Chiyaan Vikram, Anurag Kashyap clear the air on ‘Kennedy’ casting

Chiyaan Vikram and poster of Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Kennedy’
| Photo Credit: @the_real_chiyaan/Instagram & @anuragkashyap72/Twitter

A day after filmmaker Anurag Kashyap revealed in an interview that ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram didn’t respond to him when he wanted to cast the actor in his latest film Kennedy, both the actor and the filmmaker took to social media to clear the air.

Anurag, who is debuting his film Kennedy in the ongoing 76th Cannes Film Festival, told Film Companion in an interview that the film was written for and titled after Chiyaan Vikram as the Ponniyin Selvan star’s real name is Kennedy. “I actually had a specific actor in mind when I wrote this film; which is why the film is called Kennedy. The film was called Kennedy Project. It is Chiyaan Vikram, whose real name is Kennedy. I reached out to him. He never responded. So then, I reached out to Rahul (Bhatt),” said the director.

Post this, many fans expressed their disappointment in both artists losing out on an opportunity to work together.

Vikram, who is currently on a break after suffering a rib injury on the sets of his upcoming film Thangalaan, took to Twitter to clear the air. The actor said he had spoken to Anurag after he was informed that Anurag had tried to reach out to him and that miscommunication is the villain. “Dear Anurag Kashyap. Just revisiting our conversation from over a year ago for the sake of our friends and well-wishers on social media. When I heard from another actor that you had tried to reach me for this film & that you felt I hadn’t responded to you, I called you myself immediately and explained that I hadn’t gotten any mail or msg from you as the mail id that you had contacted me on was no longer active and my number had changed almost 2 years before that.”

He then shared his excitement for the film and wished Anurag. “As I said during that phone call, I’m very excited for your film Kennedy and even more so because it has my name. I wish you great times ahead. Lots of love, Chiyaan Vikram aka Kennedy,” he signed off.

Responding to the same, Anurag further clarified the conversation between them. “Absolutely right Boss sir. For the information of people, when he found out from another actor that I was trying to reach him, he called me directly and we realised that he had a different WhatsApp number. He gave me his correct information to reach out and even showed interest in reading the script but by then we were all locked and a month away from shooting. He also graciously blessed us to use the name “Kennedy” for the film. What I stated in the interview was the story behind how the film got to be called Kennedy,” he said adding that this was no need for any overreaction to his statement. “And definitely, I think neither Chiyaan sir nor I am retiring without working together. FYI we go back to pre- Sethu days,” he further said.

Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy is set to premiere out of competition at Cannes in the Midnight Screenings section. Earlier, ahead of the Cannes screening, Kashyap shared the teaser of Kennedy on social media and it showed lead actor Rahul Bhatt going on a killing spree with actor Sunny Leone appearing as a mysterious woman named Charlie. The film is said to revolve around an insomniac ex-cop who is assumed dead, but continues to operate as an assassin for the corrupt department.

Kennedy is being cheered as a return to form for Anurag; the director is known for crime thrillers like Uglyand Raman Raghav 2.0 as well as the gangster saga Gangs of Wasseypur.