Jailer director Nelson reveals why his debut project with Silambarasan was shelved midway

Filmmaker Nelson Dilipkumar is currently riding high on the success of Rajinikanth starrer Jailer. The film has now crossed the Rs 600 crore mark at the worldwide box office. In an interview, Nelson opened up about his previous films and shared the reasons behind shelving his debut venture Vettai Mannan. 

Vettai Mannan, which was scrapped midway, starred Simbalarasan in the lead role. Additionally, actresses like Deeksha Seth and Hansika Motwane were also playing supporting roles in it.

3 things you need to know

• Jailer is only the 2nd Tamil film to earn Rs 600 crore at the worldwide box office.
• Nelson Dilipkumar’s previous film Beast starring Vijay was a box-office failure
• The director worked in TV before venturing into films.

'Simbu and I are childhood friends'

Talking on a talk show hosted by Suhasini Maniratnam, Nelson Dilipkumar informed that Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya actor and he are childhood friends. Years later, when they met, Simbaralasan insisted that they work together on a film. And soon, they planned the film Vettai Mannan which was supposed to mark Nelson's directorial debut.

Nelson Dilipkumar also recalled investing a lot of time and effort into the project and talked about how heartbreaking it was "to let the film go because of financial constraints". He shared that now he understands the exasperation felt by those who were eager about Vettai Mannan hitting the theaters.

'Flaws in my film evident now'

The director stated, “When we were shooting those scenes, I went through a lot of stress, imagining how those days would pass. The flaws in the film are evident now, and even though I had two different scripts in mind from start to finish, I realize that a fresh start is needed from the script to execution.”

He talked about the challenges of making films, adding, "Even when you start a film, it's possible to finish it but to turn it into a complete movie requires even more effort. A film might start from various angles, and regardless of the direction it takes, a battle is inevitable."

After the success of Jailer, Nelson is now planning to go ahead with sequels to some of his previous films including Vijay-starrer Beast, which had not worked at the box office. Meanwhile, Jailer is well on its way to becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all-time. On sunday, the Rajinikanth starrer crossed the Rs 600 crore mark in worldwide collection.