Production of Indian 2 and Indian 3

Indian 2 and Indian 3 are Indian Tamil-language vigilante action films directed by S. Shankar, who co-wrote them with B. Jeyamohan, Kabilan Vairamuthu and Lakshmi Saravana Kumar. They are jointly produced by Lyca Productions and Red Giant Movies. The sequels to Indian (1996), they serve respectively as the second and third instalment of the Indian trilogy. Kamal Haasan reprises his role from the first film as Senapathy, an ageing freedom fighter turned vigilante who fights against corruption, with Siddharth, S. J. Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Bobby Simha, Vivek, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Gulshan Grover, Samuthirakani and Nedumudi Venu joining the ensemble cast.

The films had a troubled production history, undergoing major changes before and during production. Indian 2 was announced in September 2017. Sri Venkateswara Creations was initially on board, but opted out a month later. Lyca entered the production thereafter. Principal photography commenced in January 2019, and occurred sporadically over five years, before wrapping by March 2024. Both parts were shot back-to-back, with filming locations include Chennai, Rajahmundry, Bhopal, Gwalior, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Johannesburg and Taiwan. In 2020, an accident that killed some crew members and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed filming for two years until Red Giant Movies entered as co-producers. The technical crew includes musician Anirudh Ravichander, cinematographers Ravi Varman and R. Rathnavelu, editor A. Sreekar Prasad, production designer T. Muthuraj and visual effects supervisor V. Srinivas Mohan.

Development
During the production of Indian (1996), it's lead actor Kamal Haasan asked the director S. Shankar to make a sequel, but Shankar did not have a concrete story idea then. In September 2011, Shankar said many people asked him to make a sequel following Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade, and A. M. Rathnam, producer of the 1996 film, urged him to do so. In May 2015, Ratnam confirmed that he and Shankar discussed making a sequel but doubted the project's viability as the director was busy with the production of 2.0 (2018). Despite delaying starting the sequel due to 2.0, Shankar continued working on a story theme for it, under the tentative title Indian 2. On 30 September 2017, Haasan, the host of the first season of the Tamil reality television show Bigg Boss in Chennai, publicity announced the project during the season finale. Haasan was confirmed as the lead actor, reprising his role, and prominent Telugu film producer Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations was announced to fund the venture, thus marking his debut in Tamil.

In October 2017, Raju backed out, reportedly due to increased production costs. Shortly thereafter, Allirajah Subaskaran, header of Lyca Productions, took over as the film's producer. The project marks the reunion of Shankar with Haasan after a hiatus of 24 years. The director chose Anirudh Ravichander to score the music, marking their first collaboration, rather than his regular collaborator A. R. Rahman, who also scored music for its predecessor. Anirudh's inclusion was confirmed in late December 2018. cinematographer Ravi Varman, editor A. Sreekar Prasad and production designer T. Muthuraj were hired to be a part of the film's technical crew. Shankar collaborated with Jeyamohan, Kabilan Vairamuthu and Lakshmi Saravanakumar to co-write the film's script and dialogues.

Despite several proposed announcements of starting dates, the film's shoot was delayed throughout 2018 owing to Shankar's commitments with 2.0, which also faced significant production delays. Haasan also decided to use the time to release his long-delayed Vishwaroopam II (2018) and commit to his political career. In August 2018, Shankar and Haasan, announced that the film's shoot will commence that December, The production house later publicly announced the project on 7 November, coinciding with Haasan's birthday, confirming its inclusion as the producers. Muthuraj began working on the production design the same month, as the film's shoot was scheduled to start in late that year; however the delay in its set work, made the team to postpone its shoot to early 2019. Haasan would receive around inr 1500000000 as renumeration for the film, the highest in his career.

Casting
In December 2018, Kajal Aggarwal was announced as the lead actress. For her role, Aggarwal learnt the basics of the Indian martial arts form Kalaripayattu. Siddharth was confirmed to play another role in the film, after the team had initially held discussions with the likes of Silambarasan, Dulquer Salmaan and Arya for the same character. Ajay Devgn agreed to play the antagonist in the film, but production delays meant that he could not commit dates for the films. Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham were considered as replacements, but neither actor was signed. Other actors including Delhi Ganesh and RJ Balaji were also signed to portray supporting roles in the film. However, Balaji opted out of the film in October 2019. Nedumudi Venu was also set to reprise his role from the first film, but died in October 2021 after post COVID-19 complications.

Closer to the start of the second schedule, actors Vidyut Jammwal and Bobby Simha were reportedly signed on for roles. While Simha confirmed his role in the film, Jammwal denied such claims. Rakul Preet Singh also joined the film to star opposite the character played by Siddharth. Aishwarya Rajesh was expected to join the film, but due to call sheet issues, she was replaced by Priya Bhavani Shankar. Vivek confirmed that he will be a part of the project, collaborating with Haasan for the first time, where he plays the role of a CBI officer in the film. It was considered to be one of his posthumous films following his death in April 2021. Actors Samuthirakani and George Maryan also joined the cast in supporting roles.

In November 2022, Gulshan Grover confirmed his presence in a principal role. At the same month, Yograj Singh, father of former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, also participated in a major schedule held at Chennai. British actor Benedict Garrett was confirmed as a part of the cast, while Kalidas Jayaram also joined the film in a prominent role during the film's shoot in Taiwan in April 2023. S. J. Suryah was reported to play the film's antagonist, and officially confirmed his participation in the film in September 2023. The film also marked the posthumous appearances of Manobala and G. Marimuthu following their respective deaths in May and September 2023.

Principal photography
Principal photography began on 18 January 2019. A week-long shoot was held at a memorial home near Government General Hospital in Chennai, before the team also shot scenes at a nearby film studio. However the film was again delayed after the makers had trouble with the created sets. The shoot was pushed further owing to the Indian general election in May 2019, where Haasan's political party participated. Throughout the development process in 2018 and early 2019, the makers regularly denied media reports that the film had been shelved. Later, the shooting was resumed in May 2019, post elections. Owing to the long break between the schedules, cinematographer Ravi Varman also left the project after becoming committed to Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: I, and was subsequently replaced by R. Rathnavelu who previously worked with Shankar in Enthiran (2010).

The second schedule began on 12 August 2019, at MGR Film City in Chennai, with scenes featuring Rakul Preet Singh being shot. Siddharth and Priya Bhavani Shankar too joined the sets on 16 August, and later Haasan too joined the sets on mid-September, where his portions being filmed. Haasan and team, later moved to a city hotel in T. Nagar, to proceed the shoot further. By 12 September, the second schedule which took place in Chennai had been completed. On 19 September, the team went to Rajahmundry, shoot the film's sequences featuring Haasan. Later on 23 October, Haasan and his team went to Bhopal to shoot the film at its third schedule.

On 25 October 2019, it was reported that a massive political rally along with a fight sequence, involving Haasan and 2000 junior artistes was shot in Bhopal at the cost of inr 40. On 30 October 2019, it was reported that the makers head to Gwalior for a 12-day long shoot schedule, which was completed within seven days. Post the completion, the actor went to Chennai, to attend a felicitation ceremony for his 60 years in Tamil cinema, followed by a surgery on 22 November to remove an implant that was performed after he met with an accident in 2016. Scenes without featuring Haasan were canned, to complete major portions of the film, and planned to shoot his portions, after his recovery. On 21 January 2020, it was reported that Haasan will shoot for the film post his recovery, and it will take place at the EVP Film City, Chennai which will last for 35 days. It was reported that the film's team will change the location from China to Italy, due to fear of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accident in the sets
On 19 February 2020, during the shooting of the film, a crane carrying a heavy flash light fell on the sets, resulting in the deaths of three crew members, including an assistant director and leaving ten more injured. Haasan, Shankar and Aggarwal had narrow escapes. A case was filed against Lyca Productions, along with three other persons by the Chennai police in connection with the accident on 21 February; The crane operator Rajan who absconded post the incident, was arrested and booked under three sections, the same day. Later Haasan and Shankar were summoned by the CBI, to investigate the accident during the sets.

On 26 February 2020, a week after the incident, Haasan wrote a letter to Lyca Productions regarding to conduct a safety audit for the prevention of any unfortunate events. The very same day, Subaskaran released a statement on Twitter, stating the shoot was held completely under the supervision of Haasan and Shankar. On 28 February 2020, Shankar announced that a donation of inr 1 will be given to the family of the deceased. Following the accident, the team planned to shift the shooting location from EVP Film City to Binny Mills.

COVID-19 shutdown and further delays
Filming was further delayed to the COVID-19 restrictions that came into effect during March 2020. Haasan planned to resume shooting in January 2021, after hosting the fourth season of Bigg Boss. In September 2020, Haasan also signed Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram during the intermediate timeline, and Shankar also felt disappointed with the production house for not taking a call on the resumption of the shoot. According to The Times of India, a spokesperson from the production team told that: "'Shankar and his team were hoping that they would resume the shoot once the government allows film shoots with a larger crew. But now, the production house wants to bring down the cost further to make up for the losses as a result of the lockdown. But Shankar, who has already brought down the budget from `400 crore to ` 220 crore after their first disagreement, feels it would be very hard to make the film as he has envisioned with further budget cuts. So, the production house decided to play the waiting game and stayed mum on the resumption of the project. Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan has committed to Lokesh Kanagaraj's film. He was hoping to start that film after wrapping up work on Indian 2, and did not start production work on Lokesh's film. But after seeing the current deadlock, he did a photo shoot with celebrity photographer Venket Ram at AVM Studio a couple of days ago. This has made Shankar realise that he might lose precious time if he keeps sitting idle, waiting for the producers of Indian 2 to take a call on resumption of the shoot. So, he has dashed off a letter to them, asking them to provide him with their plans for the project, and allowing him to work on another film if they intend to delay things even further.'" The report also claimed they had been told that Shankar had completed around 60% cent of the film's portions, including the intermission sequence, and "Even though Kamal is now focusing on Lokesh's project, he is also keen on wrapping up this film because he feels the film will give a major boost to his political image in the upcoming state elections, and wants it to release at least by summer 2021." However the company's COO, P. Kannan, denied it as a baseless rumour and stated that they did not get any kind of such information from the director. He added, "The film requires a huge crew of 500-600 people on the set, so the planning is going on. We are in the process of deciding how to move forward with the shoot, and in fact, we met Kamal Haasan yesterday to discuss this. We are hoping to resume the shoot soon."

Due to the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, the crew planned to resume the shoot without Haasan in February 2021, with the other cast and the director were advised to keep themselves available for the shoot, while Haasan's portions would be filmed post-elections. That same month, Rathnavelu also opted out of the film citing schedule conflicts. Aggarwal, in March 2021, stated that the reason for the delay was that most of the crew members are from the United States, they are unable to travel and work in India due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Later in February 2021, Shankar officially announced his debut directorial in Telugu, RC15 (later titled as Game Changer) with Ram Charan, and also planned for the Hindi remake of Anniyan, with Ranveer Singh, which was later shelved. In April 2021, Lyca Productions submitted a suit against Shankar to restrain directing any other film before his commitments with the film. However, Shankar denied Lyca's allegations and also argued that the production house cannot prevent him from making other films. The court ordered Shankar and Lyca Productions to settle this issue amicably, but negotiations failed, with Shankar blaming Haasan and Lyca for the delay. In June 2021, the Madras High Court denied the producer's appeal to stop Shankar directing other films. Filming was further planned to be resumed in December 2021, but pushed back further due to Haasan and Shankar's other commitments.

Resumption
In May 2022, during the promotions of Vikram, Haasan indicated the plans of resuming the film, once Shankar completes Game Changer. Following the film's success, plans to revive the film were being initiated, and during June 2022, Udhayanidhi Stalin of Red Giant Movies confirmed he had discussions with Subaskaran and that filming would resume soon, though he did not say whether he would be co-producing or distributing the film. On 24 August 2022, Red Giant Movies came on board as the co-producers, and a preliminary schedule featuring Simha and other artists were filmed. Ravi Varman, who earlier left the project, returned to handle cinematography. During the same time, Shankar announced that he will be filming it simultaneously with Game Changer. Haasan and Aggarwal joined the film's shooting, that was held at Tirupati on 21 September. Both the artists performed the Kalaripayattu and Varma kalai art forms, under the guidance of Dr. A. K. Prakasan Gurukkal, the founder of the spiritual art form. In November 2022, a minor schedule took place in Chennai with other supporting characters after Haasan was unavailable due to his commitments on hosting the sixth season of Bigg Boss.

In February 2023, a month-long schedule was held at the Adityaram Studios in Chennai, where filming would be held for a single stretch and was considered to be the longest schedule. In this schedule, several night shoots took place. After the schedule wrap, the team planned for filming an action sequence set in train at South Africa. On 1 April 2023, the team moved to Taiwan for filming a major sequence, and thereafter, went to Johannesburg for filming the aforementioned train sequence on 12 April 2023. Although being planned as a 12-day schedule, it was filmed within six days. On 10 May 2023, Shankar filmed a major schedule in Chennai, which was completed on 31 May. On 19 June 2023, a sequence was supposed to be filmed at the Chennai International Airport but was interrupted claiming that the crew did not obtain proper permission from the officials.

After a four-month break, in November 2023, filming for the concurrent schedule began in Vijayawada. The crew had shot few sequences at the Alankar Center at Gandhinagar with the presence of 8000 extras for four days, and moved to Visakhapatnam for a 10-day schedule. Shortly afterwards, the team moved to Chennai for filming the remaining sequences and in late-December 2023, the team wrapped the schedule except for filming two songs. In early January 2024, it was announced that the production for the film has been completed. However, Ananda Vikatan reported that filming for few songs were pending which would be shot in India before the 2024 Indian general election. The following month, it was reported that filming was nearing conclusion. A song was filmed for 10 days during early-March 2024 at the housing boards in Chennai painted with silhouettes of Senapathy and featured Siddharth and Priya Bhavani Shankar. On 25 March, Haasan announced that the production of the film has been completed.

Design
In June 2021, Seema Tabassum, Haasan's make-up artist claimed that the film consisted of using prosthetic makeups for Haasan and Aggarwal. Haasan's friend and makeup artist Michael Westmore, who previously worked in the predecessor, provided inputs for the makeup and design during their meeting in United States in August 2022. Margaux Lancester also joined the film's crew, post-completion of the Taiwan schedule in April 2023. The production team members claimed that the prosthetic makeup takes around four to five hours, hence Haasan would come to the sets at 5:00 a.m. ahead of the shooting at 9:00 am. The crew had to be fast while shooting his portions as it would be really difficult for Haasan to shoot with the prosthetics due to the increase in temperature, and after filming those sequences it takes around two hours to remove the prosthetics. Legacy Effects designed prosthetic makeup and animatronics, with Vance Hartwell and Pattanam Rasheed as the makeup artists. Haasan's costume designer Amritha Ram worked on the film, with Pallavi Singh, Gavin Miguel, Rocky and S. B. Satheesan.

Post-production
The editing of the film began in May 2020, after Tamil Nadu government permitted resumption of post-production works of Tamil films that were interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were instructed to follow the necessary safety regulations. The team decided to edit most of the available footage that was completed before the prolonged delay of the film's shoot. Due to Vivek and Venu's deaths before production could be completed, Shankar reportedly decided to use visual effects to complete their remaining scenes.

Full-fledged post-production works began during July 2023. Shankar collaborated with Lola Visual Effects, known for their work in several Hollywood films, to showcase younger looks of Haasan through de-aging technology, and work on the visual effects began at the studio lot of Paramount Pictures. V. Srinivas Mohan joined the film as the visual effects supervisor. In October 2023, Haasan started dubbing for his portions in the film held at the Le Magic Lantern Studio in Chennai. and the very same month the production company tweeted that they had received a copy of the first edit for the film.

In January 2024, sources close from the production team claimed that the final edit has been locked and the post-production team currently worked on the digital intermediate, colour grading, previsualisation, computer graphics and several aspects, without making any amendments from the cut. Nearly four reels of the edit had been sent for the sound design and sound effects. Although the team intended to complete the film prior to the tentative April 2024 release, the producers wanted to announce the date only after being assured from all the post-production units.

Splitting into two films
Although Indian 2 was conceived as a single film during production, in June 2023 Udhayanidhi stated that they had discussed plans for a sequel. The following month, it was reported that the film would be split into two-parts, as the final footage for the film was over six hours long; the latter titled Indian 3, was being shot simultaneously. In October 2023, Ananda Vikatan said around 80% of the footage had been shot for Indian 3, and only 25 days were needed to complete it. On 24 March 2024, Haasan confirmed the third instalment in the franchise; he stated that Indian 3 was shot alongside Indian 2. At the launch of the trailer of Indian 2, Shankar stated that the split was done because he was impressed with all that was shot and cutting the film to a shorter length would affect its quality. Aggarwal's portions will only feature in Indian 3.