Diganth ditches Pawan

Diganth
ditches Pawan

The actor has opted out of Pawan's movie Lucia over date issues, having already committed to Kodi Ramakrishna's mega-budget film

When Lifeu Ishtene director Pawan Kumar was ready with his second script, the filmmaker had no takers for it. With no funding for the project, his decision to seek financial support online made headlines. When the money eventually came in, Pawan still had no actor willing to work on the project. Until, of course, his friend and Lifeu Ishtene hero Diganth agreed to help him out. But just when everything seemed sorted out and Pawan was ready to start shooting for his film, Diganth pulled out of the project, citing date issues.
Diganth, we hear, was required to allot bulk dates for Lucia, but wasn't able to dedicate the required time as his date diary is crammed with commitments to various projects and because such a long schedule would not allow him to take up new projects. When BT spoke to Diganth, he admitted that date issues prevented him from working on Lucia. "Pawan wanted me to give him six months of uninterrupted time to prepare and shoot for Lucia, besides having to lose weight for the film. I can't afford to give bulk dates to a single film," says Diganth. The actor adds that he had offered Pawan a solution. "I told Pawan that if he could start the project immediately, I'd do it. I have a film with Kodi Ramakrishna, which starts in June and is being made on a mega budget. Pawan wanted to shoot from May to July. I asked him if he could split the film into two schedules, but he refused. I can't make Kodi wait, as his project is big and I'd risk my career if I did so. Rather than complicate matters I decided to opt out of Pawan's film," says Diganth.
Contributed by Madhu Daithota

'MY FILM WON'T BE AFFECTED'

Diganth's decision to not do Lucia will not affect the film, says director Pawan Kumar. "I had got my target budget of 50 lakh ready,even before Diganth agreed to do the film. The people who have funded the film haven't done so because of the presence of any particular actor," says Pawan, adding that Diganth's suggestion to split the schedule wouldn't have worked out well. "I wanted to hold several rehearsals and give all the artists enough time to get into the skin of their characters. This cannot be done in a hurry. Splitting the schedule would have affected my film."Pawan has now signed Ninasam Sathish for the lead role.

Pawan Kumar

BREAKING PROMISES: Diganth