When the first look poster and teaser of Kamal Haasan's "Uthama Villain" was released a few days ago, they took the Internet by storm with many astonished about the creativity behind the poster.
However, there were also allegations that the first look poster, a colourful mask, is inspired by a photograph taken by French photographer Eric Lafforgue.
Kamal has clarified on the allegations while speaking on the sidelines of a media conference in Mumbai. "Theyyam is more than 1000 year old art. The make-up was done by a good artist who is probably a third-generation practitioner of this art. The lighting might have been similar," Kamal was quoted as saying by Bollywood Hungama.
Slamming the plagiarism charges, the versatile actor said, "It is like saying two lovers one leaning on another's chest looking in the same direction is a copy of the Ek Duje Ke Liye poster. My film has a Theyyam dance fusion with Tamil Nadu's Kooththu tradition."
Surprisingly, the mask shown in the poster is not a mask after all. Kamal revealed that it was his painted face and added that it took four hours to get that look.
The story of "Uthama Villain" revolves around the life of a superstar who decided to make a period comedy film "Uthama Villain."
The shooting of the comedy entertainer commenced in the first week of March and is currently progressing at a brisk pace. It appears that Kamal already has an edited length of 18 minutes with 7 scenes in the hard disk.
Directed by Ramesh Aravind, "Uthama Villain" will reportedly have director Balachander, Malayalam actor Jayaram, "Mariyaan" actress Parvathy and comedian Vivek in supporting roles. The film is expected to hit the screens in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, Kamal is also gearing up for the release of his upcoming film "Vishwaroopam 2." The spy thriller flick, written and directed by Kamal, is currently in the post-production stage. It is expected to be a summer release, but an official confirmation regarding the exact release date is still awaited.
