Shankar, who was once the most sought-after blockbuster director on a pan-India level is now witnessing the lowest point of his career. Known for his blockbuster streak and having never seen a box-office flop, the ace director’s career is in a major slump with no blockbuster since Robo (2010).
After Robo, he chose to do a remake for the first time with Nanban (3 Idiots) which wasn’t a massive hit as expected. Next, he directed ‘I’ which was massively hyped before it was released. Starring Vikram and Amy Jackson, this film also failed to receive the box office success everyone hoped for.
Back-to-Back Disasters Raise Questions
Robo’s sequel ‘2 Point 0’ also couldn’t give him a proper success. With Indian 2, he saw his career’s lowest point as the Kamal Haasan starrer was a massive disaster. It was the first of such sorts for the maverick director. Game Changer, which was released last month added to Shankar’s woes and was another massive failure for the director.
With the future of Indian 3 looking bleak, it needs to be seen if Shankar would even go ahead with the film or not. Due to his box-office run in the last decade and his image as a big-budget director, finding a producer has become quite tough. He announced that Velpari would be his upcoming project. But finding someone to bankroll this film has become quite challenging.
ED Troubles for Shankar
Amidst these professional struggles, Shankar has faced another major shock. ED, earlier today attached assets worth Rs 10.11 crores under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The action was taken following a complaint by Tamil writer Aarur Tamilandan who claimed portions of the ‘Robo’ story belonged to him.
“Based on substantial evidence and records in hand, it has been determined that S Shankar has violated Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957—a violation now classified as a scheduled offense under the PMLA, 2002,” the ED said in a statement. The attachment of properties under PMLA provisions indicates that the agency suspects the proceeds of the alleged copyright infringement may have been laundered or integrated into Shankar’s assets.
