Having wrapped up the shoot of Quotation Gang, filmmaker Vivek Kumar Kannan is spending hours at the edit table as the film’s post-production is underway. Through the Priyamani, Sunny Leone and Jackie Shroff-starrer that revolves around contract killers, the director intends to show how a small desire can change one’s life.

“After reading Mafia Queens Of Mumbai, I thought of some ideas revolving around those who take contracts to kill people. Quotation Gang is a dark, witty movie that is disturbing in equal measure,” he says of the film that will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

While Priyamani plays the central character, Leone’s casting comes as a surprise in the gritty drama. She plays Padma, a home-maker who has secrets of her own. Talking about her de-glam avatar in the movie, the producer-director says, “When I told her the movie’s concept, she asked me what I wanted from [the role]. I said that I wanted her [to be presented] in a different light from how she was depicted earlier. I didn’t want skin show for her. That was the first rule when we started the film.”

The project, based on a true story, has been shot across Kashmir, Chennai and Mumbai. Kannan is evidently impressed by Leone’s dedication to her work. “She doesn’t understand the language, but gives her 100 per cent to the role. She is a director’s actor, and never says no to anything. When I gave her more than five pages of dialogues, she learnt it fast. She was willing to sport a deeply tanned look.” 

The makers are currently divided between pursuing a theatrical or OTT release, and will soon finalise the release date.