Love Insurance Corporation

Love Insurance Corporation (shortened as LIC) is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Vignesh Shivan. The film is produced by S. S. Lalit Kumar and Vignesh himself under Seven Screen Studio and Rowdy Pictures. It stars Pradeep Ranganathan, S. J. Suryah and Krithi Shetty in the lead roles, alongside Yogi Babu in a comic role, Muhammed Rasool, Gouri G. Kishan, Sha Ra and Seeman.

Initially, Sivakarthikeyan was cast to play in the lead role. Following an announcement in March 2019, principal photography was scheduled to commence in July; however, the film got shelved. In 2023, the film was revived with Pradeep, with an announcement in September 2023 under the tentative title Wikki 6, as it is Vignesh's 6th film as the director, and the official title was announced in December 2023. Principal photography commenced the month after. It was shot in several locations including Coimbatore, Udumalaipettai, Singapore and Malaysia. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography handled by Ravi Varman and editing by Pradeep E. Ragav.

Development
In late November 2018, Sivakarthikeyan, who has been a long-time friend of Vignesh Shivan, was reported to come together with the latter for the latter's next directorial. Vignesh's girlfriend-turned-wife Nayanthara was reported to play the lead actress role, his 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). On 21 March 2019, the project was announced. However, Nayanthara's commitments was not revealed. The announcement further stated that filming would commence in July, whereas the film would release in 2020. A few days later, Rashmika Mandanna was reported to play the lead actress role, pairing opposite Sivakarthikeyan for the first time, however, in early June, Kiara Advani was reported to have been approached for that role instead. In late November, KJR Studios was reported to take over as the production banner, reportedly due to film going over-budget. In mid February 2020, concernings were made if the project was dropped as there were no updates made since the project announcement.

In March 2023, director-cum-actor Pradeep Ranganathan was reported to have been approached for Sivakarthikeyan's role in the project. Vignesh was reportedly impressed by the former's performance in Love Today (2022). Few days later, Priyanka Arul Mohan and Nayanthara were reported to have been approached, with the former being approached to play the lead actress role and the latter to have been approached to play an important role. In April, the film's score was reported to be composed by Anirudh Ravichander, while the film would be produced by Raaj Kamal Films International. On 18 September, on the occasion of Vignesh's birthday, the project was officially announced. However, neither the production banner nor the cast were revealed. In November, S. J. Suryah and Mysskin were reported to be part of the cast, playing important roles respectively. In early December, Pinkvilla reported that Nayanthara would play the role of Pradeep's sister in the film, while Yogi Babu will play as a comedian and the film would instead be produced by Seven Screen Studio.

On 14 December, the company made an public announcement. The title of the film was revealed the same day, along with stills from a muhurat puja, held the same week, and the cast and crew. S. J. Suryah and Yogi Babu were confirmed playing their individual role, while Krithi Shetty was announced playing the lead actress role, pairing opposite Pradeep for the first time. It is also her third signed Tamil film after the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film The Warriorr (2022) and Vaa Vaathiyaare. Anirudh Ravichander was roped in to compose the score, in his fourth consecutive film with the director, while Ravi Varman and Pradeep E. Ragav were roped in to handle the cinematography and editing respectively. The project marks as Vignesh's second collaboration with the production banner after Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (2022), which also featured score composed by Anirudh. With a reported budget of ₹60 crore, Pradeep and Vignesh were reported to receive a remuneration of ₹20 crore and ₹10 crore respectively. On 23 December, S. J. Suryah revealed that him and Pradeep joined a part of the writing team.

Filming
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 20 January 2024 at Isha Yoga in Coimbatore. Filming moved to Thirumoorthy Dam in Udumalaipettai by 3 February. The same day, a promotional skit video released by Mohammad Rasool, also known as Sofa Boy, revealed the inclusion of himself, Gouri G. Kishan and Sha Ra. On 11 February, S. J. Suryah, through X (formerly Twitter), stated that he had begun filming his portions. The second schedule commenced on 22 March in Singapore. Pradeep and Krithi were reportedly a part of the schedule. After also filming in Malaysia, the schedule concluded by 26 March. Vignesh called it an "unforgettable shooting experience."

Music
The music and background score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, in his maiden collaboration with Pradeep; and fourth with Vignesh after Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015), Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018) and Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (2022). The first single, "Dheema", is currently being recorded.

Controversies
After the reveal of the title, S. S. Kumaran issued a warning against Vignesh, stating that he had registered the title LIC on behalf of Suma Pictures in 2015. 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. Soon after in January 2024, the Life Insurance Corporation, who hold the trademark rights to the LIC initials, sent a cease and desist notice to the team, accusing them of trademark infringement and ordered them to change the title at the earliest.