A friend of the family says, `Shekhar has put every penny that he ever made in his career into Adhyayan's comeback. He has paid a whopping Rs 5 crores for the remake rights of the 2007 medical thriller Awake. We've even heard that Shekhar has mortgaged his residence for his son's film.`
When asked about the extreme measures taken for son's sake Shekhar doesn't deny the financial extremity of the project. `Heartless is a do-or-die project for me and Adhyayan. Yes, I've put all my life'e earnings into its making, and why not? Addy is my only son. He's my world.
Besides that I also think he's a very good actor. Now when I see the results on screen I am deeply moved. My son has justified every penny spent on the film. Aur ek baar kyon, baar baar bhi sab kuch dao par lagaane ke liye main tayaar hoon bete ke liye(I am ready to put everything at stake repeatedly for my son).`
When asked about the money paid for the remake rights Shekhar Suman refuses to divulge the exact amount. `But it was a staggering amount. I was advised to just quietly borrow the original film's content. I could've done that since I've completely changed the original content. But I wanted to do this the right way.`
When reminded that global copyright laws have become harsh Shekhar quickly points out, `Kahaani and Jai Ho got away with quite a lot of inspired content. But I was very sure I wanted to do this the right away. Heartless is not just an acid test for my son it's also a new beginning for me. I make my debut as a director. Both my son and I need to prove ourselves.`
Shekhar says selected preview audiences are surprised by the emotional content of Heartlesss. `I'm identified with a lot of comic output. Not that they haven't seen me do serious work. I started my career as an actor with a serious role in Utsav. And here I am pouring my heart out in Heartless.`