Everything That Made News In Entertainment From The South (18 - 24 September)
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.
Jayasurya’s mystery thriller Eesho follows a suspicious stranger (Malayalam)
Director Nadirshah and Jayasurya who last collaborated for Amar Akbar Anthony in 2015, reunite for Eesho. The film seems to revolve around a murder in the locality, and an ATM is somehow connected to the crime. The ATM security guard Ramachandran Pillai meets a complete stranger (Jayasurya). But all that we know is that the stranger roams around with a knife and a gun. Is Jayasurya a friend or foe? The mystery thriller streams on SonyLIV from October 5.
Eesho is directed by Nadirshah and co-stars Namitha Pramod, Jafar Idukki, Johny Antony, Indrans, and Suresh Krishna. The story and screenplay is penned by Suneesh Varanad. The film is produced under the banner of Arun Narayan Productions. While Roby Varghese Raj is the DOP, Shameer Muhammed is the editor.
Victory Venkatesh to play God in Ori Devuda (Telugu)
Venkatesh Daggubati steps into Vijay Sethupathi’s role of God for the Telugu remake of Oh My Kadavule (2020). In the Kannada remake of the film, late actor Puneeth Rajkumar donned the role of God. The film’s teaser gives us a glimpse into a whimsical world where a butterfly flies into a book and disappears. Ori Devuda follows the life of a young man who gets a second chance to undo his marriage with his best friend and choose a different path. This fun entertainer is slated to hit the screens on October 21.
Helmed by Ashwath Marimuthu, the film co-stars Vishwak Sen, Mithila Palkar, and Asha Bhat. Leon James has scored the music. Vijay Mukthavarapu has handled the editing and the dialogues are penned by Tharun Bhascker. The film is produced by Pearl V Potluri and Param V Potluri under PVP Cinema & Sri Venkateswara Creations.
Priyanka Mohan to pair with Dhanush in Captain Miller (Tamil)
Arun Matheswaran's directorial Captain Miller is a period drama. The film stars Dhanush in the lead role and has Sundeep Kishan in an extended cameo. The makers have now announced that Priyanka Mohan is roped in as the female lead. John Kokken has also joined the cast, and is likely to play the antagonist role.
This film is likely to go on floors by the end of the month. Dhanush is said sport three looks in this film and the story traces 15 years of the character’s life. Captain Miller is scheduled to release in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Kamal Haasan resumes shooting for Indian 2 (Tamil)
The shooting of Shankar’s Indian 2 resumed last month and the portions starring Siddharth and Rakul Preet Singh were shot. Now, Kamal Haasan has joined the cast and Kajal Aggarwal is expected to join the shooting soon. Haasan took to Twitter to share the pictures from the film’s set. The video sees Haasan and Shankar interacting animatedly.
Produced by Lyca Productions, the film also stars Priya Bhavani Shankar, Delhi Ganesh, and Bobby Simha. While Anirudh Ravichander will be scoring the music, Ravi Varma will be handling the camera.
Merlapaka Gandhi’s Like, Share & Subscribe releases in November (Telugu)
Santosh Shobhan starrer Like, Share & Subscribe is scheduled for a release in November. This light-hearted entertainer is about a travel vlogger who journeys to different places along with his friend. During one such journey, he happens to meet a pretty girl and falls in love with her.
Directed by Merlapaka Gandhi, the film stars Santosh Shobhan and Faria Abdullah in lead roles. It is produced by Venkat Boyanapalli under the banners of Aamuktha Creations and Niharika Entertainment. While Ramu Tumu has handled the editing, Praveen Lakkaraju and Ram Miriyala have scored the music.
Real star Upendra’s Kabzaa promises a grand spectacle (Kannada)
Set in the pre-independence era, the teaser of Kabzaa is initally set in the 1940s. We are shown how people live in poverty. It the cuts to the present, and we are introduced to Upendra’s character, who has grown up in poverty but has chosen to become a big gangster. Releasing in seven languages, this pan-Indian gangster film also stars Kichcha Sudeep and Shriya Saran in important roles.
Written and directed by R Chandru, the film is produced by R Chandra Shekar. Ram Lakshman and Chandramouli have penned the dialogues. While editing is handled by Deepu S Kumar, cinematography is done by AJ Shetty and music is composed by Ravi Basrur.
Dhanush’s Vaathi is slated to hit the screens on December 2 (Tamil)
In Venky Atluri's upcoming film Vaathi, titled SIR in Telugu, Dhanush plays Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a teacher. Set in the 90s, the film has Tilak trying to clean up the education system. The makers have now announced that the film is scheduled to release on December 2. The producers wrote on Twitter - “Our Vaathi / SIR is getting ready to take classes from 2nd Dec 2022!”
The film also co-stars Samyuktha Menon, Sai Kumar, Tanikella Bharani, Samuthirakani, Thotapalli Madhu and Aadukalam Naren, among others. It is a GV Prakash Kumar musical. The movie has been lensed by J Yuvraj and produced by Naga Vamsi S and Sai Soujanya, under the banners Sithara Entertainments – Fortune Four Cinemas and Srikara Studios.
Pallotty 90s Kids promises a nostalgic trip (Malayalam)
Jithin Raj’s Pallotty 90s Kids is a celebration of friendship. The film is based on the much-celebrated short film Pallotty. The teaser opens with a voice-over that says one’s friends are chosen by God. The story revolves around two young boys and their friendship and it is sure to take one on a ride back to the 90s.
Written and directed by Jithin Raj, the film stars Arjun Ashokan and Balu Varghese in lead roles. The film is produced by Sajid Yahiya. While Deepak Vasan has penned the screenplay and dialogues, Rohit VS Variyath has handled the editing and Manikandan Ayyappa has composed the music.
Veteran actor Ramarajan makes a comeback with Saamaniyan (Tamil)
After 13 years, actor Ramarajan returns to acting with Saamaniyan. The teaser of the movie was launched in the same venue where Ramarajan’s movie Karakattakkaran (1989) ran for 300 days. While the teaser doesn’t reveal much about the plot, the film unfolds in a mysterious setting, piquing the interest of the audience.
Saamaniyan is written and directed by R Rahesh. The film co-stars Raarajan, Radharavi, MS Baskar, and Mime Gopi. Produced by Mathiyalagan under the banner of Etcetera Entertainment, the film has music by Achu Rajamani.
Intense training video from Nagarjuna’s The Ghost is out (Telugu)
The Ghost is a full-on action entertainer that sees Nagarjuna as Vikram fighting a whole lot of gangsters to save his elder sister and her daughter. The makers have recently released a training video Guns & Sword in which Nagarjuna and Sonal Chauhan are seen preparing for their respective characters. The video has visuals of them prepping for the action scenes and holding some heavy guns.
The Ghost is written and directed by Praveen Sattaru. The film also stars Gul Panag, Anikha Surendran, Manish Chaudhari, Ravi Varma and Srikanth Iyengar. It is slated to release on October 5, 2022. While Mukesh G has lensed the film, Dharmendra Kakarala has handled the editing, and Mark K Robin and Bharatt – Saurabh have scored the music. While Mukesh G has lensed the film, Dharmendra Kakarala has handled the editing, and Mark K Robin and Bharatt – Saurabh have scored the music.
Anjali to play a lead role in web series Fall (Telugu)
Anjali, who is now a part of Ram Charan’s RC15, is all set to play a lead role in the web series Fall. This series is an adaptation of Michelle Allen’s series Vertige. The plot follows a woman who has no memory of the last 24 hours before her alleged suicide attempt.
Cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Siddarth Ramaswamy helms this series and also handles the cinematography. The show co-stars SP Charan, Sonia Agarwal, Santhosh Pratap, Namita Krishnamoorthy, Thalaivasal Vijay, and Poornima Bhagyaraj. While Kishan C Chezhiyan is handling the editing, the music is composed by Ajesh.
Disha Patani joins the sets of Suriya 42 (Tamil)
Suriya 42 is directed by Siruthai Siva. Bollywood actress Disha Patani is all set to make her Tamil debut opposite Suriya in this film. Patani has joined the shooting of the film, which is currently taking place in Goa. Suriya 42 is a mega 3D period film, and Suriya will be reportedly seen in five different avatars. The film is also set to release in 10 languages. The music for the film is composed by Devi Prasad and Vetri handles the camera.
Ashok Selvan sports three different looks in Nitham Oru Vaanam (Tamil, Telugu)
Nitham Oru Vaanam features Ashok Selvan in three different looks and three different emotional spaces. The film is titled Aakasham in Telugu. Arjun (played by Selvan) is a young man, who goes through various stages in life. And along the way, he meets three women (Ritu Varma, Aparna Balamurali and Shivatmika Rajshekar) who change his life.
This Telugu-Tamil bilingual film is directed by Ra Karthik. The film has music by Gobi Sundar, editing by Anthony and cinematography by Vidhu Ayyanna. This Viacom18 Studios production is set to hit the theatres in November later this year.
First look of Top Gear released (Telugu)
Top Gear starring Aadi Saikumar has him playing a taxi driver. The first look motion poster of the film is an animated video that follows a taxi which evades police and reaches a road tunnel. While some briefcases are exchanged here, there are also a few gun shots.
Helmed by Shashikanth, the film stars Aadi Sai Kumar, Riya Suman and Brahmaji. Produced by KV Sridhar Reddy under the banner Sri Dhanalakshmi Productions, the film has music by Harshavardhan Rameswar. Sai Sriram has captured the visuals of the film and Prawin Pudi has handled the editing.
Naga Chaitanya’s Tamil-Telugu bilingual NC22 goes on floors (Tamil, Telugu)
Tentatively titled NC22, this Naga Chaitanya starrer went on floors this week. NC22 is Venkat Prabhu’s first Telugu directorial. This is also Chaitanya’s first Tamil-Telugu bilingual. Krithi Shetty has joined the film has the female lead. Shetty and Chaitanya last paired for the comedy entertainer Bangarraju (2022).
While Abburi Ravi has penned the dialogues, NC22 has music by Ilaiyaraaja and Yuvan Shankar Raja, which marks their first film collaboration. The film is produced by Srinivasaa Chitturi of Srinivasaa Silver Screen.
Aju Kizhumala's Drama releases on September 23 (Tamil)
Billed as a single-shot film, Aju Kizhumala’s Drama has won several awards. The film follows an investigation of a murder that was committed within four minutes. The trailer also suggests that the film will look at what happens inside a police station.
Drama stars Kishore, Charlie, Jai bala, Kavya Bellu, Nakulan Vincent, and Maria Prince. While Bijibal, Jaya K Dos, and Jecin George have scored the music, Akhil Alias has handled the editing and Shinos has cranked the camera. The film is produced by Antony Raj M and co-produced by Jayachandran PP and Dr Jolly Ambukan.