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Here's a recap of the significant stories in entertainment across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films, and sometimes the odd television series as well.
Vijay – Vamshi Paidipally's Thalapathy66 has been creating quite a buzz with its cast announcements, which include Rashmika Mandanna, Shaam, Prakash Raj, and Sarath Kumar. Now, the makers have announced the title and have released three consecutive posters piquing the interest. Titled Varisu, the poster has the tagline "The Boss Returns".
The film also stars Prabhu, Khushbu, Yogi Babu, Sangeetha, Srikanth, and Samyuktha Shanmuganathan in important roles. It is produced by Dil Raju and Shirish under the banner Sri Venkateshwara Creations production. Thaman S is the music composer, Karthik Palani is the cinematographer and Praveen KL is the editor.
Set in a strange fantasy village, Vikrant Rona explores a story that the entire village is trying to hide. Kichcha Sudeep plays the titular character, a newly appointed senior police officer investigating several missing cases. The visually captivating trailer ends with the narration, "Once upon a time, there was a devil and his name was Vikrant Rona." As the savior fights the devil, is Vikrant Rona hunting down Vikrant Rona?
Directed by Anup Bhandari, Vikrant Rona stars Kichcha Sudeep, Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok, and Jacqueline Fernandez. The film is produced by Alankar Pandian and presented by Zee Studios and Kichccha Creations. B Ajaneesh Loknath has scored the music, William David helmed the camera, and Ashik Kusugolli has handled the editing. Vikrant Rona hits the theatres on July 28 in 3D.
Prince, starring Sivakarthikeyan and Ukrainian actor Maria Ryaboshapka, is scheduled to release in Tamil and Telugu this Diwali. Directed by Anudeep KV, Prince also stars Sathyaraj and Premji. It is produced by Sree Venkateswara Cinemas in association with Suresh Productions. S Thaman scores the music for the film.
Venkat Prabhu – Naga Chaitanya's Tamil-Telugu bilingual tentatively titled NC22 was launched in Hyderabad. Krithi Shetty who paired up with Naga Chaitanya in Bangarraju reunites with him for this film. The duo of Ilaiyaraaja and Yuvan Shankar Raja are set to compose the music. This film marks Venkat Prabhu's directorial debut in Telugu and is produced by Srinivasaa Chitturi under the banner Srinivasaa Silver Screen.
Mohanlal teams up with Athiran fame director Vivek Thomas for his next L353. This film is produced by Shibu Baby John under the banner John & Mary Creative. Century Films of Mr. Century Kochumon and Max Lab, partnered by Mr. K. C. Babu, will also be associated with this project.
Billed as an action thriller, Ravi Teja's Rama Rao On Duty is scheduled to theatrically release on July 29. It is based on real events and stars Divyansha Kaushik and Rajisha Vijayan as the female leads. Directed by debutant Sarath Mandava, the film is produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri under the banner SLV Cinemas LLP and RT Teamworks.
The first single 'Thaai Kelavi' from Thiruchitrambalam, written and sung by Dhanush, is released. The energetic dance number is set against the backdrop of a temple festival. Composed by Anirudh Ravichander, this film marks the reunion of Dhanush and Anirudh after seven years.
Thiruchitrambalam is directed by Mithran R Jawahar and produced by Sun Pictures. It stars Nithya Menen, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Raashi Khanna as the female leads. Prakash Raj and Bharathi Raja play important roles in the film. Om Prakash is the DOP and GK Prasanna is the editor.
When Nivedhithaa Sathish's Lavanya begins a tutorial online, eerie events begin to unfold. She also shares a troubled relationship with her sister Madhu (Regina Cassandra). The trailer of Aha Video's Anya's Tutorial presents various chilling narratives — a strained sibling relationship and a haunted house set amidst the horror of the internet.
Directed by Pallavi Gangireddy and written by Sowmya Sharma, the horror series is produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni. The cyber-horror series will be streamed on Aha Video in Telugu and Tamil on July 1.
Poorna is an orchestra lover who visits all concerts in Mysuru. The film shows how his passion for orchestra makes him dream more and how he eventually begins singing in orchestras. When he faces difficulties, he decides to start his own orchestra and take part in shows. Will he be able to succeed making his dream a reality?
Directed by Sunil Mysooru, the story is penned by Sunil and Naveen Sajju. The cast includes Poornachandra Mysore, Rajalakshmi, Dileep Raj, Mahesh Kumar, and Ravi Hunsur. Joseph K Raja and Rahul Roy are the DOPs, while the former also handles editing. Raghu Dixit has scored music for the film.
Following the release of the much-loved series Modern Love and Modern Love Mumbai, Amazon Prime is now all set to release a six-episode anthology titled Modern Love Hyderabad. Embracing love in all of its forms, it shows different love stories set in the modern backdrop, representing life in the city of Hyderabad.
Modern Love Hyderabad is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, Venkatesh Maha, Uday Gurrala, and Devika Bahudhanam. The cast includes Revathy, Nithya Menen, Malavika Nair, Aadhi Pinisetty, Ritu Varma, Abijeet Duddala, Suhasini Maniratnam, Ulka Gupta, Naresh Agastya, and Komalee Prasad. The series is scheduled to premiere on July 8 on Amazon Prime Video.
Debutant filmmaker Indhu VS helms 19 (1) (a), starring Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menon in lead roles. Billed as a film dealing with a contemporary subject, it also features Indrajith Sukumaran, Bhagath Manuel, Deepak Parambol, and Indrans. Govind Vasantha has composed the music and Manesh Madhavan has handled its cinematography. It is produced by Anto Joseph under Anto Joseph Film Company.
Starring Pramod Shetty and Chandra Keerthi M, Tootu Madike explores the chain of events that follow the smuggling of a precious idol. The Kannada film, scheduled to release on July 8, stars Pramod Shetty, Paavana Gowda, Chandra Keerthi M, Giri Shivanna, Ugramm Manju, Shankar Ashwath, and Nanda Gopal, among others. Written by Chandra Keerthi M, ASG, and Dollar, the film is lensed by Naveen Challa and has music by Swamynathan RK.
Bhavana's comeback film Ntikkakkakkoru Premandaarnnu went on floors this week, with the shooting beginning in Kodungalloor. It also stars Sharafudheen, Anarkali Nazar, Ashokan and Shebin Benson. Debut filmmaker Adhil Maimoonath Ashraf has directed and edited the film.
It is produced by Renish Abdulkhader and Rajesh Krishna under the banner of Bonhomie Entertainments and London Talkies. Arun Rushdie is the DOP. The music is composed by Paul Mathews, Nishant Ramteke and Joker Blues.
Dear Vikram revolves around Vikram and Nithya, played by Satish Ninasam and Shraddha Srinath. Caught in the web of politics and power dynamics, these lead characters, who believe in different ideals, struggle over love and beliefs. Directed by debutant filmmaker KS Nandeesh, Dear Vikram also stars Raksha Somashekhar, Vasistha Simha, Sonu Gowda, and Achyuth Kumar. The film was earlier titled Godhra. It is scheduled to stream on Voot Select on June 30.
A sequel to the 2014 supernatural thriller Karthikeya, Karthikeya 2 revolves around Nikhil Siddhartha and Anupama Parameshwaran, who try to unearth the secrets of Lord Krishna and Dwaraka. This mysterious thriller releases on July 22 in five languages – Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.
Karthikeya 2 also stars Anupam Kher, Aditya Menon, KS Sridhar, Srinivas Reddy, Satya, Praveen and Harsha Chemudu. Produced by TG Vishwa Prasad and Abhishek Agarwal, the music is scored by Kaala Bhairava. Sahi Suresh is the art director, Karthik Gatamneni has handled the cinematography and Srujanamani has penned the dialogues.
Abrid Shine and Nivin Pauly join hands to make a sequel for their 2016 hit cop drama Action Hero Biju. Nivin Pauly has produced this film under the banner Pauly Jr Pictures. The first part explores the life of a Sub-inspector Biju Paulose and the different cases he deals with.
However, it is not clear if the sequel will be a continuation to the original. Apart from Nivin Pauly, the first installment starred Anu Emmanuel, Saiju Kurup, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joju George, Alexander Prasanth, Kalabhavan Prajod, Rony David, and Sohan Seenulal.