| Agni Devi | |
| Director: | John Paul Raj Sham Surya |
| Starring: | Bobby Simha Madhoo Ramya Nambeesan Sathish |
| Studio: | Seatoa Studios Jai Film Productions |
| Music: | Jakes Bejoy |
| Producer: | Stalin and John Paul Raj |
| Cinematography: | Jana |
| Editing: | Deepak |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
| Budget: | 4.2 Crores |
| Runtime: | 97 minutes |
Agni Devi is a 2019 Tamil-language thriller film. The film is directed by John Paul Raj and Sham Surya, and stars Bobby Simha, Madhoo and Ramya Nambeesan.[1] Produced by JPR and Stalin under Jai Film Productions and Seatoa Studios, the film underwent production trouble and released on 22 March 2019.[2]
Agni Dev IPS (Bobby Simha), a devoted cop, has taken charge of investigating the brutal murder of a journalist which happened in broad light. As the case progresses, Agni is asked by his senior, Charles (Bose Venkat), to stop from proceeding further with the investigation. He realises that Charles has been intimidated by Shakuntala Devi (Madhoo), a dreaded politician by abusive circumstances who was later revealed to be his mother he lost when he was four. How Agni tackles her and nabs the culprit forms the rest of the story.
In January 2019, the name was changed to Agni Devi.[3]
Three days before the release of the film, the lead actor Bobby Simha filed a complaint at Nandambakkam police station against director John Paulraj. In his complaint, Simha said that he had only acted in the film for five days and had opted out of the film after the director had shot scenes which were not in sync with the script narrated to the actor. Simha also mentioned that most of the scenes in the film featuring him were shot with body double and VFX.[4]
Despite the report, the film had a theatrical release across Tamil Nadu. Simha later added that he sensed the team was unprofessional by the fourth day of shoot as the director had veered away from the agreed decision to base the plot on a novel written by Rajeshkumar. Furthermore, Simha was unhappy with the sudden involvement of a co-director named Sham Surya, who was also given directorial credits for the project. Despite a request from the Nadigar Sangam to settle the issue amicably, Simha refused to co-operate and announced his intentions of seeking judicial action. Lamenting the inactivity of the professional association, Simha highlighted that the Nadigar Sangam had failed to assist him during previous disagreements about the films, Chennai Ungalai Anbudan Varaverkirathu (2015) and Meera Jaakirathai (2016).[5]