Mankatha is not a remake

Director Venkat Prabhu tells Coimbatore Times that his Ajith-starrer Mankatha is not a remake

Denying rumours that Mankatha is a remake, Venkat Prabhu, director of Ajith’s Mankatha says, “This movie is an original; it is not a remake of Jannat. I haven’t even seen Jannat till date.”
Since Ajith’s character has negative shades, the director has given the actor a salt-and-pepper look. Will fans accept it? Says Venkat, “We debated a lot about Ajith’s look before we decided on this look, using George Clooney as reference. Ajith’s the only star who can pull it off. Even Trisha thought it was awesome the first time she saw him. Being gray is cool and today most people in their 30s are greying. I’m 35 and I’m greying!”
While the director is confident that fans will love the look, he says, “We have to wait and watch. In Goa, I thought the gay portion of the film would work. But people didn’t accept it.”
Venkat clearly says it’s a guy film but that all the female characters have scenes where they will definitely make a mark. “Andrea is paired with Arjun and she has a guest role in the film,” he adds.
With the movie slated for an August release, there’s likely to be competition from Vijay’s Velayudham and Suriya’s 7aum Arivu. Says the filmmaker, “I’m not too worried; this is all part of the game. I think it’s a treat for the audience if all the films release around the same time.”
K-town is also buzzing with rumours that the title song of Mankatha is lifted from a popular masala jingle. Venkat Prabu says, “The genre of the song is hip-hop and a lot of hip-hop songs have a similar template. Our title song is pure gangster-rap style. When Yuvan and I heard the jingle, we realized it did sound similar. We both laughed about it.” He adds that since the jingle is popular, the song will be a hit with the audience.
When CT asked music composer Yuvan about the song being similar to the jingle, he messaged, “There’s nothing to react to this.”