Director Venkat Prabhu breaks silence on rift with Sivakarthikeyan over shelved film

Director Venkat Prabhu has clarified that there is no fallout with Sivakarthikeyan over their shelved film. His note followed speculation triggered by his father Gangai Amaran's remarks about the delayed project.

In Short

• Venkat Prabhu denies fallout with Sivakarthikeyan over shelved film
• Project stalled due to multiple reasons, not personal issues
• Venkat open to future collaboration if good script arises

Director Venkat Prabhu has broken his silence on the speculation surrounding his shelved film with Sivakarthikeyan after his father, veteran filmmaker Gangai Amaran, made comments about why the project had not taken off. The remarks sparked speculation online, with several users concluding that Sivakarthikeyan was the actor being referred by Amaran without being named.

Amid the growing speculation, Venkat Prabhu shared a post on X on Monday to address the matter. The GOAT director made it clear that there was no fallout between him and Sivakarthikeyan and said the project had failed to take off for several reasons.

“SK is always a dear friend/brother to me. A lot of speculations and controversies are going around. As a father, when a film involving your own son gets delayed, the frustration is natural. He probably doesn’t know the complete picture, and I can’t blame him for that (sic),” Venkat wrote.

The filmmaker also explained that he does not discuss the business side of his projects with his father. “I’m a very quiet person when it comes to my work and don’t discuss my professional matters in detail with anyone, including him. The project couldn’t take off due to various reasons. That’s it. No hard feelings (sic),” he said.

Venkat also left the door open for a future collaboration with Sivakarthikeyan, saying he would be happy to work with the actor if the right script comes along.

“If the time comes and a good script comes my way, I would love to work with SK again. So please, let’s put a full stop to all this. I’m busy with my next. My best wishes to my brother’s Seyon (sic),” he added.

The speculation comes as Sivakarthikeyan’s next film, tentatively titled SK27, went on floors last week. The project is being directed by Ramkumar Balakrishnan of Parking fame and is backed by Sathya Jyothi Films. Venkat Prabhu was initially announced as the director of Sivakarthikeyan’s 27th film under the production house, but the project eventually did not materialise.

Following the latest SK27 announcement, old clips of Gangai Amaran discussing his son’s delayed directorial venture resurfaced online. In the interview, the veteran filmmaker spoke about why Venkat Prabhu’s next film had not begun and said he had advised his son not to take up the project. He also blamed the actor, without naming him.

His comments led to speculation that Sivakarthikeyan was the actor he was referring to, particularly because Gangai Amaran mentioned that pre-production work for the film had taken place in the US. Venkat Prabhu had previously travelled overseas for a VFX test when the project was being developed.

Sivakarthikeyan and Venkat Prabhu had previously worked together in GOAT, where the actor made a cameo appearance in the film’s climax. Sivakarthikeyan is currently shooting for Seyon, while his next project, SK27, is being directed by Ramkumar Balakrishnan.

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