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''Paris Paris'' is an unreleased Indian Tamil-language
comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Ramesh Aravind Ramesh Aravind (born 10 September 1964), known mononymously as Ramesh, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and television presenter. Ramesh has predominantly worked in Kannada and Tamil films along with a few Telugu and Hindi films. He ...
and produced by Manu Kumaran. A remake of the 2013 Hindi film ''
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
'' by
Vikas Bahl Vikas Bahl is an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing Chillar Party (2011), ''Queen (2013 film), Queen'' (2013), ''Super 30 (film), Super 30'' (2019), and ''Shaitaan (2024 film), Shaitaan'' (2024). Early life and education Bahl was born a ...
, the film features Kajal Aggarwal alongside Elli Avram, Varun Shashi Rao,
Vinaya Prasad Vinaya Prakash ( Bhat), (22 November 1967) also credited as Vinaya Prasad, is an Indian actress known for her work in Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu films, as well as television serials. Career Vinaya Prasad hails from Udupi district of Karna ...
, and Bhargavi Narayan. The film began production in September 2017, and gained notability for being shot simultaneously by the same producers in Telugu as '' That Is Mahalakshmi'', in Kannada as ''
Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
'', and in Malayalam as '' Zam Zam''. All four versions, despite being completed, remain unreleased due to legal and financial issues.


Cast


Production


Development

In June 2014,
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures Viacom18 Studios is an Indian film distribution and production company. It is a subsidiary of JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Viacom18 and Disney India. Based in Mumbai, It is one of the first studio model based motion pic ...
, the producers of the Hindi film ''
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
'' (2014), made an official announcement that they sold the remake rights for the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada versions of their film to
Thiagarajan Thiagarajan Sivanandam (born 21 June 1946) is an Indian actor, film director and film producer in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has acted in several Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth, son- ...
, who would make the films through his production studio, Staar Movies. Viacom put a caveat in the agreement that the principal photography of any of the films must start by 8 June 2017, else the rights would revert to Viacom. That July, Thiagarajan said that no one had been finalised as the lead actress and that he was still considering his options. Thiagarajan announced his potential plans of casting Lisa Haydon to reprise her supporting role and for his son
Prashanth Prashanth Thiagarajan (born 6 April 1973), known professionally as Prashanth, is an Indian actor, businessman, playback singer and film producer known for his works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, he has also appeared in f ...
to act in the film, but remarked that he was unsure if Prashanth would accept to play a character with "grey shades".
Samantha Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences. Etymology Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might ...
held discussions about portraying the film's lead role during July 2014, but turned the film down after being unconvinced about the way the original script was set to be adapted into the South Indian regional languages.
Asin Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononyomusly as Asin, is an Indian former actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu films. Asin is a recipient of List of awards and nominations ...
also rejected the offer due to her pending marriage. After a period of inactivity and further media reports about the casting of the lead actress, Thiagarajan revealed in February 2016 that he had signed on
Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi and ...
to direct the Tamil version of the film, while Suhasini would work as the dialogue writer. Soon after,
Nayanthara Nayanthara (born Diana Mariam Kurian; 18 November 1984) is an Indian actress and producer known for her work in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she ...
turned down the opportunity to work on the film citing scheduling issues during early 2016. In mid-2016, Trisha was also approached to play the lead role but conflicting schedules meant that she could not sign on to appear in the film. The media also linked actresses Parvathy Thiruvothu and
Nithya Menen N. S. Nithya (born 8 April 1990), known professionally as Nithya Menen is an Indian actress and singer who works predominantly in Malayalam, Tamil language, Tamil, and Telugu language, Telugu films . She has also acted in few Kannada langua ...
to the lead role, but neither were signed on. During an interaction with the media in November 2016, Thiagarajan revealed that he had finalised Revathi to direct the Tamil and Malayalam versions of the film, while Anish Kuruvilla and
Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Telugu language, Telugu, Tamil language, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English language, Engl ...
would make the Telugu and Kannada versions respectively. He added that
Tamannaah Bhatia Tamanna Bhatia (born 21 December 1989), known professionally as Tamannaah Bhatia, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Having appeared in 88 films, she has received several awards, including two Sa ...
would feature in the lead role of the Tamil version, while Amala Paul and Parul Yadav would reprise the role in the Malayalam and Kannada versions respectively. He also stated that Amy Jackson was signed on to feature in all four versions of the film in the role originally portrayed by Lisa Haydon. In April 2017, Bhatia stated that the film was shelved, though Thiagarajan refuted her claim and stated that production would begin in May 2017. He revealed that talks with the actress to play the lead role had fallen through after a dispute over her remuneration for the lead role. In June 2017, further confusion about the remake arose after two separate production houses apart from Thiagarajan's Staar Movies had claimed rights to the film. As per a contract signed on 30 July 2016, Staar Movies agreed to enter into a co-production agreement with Mediente International Films Ltd and Liger Commercial Brokers for the making of the films. However a mutual cancellation form was then signed between the parties on 5 April 2017 after Mediente allegedly failed to pay the consideration provided under the agreement. Then, as per a contract signed on 21 April 2017, Staar Movies agreed to assign the rights of all four South Indian versions of ''Queen'' to Golden Crab Film Production Ltd. To avoid the reversion of rights back to Viacom due to three years of inactivity, Staar Movies and Golden Crab swiftly began shooting the film on 17 May 2017 with a series of supporting actors including Nassar under the title of ''Vaanil Thedi Nindren''. However, on 3 June 2017, Staar Movies again assigned and transferred the remake rights of the film to Mediente and Liger, with the Kannada version of the film titled ''
Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
'' (2018) featuring Parul Yadav, starting immediately with
Ramesh Aravind Ramesh Aravind (born 10 September 1964), known mononymously as Ramesh, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and television presenter. Ramesh has predominantly worked in Kannada and Tamil films along with a few Telugu and Hindi films. He ...
taking over as director. Staar Movies then produced a declaration affidavit on 14 June 2017 that any agreement with Golden Crab Films was false. The final credits of the film indicate that the producer is Manu Kumaran of Mediente, with actress Parul Yadav, Staar Movies and Liger as co-producers. Kajal Aggarwal revealed in August 2017 that she had agreed terms to play the lead role in the Tamil version of the film, which would also be directed by Ramesh Aravind and produced by Mediente, and that the film's shoot would begin in September 2017. In September 2017, it was revealed that Bhatia would instead work on the Telugu version of the film which would be directed by Neelakanta. Amala Paul also opted out of the Malayalam version citing date issues and was later replaced by Manjima Mohan. In late September 2017, Mediente announced that the Tamil film would be titled ''Paris Paris'' and the shoot would commence from October 2017. Writer Tamizhachi Thangapandian was signed to help adapt the script and opted to set the film in Virudhanagar, while music composer Amit Trivedi was signed to work on the Tamil and Kannada versions. In late October, Jackson left the film due to scheduling conflicts with the TV series ''
Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
''.


Filming

The film was launched in Chennai on 24 September 2017 with director Ramesh Aravind and actress Kajal Aggarwal in attendance. The team announced that they would film scenes in
Virudhunagar Virudhunagar is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located southwest of the state capital Chennai and south of Madurai. Virudhunagar emerged as an important trade c ...
, followed by schedules in various cities across Europe. Speaking about the Tamil remake at the film launch, Kajal Aggarwal said, "I loved the story ever since I saw the original! But we have to remember that the film, since it was made a couple of years ago, will have to be changed to keep it in sync with the current times. The makers of the film and I are very clear that we want to adapt ''Queen'' to Southern sensibilities, and do it our own way. While the script will essentially remain the same, the treatment will be personalised. I will also add my own touch to the role." Filming began for the Tamil version in early November 2017, with the first schedule taking place in France. All four versions had scenes shot in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël ...
, with all four lead actresses on the sets of the films together. Scenes for the Tamil version in India were shot in Chennai and Virudhanagar, while a further schedule was completed in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. Production on all four films were completed in June 2018, with post-production work beginning thereafter. In total, the four versions of the film cost ₹54 crore rupees to make, surpassing the initial budget of ₹40 crore rupees. A teaser of the Tamil version of the film was released in December 2018.


Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Amit Trivedi and lyrics are by Thamizhachi Thangapandian and Parvathy.


Release

The film's release was delayed after the
Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...
gave an "A" (adults only) certificate to the Tamil and Telugu versions of the film in August 2019. Co-producer Parul Yadav raised an objection to why only the Tamil and Telugu versions were flagged, when the Kannada, Malayalam and original Hindi films were given "U/A" certificates. She added that certain scenes from the original, such as the scene where the lead actress goes to a
strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...
, were not shot owing to cultural differences in Tamil Nadu. Producer Manu Kumaran was critical of how the Board had looked to censor the appearance and dialogues spoken by Elli Avram's character. In April 2020, Yadav suggested that the producers were keen to release all four versions of the film on the same day, and were thus waiting for the censorship decisions to be revised. In July 2020, it was widely reported in the media that the producers were in discussions with
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
about the release of the four films via the streaming service. Songs from the four films were then later released on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in early September 2020. Manu Kumaran subsequently announced that the films were yet to be sold to any streaming service and criticised the "male-chauvinistic" mindset of digital media companies for refusing to purchase the film. The four films remain unreleased owing to an ongoing litigation between Mediente and French on-location production studio Prodywood regarding non-payment, and Mediente and the film's main financiers, Taizoon Khorakiwala's Switz International.


See also

* '' That Is Mahalakshmi'' * ''
Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
'' * '' Zam Zam''


References


External links

* {{Ramesh Aravind Films about women in India Films directed by Ramesh Aravind Films scored by Amit Trivedi Films set in Greece Films set in Paris Films shot in Chennai Films shot in France Films shot in Greece Films shot in India Films shot in Paris Films shot in Tamil Nadu Indian comedy-drama films Tamil remakes of Hindi films Tamil-language comedy-drama films Tamil-language Indian films Unreleased Tamil-language films