancel the first shooting schedule. "I had planned an extensive 30-day schedule that involved major actors like my dear friend Jagapathi Babu and many others, inclding some from Kerala. Just when the schedule was about to begin, Vishwak requested me to cancel the entire schedule citing that he was exhausted and his body was tanned. He told me that he would require some more time to work on his body and gain fitness before he begins filming. Being an actor and a filmmaker who wants to make a great film with passion, I understood Vishwak's concerns and agreed to postpone the schedule. "
Arjun added that Vishwak never responded to his calls and messages when he was asked to attend discussions about the film, but being a director himself, he understood that Vishwak could be busy with his directorial venture, Das Ka Dhamki.
But things worsened when Vishwak, after rigorous follow-up with his manager, finally agreed to allocate bulk dates from November to December. Arjun reveals, "Finally, Vishwak agreed to begin filming on November 5 and I had requested him to meet me once to decide on his look in the film. He didn't honour that request either. Finally, the day of the shoot arrived and I had asked my assistant to wake me at 6 am as I felt, being the director, I should be the first one on the set. Around 5 am, I got a call from my assistant to check my messages and when I did, Vishwak's manager had sent me a message at around 4 am requesting me to cancel shooting again as Vishwak was unavailable. For a moment, I did not understand what to do."
"That's when I told myself this is not happening," Arjun said, adding that it is not one or two incidents but his unprofessional attitude exhibited by Vishwak that disturbed him the most over the past couple of months. He added that Vishwak would express his interest about the project over text messages, but his excitement never translated to results. The actor added that he was befuddled about the transpirings and expressed his disappointment with the actor. "At a time when Telugu cinema is being respected by the whole nation, what happened here is quite unfortunate. It is an insult to me and my whole team."
The actor revealed that he no longer wants Vishwak to be associated with the project and added that the purpose of his media interaction was to refute speculations that stated that 'Vishwak walked out of the project due to creative differences'.
"I still don't understand why Vishwak did this," Arjun lamented. "I always referred to him as my hero, my boy, my handsome hero. There are news articles floating around that he walked out of the project due to creative differences. I want to say that such reports are false. Vishwak never shared any complaints with me about the script."
Vishwak is yet to respond to Arjun's statements.
