Leo: Dancers From Naa Ready Song Stage Protest Over Unpaid Remuneration

Controversy continues to swirl around Thalapathy Vijay’s highly-anticipated upcoming film, Leo. The film’s trailer release generated significant buzz, earning not only praise from fans but also drawing criticism for not muting a cuss word during theatre screenings. Adding to the drama, a group of dancers has now reportedly taken their grievances to the production house’s office, alleging non-payment for their work on the song Naa Ready. The protests shed light on the ongoing intrigue surrounding the film, which has kept both fans and critics on edge.

A video of the dancers engaging in a heated argument presumably with a member of the Leo production team has been shared by Puthiyathalaimurai TV on X (formerly known as Twitter). In the video, many could be heard complaining about their dues that have not been cleared even after four months of completion of work.

The representative of the production team, in the video, asked the protesting dancers to approach the union as they were responsible for clearing the dues.

According to reports, the producers had recruited around 1,500 extra dancers for the song, which was also the first song of Leo’s album. Producer Lalit Kumar had revealed that the song was shot on a massive scale, spending a fortune. It is to be noted that the shooting of the song spanned seven days.

Earlier, Riyaz Ahmed, one of the dancers in the song, made a similar allegation on social media. In the clip, he claimed that he was one of the freelance dancers hired for the Naa Ready song shoot. He also showed his identity card that was given to the performers for identification. “Even after four months, I have not yet received the payment. We are not getting any response to the concerns that we have raised. I request the Leo team clear our payments soon,” he said.

Before the trailer launch of the film, Leo received a U/A certificate from the CBFC. Reports suggest that the board has also asked for 13 changes to the flick including muting swear words used in the film.

Apart from Thalapathy Vijay, Leo stars Trisha Krishnan, Arjun Sarja, Gautham Menon, Mysskin and Priya Anand in pivotal roles. The action thriller also features Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and is set to release in theatres on October 19.