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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.
After the massive success of Kantara, actor-director Rishab Shetty announced that he would be making a prequel to the socio-fantasy film. The makers of the film have now officially launched the prequel with a title teaser. Titled Kantara: Chapter 1, the makers also released the after-movie of the puja ceremony. The film has begun shooting.
Kantara: Chapter 1 is directed by Rishab Shetty, who co-writes the film with Shanil Guru and Anirudh Mahesh. The film is backed by Vijay Kiragandur under the Hombale Films banner. Aravind S Kashyap, B Ajaneesh Loknath, and Pragathi Shetty return to the crew as the cinematographer, music director, and costume designer respectively. The film is set to release in seven languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and English. The rest of the cast and crew are yet to be announced.
Actor Nithiin will be next seen in the action comedy Extra-Ordinary Man. The makers of the film recently released a trailer that sees Nithiin playing a budding actor, who gets involved in a crime due to a comedy of errors. The film also stars Sreeleela, Rohini, Rao Ramesh, and Sampath Raj. Noted actor Dr Rajashekar also makes an appearance.
Extra-Ordinary Man is written and directed by Vakkantham Vamshi. It is produced by Sudhakar Reddy and Nikitha Reddy. Harris Jayaraj scores the music while Arthur A Wilson, Yuvraj, and Sai Sriram handle the cinematography. The film is set to release on December 8.
The makers of the much-awaited Prabhas’ Salaar have released the official trailer of the film. The action entertainer focuses on the friendship between Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Varadharaja Mannar, an exiled ruler who enlists the help of his childhood friend, played by Prabhas. The film is set amidst a grand war in the fictional city of Khansar, with militants from around the world taking part in the war.
Salaar - Part 1: Ceasefire is written and directed by Prashanth Neel and is backed by Vijay Kiragandur under the Hombale Films banner. The film also stars Shruthi Haasan, Tinnu Anand, Jagapathi Babu, Sriya Reddy, Eshwari Rao, and Garuda Ram. Ravi Basrur handles the music while Bhuvan Gowda is the cinematographer. The film is set to release in five languages on December 22.
Director Mysskin, who was recently seen in the films Maveeran and Leo, will be returning to the director’s chair. He will be collaborating with actor Vijay Sethupathi in the film Train. The film is said to be a thriller with dark elements and was formally launched recently. Kalaipuli S Thanu backs the film under his V Creations banner. Mysskin and Sethupathi had previously collaborated on the yet-to-be-released Pissassu II.
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj recently announced that he would be starting his own production house. The company is called ‘G Squad’ and will be presenting its first film, Fight Club. The action crime film stars Uriyadi Vijay Kumar and is directed by debutant Abbas A Rahmath. The film also stars debutant Monisha Mohan Menon, Avinash Raghudevan, Karthikeyan Santhanam, Shankar Das, and Saravanavel. Leon Britto and Karunakaran P are handling the cinematography and editing while Govind Vasantha scores the music.
R Madhavan is all set to collaborate with Thiruchitrambalam director Mithran Jawahar on a film. The actor recently revealed that the film is titled Adhirstasaali and that the team has started filming in Scotland. The film also stars Radikaa Sarathkumar. The film is backed by MediaOne Global Entertainment and is written by author Jeyamohan. No other details regarding the cast and crew or plot have been revealed.
Prominent actor Darshan started the year with his commercial blockbuster Kranti and is all set to end with his period action entertainer Kaatera. The makers recently released a glimpse video to announce the release date of the film. The film will be released on December 29, 2023, making it the final big-budget Kannada film of the year.
Kaatera is directed by Tharun Sudhir, in his second collaboration with Darshan after Roberrt. Sudhir also wrote the film along with Jadesh Kumar Hampi. The film also stars Radhana Ram, Jagapathi Babu, Shruthi, and Kumar Govind. Rockline Venkatesh backs the film under his Rockline Entertainment banner. V Harikrishna composes the music while Sudhakar S Raj handles the cinematography.
Actor Vijay Raghavendra’s police procedural thriller Mareechi is all set to release on December 8. The thriller is directed by debutant Sidhruv and also stars Sonu Gowda. The film is said to be a suspense thriller involving a murder. Abhi Das, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Arun Balraj, and Shruthi Patil also feature in the film. Produced by the SSR banner, the film has music by Jyothi Sandeep and cinematography by Manohar Joshi.
The makers of the Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Aadujeevitham a.k.a The Goat Life announced that the survival drama will be released worldwide on April 10, 2024. The announcement came with a short teaser that shows Prithviraj’s Najeeb Muhammed scurrying through the hot desert sun in the hopes of escaping a life of bondage. A hopeful theme by AR Rahman underscores the teaser.
The film adaptation of Benyamin’s book of the same name has been in the making for over a decade and has finally come to fruition. Directed by Blessy, the film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead role, along with Jimmy Jean-Louis and Amala Paul. It has AR Rahman as the music director and Sunil KS as the cinematographer. Sreekar Prasad handles the editing.
Actor Vishal is all set to collaborate with director Hari again for the third time. The film is titled Rathnam and is said to be a commercial entertainer. To announce the title, the makers released a unique teaser that shows Vishal beheading a rival amidst a ritual for a deity. The entire sequence is filmed in a single shot, combining VFX elements with real footage.
Rathnam is produced by Karthik Subbaraj’s production house Stone Bench Films in association with Zee Studios. The film also stars Priya Bhavani Shankar, Samuthirakani, Gautam Vasudev Menon, and Yogi Babu. Devi Sri Prasad handles the music while M Sukumar handles the cinematography.
Mohanlal’s next film will be Jeethu Joseph’s legal drama Neru. The film's makers recently released the official poster, which shows Mohanlal and Priyamani as opposing lawyers. Neru will be the fifth collaboration between Joseph and actor Mohanlal after the Drishyam series, 12th Man, and the yet-to-release Ram.
Neru is directed by Jeethu Joseph, who co-writes the script along with Santhi Mayadevi. The film is backed by Antony Perumbavoor under the Aashirvad Cinemas banner. It also stars Anaswara Rajan, Ganesh Kumar, and Jagadish. Satheesh Kurup and VS Vinayak handle the cinematography and editing respectively while Vishnu Shyam handles the music.
The release date of the Vishwak Sen starrer Gangs of Godavari has been postponed. While initially supposed to be released on December 8, the makers of the film have now announced that the gangster film will be released on March 8, 2024. The film also stars Neha Sshetty and is directed by Krishna Chaithanya. Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya have produced the film under the Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas banners. Yuvan Shankar Raja has handled the music.