One of the big budget films in 2009, ‘Kanthaswamy’ has Vikram and Shriya in the lead. Director Susi Ganesan says the film’s storyline demanded a big budget. “In fact, we have not splurged just for the sake of it. We have spent where it is really necessary. But costumes in the film will be a highlight,” says the director.

“Vikram, playing a superhero in the flick, wears clothes worth Rs 75 lakh alone, while Shriya, whose glamour and acting will be a highlight in the movie, wears clothes worth a whopping Rs 1.25 crore,” he explains, putting the movies budget at over Rs 30 crore. “We wanted to shoot in new locations and toured and shot for a month in Mexico. We spent Rs 8 crores for shooting there, while some scenes and a song, shot in Itlay, cost us Rs 2 crore. Apart from these, being a superhero action adventure, the film has a lot of special effects. These have itself cost us Rs 3 crores,” says the director.

‘Kanthaswamy’, produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu, has music by Devi Sri Prasad and is likely to be a June end release.