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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.
Director and producer R Chandru, who last helmed the Upendra-starrer Kabzaa, has announced five new films from his production house RC Studios. The director launched his new production house in an event graced by Chief Minster Siddaramiah, actor Upendra, Krishna, Jack Manju, and KP Srikanth. Chandru mentioned that the studio would churn out biggies and that he finally had a team to look after the production. The five films that Chandru announced were titled Father, Dog, Shri Rama Bana Charitra, POK, and Kabzaa 2. Chandru announced that he would helming the films POK and Kabzaa 2.
Vinay Rajkumar is all set to collaborate with director Suni in the romantic comedy Ondu Saral Prema Kathe. The makers have now announced that the film will be released on February 8. The makers also released two character teasers, which see Vinay Rajkumar play the role of a music director in search of a partner, while Swathishta Krishnan’s character plays the role of a journalist.
Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe is written and directed by Suni and is backed by Mysore Ramesh under the Ram Movies banner. The film has music by Veer Samarth and cinematography by Karthik Sharma and Sabha Kumar. The film also stars Rajesh Nataranga and Mallika Singh.
Actor Jaggesh and director Guruprasad are all set to collaborate for the third time with the film Ranganayaka. The film is all set to release on March 8. It is set to be a period film, set during the Vijayanagara Empire, and is touted to be a political satire. The film also stars Rachitha Mahalakshmi. Backed by AR Vikyath under the Vikyath Chithra Productions banner, the film features music by Anoop Selin.
Jaggesh and Guruprasad had previously collaborated on the cult hits Mata and Eddelu Manjunatha. Though not great commercial successes, the films were known for their unique style of meta-storytelling and have been a template for popular memes.
The makers of the upcoming Fahadh Faasil starrer Aavesham released the teaser of the film. It sees the Trance star donning the role of a wacky gangster who is known for his antics around the city. The film sees Faasil join hands with director Jitu Madhavan, who helmed last year’s supernatural comedy Romancham.
Aavesham is written and directed by Jithu Madhavan and is backed by Nazriya Nazeem and Anwar Rasheed under the Fahadh Faasil and Friends and Anwar Rasheed Entertainment banners. It also stars Mansoor Ali Khan, Sajin Gopu, and Ashish Vidhyarthi. Sushin Shyam composes the music while Sameer Thahir handles the cinematography.
The makers of Tovino Thomas’ next film with director Lal Jr. recently unveiled the new title of the film. Previously titled Nadigar Thilakam, the name was objected to by fans of legendary Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan, who was known by the same monicker. After relentless persuasion by fans, the team finally changed the title of the film to Nadikar. The title release event was attended by noted actor Prabhu Ganesan, the son of Sivaji Ganesan.
Nadikar is directed by Lal Jr. and stars an ensemble cast of Tovino Thomas, Soubin Shahir, Bhavana, Dhyan Srinivasan, Anoop Menon, Shine Tom Chacko, Aju Varghese, Srinath Bhasi, Lal, Balu Varghese, Suresh Krishna, Indrans, Madhupal, Khalid Rahman, Ganapathy, and Sreejith Ravi, among others. It is backed by Allan Antony and Anoop Venugopal under the Godspeed production banner along with Y Naveen and Y Ravi Shankar under the Mythrie Movie Makers banner.
Vineeth Srinivasan is all set to don the director’s hat again after the hit Hridhayam, in the upcoming comedy Varshangalkku Shesham. The film will see the director reunite with Nivin Pauly, along with an ensemble cast of Pranav Mohanlal, Dhyan Srinivasan, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Aju Varghese, Neeta Pillai, Basil Joseph, and more. The director recently revealed that the team had finished dubbing for the film.
A montage of photos with the ensemble cast in the dubbing studio was released by the makers on social media. The montage showed actors such as Pranav Mohanlal, Nivin Pauly, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Basil Joseph, and other supporting characters in the film. It was underscored by the song ‘Puthiyoru Lokam’ from the soundtrack of Vineeth Srinivasan’s previous film Hridayam. The film is reportedly aiming for an April release.
After missing its release date twice, the Siddhu Jonnalagadda starrer Tillu Square has changed its release date once again. The makers recently announced that the comedy will be released on March 29, after being postponed from its initial date of February 9. The postponement came due to an understanding between the producers of the film and the makers of the Ravi Teja starrer Eagle. The latter pulled out of its Sankranthi release date with a promise to receive a solo release.
Tillu Square is a sequel to the 2022 film DJ Tillu and is directed by Mallik Ram. Siddhu Jonnalagadda writes the sequel much like the original and also stars along with Anupama Parameswaran. The film is backed by Surya Naga Vamsi and Sai Sounjanya under the Sithara Entertainers and Fortue Four Cinema banners.
On the heels of the success of Hanu Man, director Prasanth Varma announced that the next film in his Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe would begin pre-production. On the occasion of the Ram Mandir Pran Prathishta, the director announced that he had begun working on the sequel Jai Hanuman.
Hanu Man starred Teja Sajja, Amritha Aiyer, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Vinay Rai in lead roles. The film was backed by Kandagatla Niranjan Reddy under the Primeshow Entertainment banner. Dasaradhi Sivendra handled the cinematography while the music was handled by Anudeep Dev, GowraHari, and Krishna Saurabh.
Nithiin, who is all set to reunite with director Venky Kudumla, recently announced the title of his next film. The film is titled Robinhood and will see the actor return to the screens after last year’s Extra Ordinary Man. The announcement came with a title glimpse video which shows Nithiin as a robber feels he is entitled to the money of everyone. Nithiin and Venky Kudumla previously collaborated on the film Bheeshma.
Robinhood is backed by Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Dhankar under the Mythri Movie Makers banner. It also stars Sreeleela, Vennela Kishore, and Rajendra Prasad. The film has music by GV Prakash Kumar and cinematography by Sai Sriram.
Telugu cinema’s Mega Star Chiranjeevi was recently conferred the Padma Vibhushana award by the Government of India for his contribution to the field of arts. The actor and former politician has been in the industry for more than four decades and has seen immense stardom in Telugu cinema. His brother Pawan Kalyan and son Ram Charan have also made their mark in the industry. The actor was previously conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2006. Recipients of the Padma Bhushan include actor Vijayakanth (posthumous) and singer Usha Uthup.
Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s sports drama Lal Salaam is all set to release on February 9. The makers of the film recently held an audio launch event which was attended by the cast and crew of the film. Apart from Vishnu Vishal and Vikrant, the film also stars Superstar Rajinikanth in a cameo. He too attended the ceremony. The film’s album is composed by AR Rahman and the soundtrack consists of five songs. Rahman himself crooned to the song ‘Jalali’ which was also released as a single.
The film is backed by Subaskaran under the Lyca Productions banner and has music by AR Rahman. The film also features Nirosha, Thambi Ramiah, and a cameo by cricketer Kapil Dev. It has cinematography by Vishnu Rangasamy and editing by B Pravin Baaskar.
Hindi film actor Bobby Deol, who was last seen in Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, will be making his South cinema debut in Suriya’s Kanguva. The makers recently released the first look poster of his character Udhiran. Clad in a warrior’s armor, with long hair, and a dead eye, Udhiran is surrounded by a hoard of women. The setting seems to be in a similar period to Suriya’s tribal warrior in the film. The makers described his character as ruthless and unforgettable.
Kanguva is directed by Siva and is backed by KE Gnanavel Raja under the Studio Greens banner along with V Vamsi Krishna Reddy and Pramod Uppalapati under the UV Creations banner. The film is written by Adi Narayana and the dialogues are by prominent lyricist Madhan Karky. The film also stars Disha Pathani, Bobby Deol, Yogi Babu, Jagapathi Babu, Redin Kingsley, Kovai Sarala, and KS Ravikumar in pivotal roles. Devi Sri Prasad handles the music while Vetri Palansamy handles the cinematography.
Director Bejoy Nambiar recently announced his next film. The film is set to be a Tamil-Hindi bilingual, with the former titled Por. The makers released an intense first look poster of the film which shows a split screen with actors Kalidas Jayaram and Arjun Das facing off against each other. Red and blue seem to be the dominant colors in the film’s palette, which teases a duality in perspective with its tagline, ‘Pick a Side’. The Hindi version of the film, titled Dange, received a similar poster with actors Harshvardhan Rane and Ehan Bhat.
Por/Dange is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Prabhu Antony, Madhu Alexander, and Bejoy Nambiar. The Tamil version also stars Sanchana Natarajan, while the Hindi version stars Nikita Dutt in the same role. Jimshi Khalid and Presley Oscar D’Souza handle the cinematography. Gourav Godkhindhi, Sanjith Hegde, Dhruv Vishwanath, and Shashwath Bulusu handle the music.
It was earlier announced that Fahadh Faasil and Vadivelu would reunite for a film under the production house Super Good Films. The film, which was tentatively titled Production No.98, was set to be directed by Sudheesh Shankar. Now, the makers have announced the film’s title Maareesan. Maareesan sees Fahadh Faasil and Vadivelu reunite after last year’s political drama Maamannan.
The new film is directed by Sudheesh Shankar and is backed by RB Chaudhary under the Super Good Films banner. It has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja and lyrics by Madhan Karky. The director and Fahadh Faasil were supposed to collaborate on a film titled Hanuman Gear with Super Good Films producing. However, it is unclear whether the film is the same or a new script.
