In late November 2018, actor Sivakarthikeyan, a long-time friend of Vignesh Shivan, was reported to come together with the latter for his next directorial.[6] Vignesh's norm musician Anirudh Ravichander was reported to compose the score, while Lyca Productions would produce the venture in their second collaboration with Vignesh after Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015).[6] On 21 March 2019, the project was announced under the tentative title SK17, referring to Sivakarthikeyan's 17th film as a lead actor and it further stated that filming would commence in July, whereas the film would release in 2020.[7] A few days later, Rashmika Mandanna was reported to be the lead actress;[8] however, in early June, Kiara Advani was reported to have been approached for that role instead.[9] That November, Lyca had backed out of the project, and it was reported that the venture would be either funded by Boney Kapoor under his Bayview Projects banner or KJR Studios.[10] The project did not materialise further, which Vignesh attributed to the producers' concern over the budget due to the story's futuristic setting, and Vignesh's refusal to change it to present day. Both Sivakarthikeyan and Vignesh moved on to separate projects.[11][12]
In March 2023, Pradeep Ranganathan was reported to have been approached for the lead role in the revived project.[13] Anirudh was involved in the project in his fourth collaboration with the director, whereas Raaj Kamal Films International had been reported to fund the project.[14][15] The project was officially announced on Vignesh's birthday, 18 September; however, neither the production banner nor the cast were revealed.[16] In early December, Pinkvilla reported that the film would be produced by S. S. Lalit Kumar under Seven Screen Studio.[17] The company then officially announced the project on 14 December, under the title Love Insurance Corporation; a muhurat puja being held on the same day.[18] Vignesh and his wife Nayanthara's production banner Rowdy Pictures has been involved in co-producing the film with Kumar, for the second time after Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal.[19][20] Cinematographer Ravi Varman and editor Pradeep E. Ragav were involved as the part of the technical crew.[19] The film was later renamed Love Insurance Kompany, with the new title announced on 25 July 2024, coinciding with Pradeep's birthday.[21]
Casting
In March 2023, Priyanka Mohan and Nayanthara were reported to have been approached, with the former being approached to be the lead actress and the latter for a supporting role.[22] The following month, Janhvi Kapoor was reportedly approached to play the female lead.[15] Neither actresses were confirmed. In November, S. J. Suryah was reported to be part of the cast, playing an important role.[23] Shortly afterwards, Yogi Babu was reported to play a comedic role.[17] Both Suryah and Babu confirmed their participation in the film, during their presence at the muhurat puja, while Krithi Shetty was announced as the lead actress.[24] Besides acting, both Suryah and Pradeep were involved in the writing team with Vignesh.[25]
In February 2024, it was reported that Seeman would play an important role, marking a return to films after a hiatus due to his political commitments.[26] In the same month, a promotional skit video released by Mohammad Rasool, also known as Sofa Boy, revealed the inclusion of himself and Shah Ra.[27] Later it was reported that Nayanthara was not involved in the project, and the makers had been searching for a replacement for her character in the film.[28][29]Mysskin, Anandaraj, Sunil Reddy had been cast in prominent roles, whose involvement was confirmed by July 2024.[30] Edin Rose was cast as an artificial intelligence, in her Tamil debut.[31][32]
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 24 January 2024 at Isha Yoga in Coimbatore.[33] Filming also took place at the Velliangiri Mountains.[34] After nine days of filming, the team then moved to Thirumoorthy Dam in Udumalaipettai by 3 February to shoot significant portions.[27] On 11 February, Suryah, through X (formerly Twitter), stated that he had begun filming his portions.[1] The second schedule commenced on 22 March in Singapore, where Pradeep and Shetty reportedly a part of the schedule.[35] The team also moved to Malaysia for filming minor portions.[36] The schedule concluded by 26 March.[36] By July 2024, the film entered its final phase of filming, with Pradeep also simultaneously shooting for the Ashwath Marimuthu-directorial Dragon (2025).[37][38] During the film's production, Sathyan Sooryan replaced Varman as the cinematographer.[38] After the release of Dragon, Vignesh and the makers arranged a cake-cutting for Pradeep during the shoot of this film to celebrate the success of Dragon.[39]
The film's title poster, along with the first and second look posters featuring Pradeep was released on 25 July.[42][43] This was followed by Suryah and Shetty's character posters on 27 July and 2 August.[44][45] The film's behind-the-scenes video was released on 18 September.[46]
Release
The film is scheduled to release on the occasion of summer (April–June) 2025.[47]
Title disputes
In December 2023, after the reveal of the original title Love Insurance Corporation, initialised as LIC, S. S. Kumaran issued a warning against Vignesh, stating that he had registered the LIC initialism in 2015 for a film titled Life is Colourful. He further stated that an associate of Vignesh had approached him to give the title of the film, but that he denied, and the latter still used it.[48][49] Soon after in January 2024, the Life Insurance Corporation, which holds the trademark rights to the LIC initialism, sent a cease and desist notice to the team, accusing them of trademark infringement and ordered them to change the title at the earliest.[50] This led to the team announcing the new official title, Love Insurance Kompany (LIK).[21]
Notes
1 2 Although Ravi Varman shot the film's preliminary portions, he was not credited in the promotional materials.[1][2]
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