Lal Salaam Director Aishwarya Reveals She Lost 21 Days Of Shooting Footage: “We Were Shocked”

Aishwarya Rajinikanth recently spoke about the setbacks she faced during the making of the film Lal Salaam, citing various factors that hindered its potential success. She earlier stated that the film’s non-linear screenplay contributed to its underperformance, with Rajinikanth’s presence overshadowing the narrative’s essence. Now, in a recent interview with Cinema Viketan, Aishwarya Rajinikanth revealed that the team lost a significant portion of Lal Salaam’s raw footage and had to make the film with “whatever was left.”

She said, “It is very true that we lost a lot of footage. We were shocked that something like this could happen. It was about 21 days of shooting footage. I should say it is because of irresponsibility. And it was unfortunate. We had shot a cricket match, and it was a ten-camera set-up. We wanted to shoot it like it was a real cricket match. We missed the footage of all the twenty cameras. We didn’t know what to do. The problem was everyone including Vishnu, Senthil, and Appa also changed their get-up. So, we couldn’t reshoot it. In the end, we re-edited the film with whatever was left. It was challenging. Though Vishnu and Appa were cooperative and ready to do it again, we couldn’t shoot all of it again.”

Aishwarya Rajinikanth also addressed the criticism and feedback Lal Salaam received, stating, “Personally, I am extremely satisfied as a learner and filmmaker. The film is based on true incidents and hence there is no revelation or twists as such in the film. So, when we had the option to do a linear or non-linear pattern, we went in for the latter since the story is straightforward and simple. As a filmmaker I understood that audience saw in a different way. I will take both criticism and appreciation equally and happy, I can better myself and that is biggest learning.”

Lal Salaam premiered on February 9 alongside Lover, starring Manikandan. Despite the latter receiving a more favourable response, Rajinikanth’s film faced tough competition from the Malayalam film Manjummel Boys, resulting in a swift decline in its box office performance.