After the teaser release of Biju J Kattackal’s Spadikam 2 on Saturday, the original film’s director Bhadran has vehemently voiced his opposition to the release of the sequel. The teaser has met with strong backlash on social media, with many Spadikam fans as well as Mohanlal fans associations protesting its release.
The makers are selling it as the story of Aadu Thoma’s son, Irumpan Sunny, and Biju has already made it clear that he won’t back down, despite repeated warnings from Bhadran. Sunny Leone is also slated to appear in the film in a major role.
One of the most iconic characters in Malayalam cinema, Aadu Thoma was created by Bhadran and played by Mohanlal. Bhadran, who has sought legal assistance in the matter, had stated earlier that he had rejected offers to make a sequel to his hit classic. The director also said that he will neither make a sequel nor support anyone who dares to make it. “There can be only one Spadikam and it has happened already,” he had said.
In a conversation with Express, Bhadran says, “It’s not right that a different team is using the names of my story and characters to sell their film. Are they crazy? Are they not aware of the laws? How can they do so without my approval? They’re using the name of a much-celebrated film to lure audiences. Since they have disregarded my warnings, we have decided to send a legal notice.”
However, Bhadran clarifies that he is not against the team making the film as long as they don’t use the Aadu Thoma brand or anything related to it to promote it.
“Let them use any other character name for the film, something like Irumpan Sunny or Irumpan Johnny. I don’t want them using Aadu Thoma or mentioning any connection between this young protagonist and Aadu Thoma. I’m happy to see everyone responding to it strongly on social media. My legal counsel had adviced me to react only if they go ahead with their plan to make a sequel. Now that they really have, I’m certainly going to take legal action,” adds Bhadran.
The highest grossing Malayalam film of 1995, Spadikam fetched Mohanlal a state award for Best Actor and was remade as Veerappu in Tamil, Vajram in Telugu, and Mr. Theertha in Kannada.
Meanwhile, Bhadran has started pre-production work on his next, titled Joothan. The film, which will see the veteran filmmaker returning to the director’s chair after 35 long years, will begin shooting some portions in the second week of April and later in August. Rima Kallingal, Soubin Shahir, and Joju George have been roped in to play the main leads. Bhadran’s last directorial was Udayon, released in 2005.