While Anurag Kashyap has confirmed that he will be overseeing post-production on Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30, he will not be replacing Vikas Bahl as director - in fact, there will be no director credit given to anyone - Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO of Reliance Entertainment has confirmed.
Sarkar said that Bahl would “not be associated with the edit and post-production” of the film in any measure, and that it would be completed with the help of its “in-house” partners.
The film, which was supposed to release in January, has been on hold after director Vikas Bahl was accused of sexual harassment. Bahl had also filed a suit against his former partners at Phantom Films, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, alleging that they were running a campaign to defame him and using it as a pretext to shut down the production house and make him look responsible for its end.
“As a producer, after substantial investment of time, money and the efforts of all our technicians and talent, it is our responsibility to complete the film with the best possible resources available to us. Anurag is a partner, he has edited films of other Phantom partners in the past. He agreed to take this responsibility on Reliance’s request, and with a professional and commercial understanding. Also, it has been agreed that he will not take any credit,” Sarkar told Mumbai Mirror.
Sarkar’s statement has cleared up speculations regarding Bahl’s possible return to complete the film. In light of the allegations, Hrithik Roshan, too, had earlier issued a statement saying, “I have requested the producers of Super 30 to take stock of the apparent facts and take a harsh stand if need be. This is not to be hushed or brushed under the carpet.”
According to reports, Hrithik was keen that Anurag take over the film’s post-production. However, Sarkar dismissed this as “untrue”.
Super 30 is based on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar who built a special educational programme and trained 30 deserving candidates each year from economically backward sections for the entrance examination for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). It has been directed by Vikas Bahl and backed by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Phantom Films and Reliance Entertainment. It is scheduled to release on 26 July.
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