Aishwarya Rajinikanth reveals 21 days of shooting footage of Lal Salaam went missing: ‘We salvaged with whatever was left’

Aishwarya Rajinikanth has revealed that they lost a significant portion of Lal Salaam's raw footage due to carelessness, and the film's team had to make do with whatever was left.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | March 12, 2024 03:54 PM IST

2 min read

Rajinikanth with daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth starred in Aishwarya Rajinikanth's Lal Salaam.

Aishwarya Rajinikanth earlier claimed that the non-linear screenplay of Lal Salaam was one of the reasons why the film couldn’t live up to its potential. She added that having Rajinikanth in the film tilted the scale as the narrative lost its importance as the focus was all on the Superstar. Now, Aishwarya has revealed that they lost a significant portion of Lal Salaam’s raw footage due to carelessness, and the film’s team had to make do with whatever was left.

Speaking to Cinema Vikatan, Aishwarya 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.”

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Aishwarya Rajinikanth claimed that many hard drives were old and a few were corrupted. It was a lesson for her to be careful about footage from next time, she admitted. The director claimed that the film would have been better had the footage been available as many important scenes, which couldn’t be shot again, were lost.

Lal Salaam, starring Vishnu Vishal in the lead role, had Rajinikanth in an extended cameo as Moideen Bhai. The film revolves around a small village where Muslims and Hindus live in harmony. A political party disrupts the peace by communalizing a local cricket tournament, and it is all about how Moideen Bhai restores peace.

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