Vishnu Vishal Says He Couldn't Move On After Lal Salaam's Failure, Apologised To Netflix

Not every film goes the way its team hopes. Vishnu Vishal knows that better than most. Looking back at Lal Salaam, the actor revealed that he felt personally responsible for the film’s disappointing run and even apologised to Netflix after things didn’t work out.

Speaking to Rednool, Vishnu said he couldn’t simply move on after the film failed. Even though Lal Salaam featured Superstar Rajinikanth in an extended role, he believed the responsibility was his too.

Sharing what happened, Vishnu said, “Lal Salaam didn’t work in theatres or on OTT. I apologised to Netflix. They asked, ‘Why are you worrying?’ I said, ‘I should take ownership. I’ll come back.’ They told me, ‘It’s not your film. They tried to do business with Superstar Rajinikanth, and

Rajinikanth is in the film for one hour.’ I said, ‘It’s still my film. How can it go wrong?’ OTT platforms like this kind of ownership.”

Directed by Aishwarya Rajinikanth, Lal Salaam released in theatres in 2024. Produced by Lyca Productions under Subaskaran Allirajah and featuring music by AR Rahman, the film received mixed reviews and failed to make an impact at the box office. Made on a reported budget of ₹80–90 crore, it earned ₹17.74 crore in India and around ₹31.25 crore worldwide. Reports also claimed that the film’s poor performance added to Lyca Productions’ financial troubles.

The film also had an unusual OTT journey. Reports said Netflix had acquired its streaming rights before release, but the premiere kept getting delayed. Later, Aishwarya Rajinikanth revealed that a hard disk containing important footage had gone missing, affecting the planned extended director’s cut. Instead of releasing on Netflix, the film quietly premiered on Sun NXT in June 2025.

Vishnu is now gearing up for Gatta Kusthi 2. Directed by Chella Ayyavu, the sequel brings back Vishnu Vishal and Aishwarya Lekshmi as Veera and Keerthi. Karunas, Kali Venkat, Munishkanth and Gajaraj return to reprise their roles, while Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu and Karunakaran join the cast. The film, with cinematography by K M Bhaskaran and music by Sean Roldan, is scheduled to hit theatres worldwide on July 3.