Looks like the makers of Suriya-starrer Singam II had to pay a price, literally, to get the title! We hear that the producer of the film, Lakshmanan, had to pay a hefty sum to the production arm of a leading private Tamil TV channel to get back the rights of the title.

Confirming the news, Lakshmanan told , "The first film was produced as a joint production between K E Gnanavel Raja's production house and a Mumbai-based corporate.They had then sold the copyrights to the channel's production arm, who distributed the film. So, when we decided to make the sequel, we had to pay them to get the rights."

However, Lakshmanan refused to divulge the exact amount and said,"I can't reveal figures as they are confidential.All I can say is that we had to pay a substantial amount." Industry sources place the figure at around 3 crore, as the Singam II team had to get the rights to not just the title but also to the characters.

Meanwhile, the producer adds that the film is 85 per cent complete and will release some time in June."Director Hari is currently shooting two songs in sets erected in Chennai.We are planning to go to Europe to shoot another song. And, we have some fight scenes that will be shot in south Tamil Nadu," he says.