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.
The trailer of Karthi's upcoming film Viruman promises all the ingredients of a rural mass entertainer: it has power-packed action, comedy, family sentiment, and some energetic tunes. Muthaiya's Tamil film follows the life of Viruman (Karthi), a brawny village do-gooder, who locks horns with Prakash Raj, an influential figure in the village.
The film also marks the debut of filmmaker Shankar's daughter Aditi Shankar, who plays Karthi's romantic interest. The Suriya production has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography by Selvakumar SK. The film has been written and directed by Muthaiya (of Kutti Puli and Komban fame). Viruman is all set to hit the theatres on August 12.
Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is a romantic drama starring Kalaiyarasan, Dushara Vijayan, Kalidas Jayaram and Shabeer Kallarakkal. Pa Ranjith took to Twitter to announce that the film is scheduled to release on August 31. Natchathiram Nagargiradhu is centered around the politics of love and unfolds in a theatre setup. It is said to be a contemporary romantic film that traces the lives of theatre artists.
The film co-stars Hari Krishnan, Vinoth, Subathra Robert, Regin Rose, Damu, Gnanaprasad, Vinsu Rachel Sam, Arjun Prabhakaran, Uthaiya Surya, Stephen Raj, Sherin Celin Mathew, and Manisa Tait. The film has music by Tenma and lyrics by Uma Devi and Arivu. It will be lensed by Kishor Kumar.
Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda starring Bobby Simha, Siddharth and Lakshmi Menon in lead roles, turned 8 this year. Marking this feat, Karthik Subbaraj posted a video on Twitter with the behind-the-scenes clips. The video also hinted at the making of a sequel, but other crew details are yet to be revealed.
Jigarthanda was a critically acclaimed film that is centered around an aspiring filmmaker who goes to Madurai to research a deadly gangster for a film. It was remade in Kannada under the same title and as Gaddalokonda Ganesh in Telugu. In Hindi, the film was remade as Bachchan Paandey starring Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Masooda is a psychological horror film. When a girl starts acting strangely, her family struggles to understand whether her actions are related to psychological or supernatural events. Thiruveer plays Gopi and Sangitha plays a science teacher. In the teaser, they are shown discussing the girl's condition and the ways to treat her.
Masooda is written and directed by Sai Kiran. The film stars Sangita, Thiruveer, Kavya Kalyan Ram, Subhaleka Sudhakar and Akhila Ram. It is produced by Rahul Yadav Nakka under the banner Swadham Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. While Prashanth R Vihari has scored the music, Nagesh Beneli has cranked the camera and Jesvin Prabu has headed the editing.
Monsoon Raaga is a family entertainer starring Dhananjaya, Rachita Ram, Yasha Shivakumar, Suhasini and Achyuth Kumar. True to its title, right from its romance to fight sequences, most montages in the trailer unfold in the rain. The film is directed by S Ravindranath and produced by AR Vikhyath. J Anoop Seelin has composed the music, SK Rao has lensed the camera and Harish Komme has edited the film.
Aditi Shankar, the daughter of veteran filmmaker Shankar has been roped in as the female lead for Sivakarthikeyan and Madonne Ashwin's Maaveeran. She will be making her debut with Karthi's Viruman which is scheduled to release next week. Maaveeran is the sophomore project of the Mandela director and will be released in both Tamil and Telugu. It is titled Mahaveerdu in Telugu.
Retaining the crew of Mandela, Ashwin's next film will see Vidhu Ayyanna, Philomin Raj and Bharath Shankar handle the cinematography, editing, and music, respectively. The film is produced by Arun Viswa under the banner Shanthi Talkies. The film went on floors on August 3.
Anaswara Rajan plays a young teen identifying as Mike, who questions gender roles and responsibilities. Mike often zooms the streets in a bullet and trains in martial arts and she strikes a friendship with Antony (Ranjith Sajeev), who seems to come with a past of his own. The trailer also suggests an exploration of the challenges that come with sex reassignment surgeries.
The film, which co-stars Rohini Molletti, Jinu Joseph, Akshay Radhakrishnan, and Abhiram Radhakrishnan, has been produced by John Abraham and distributed by Century. The Hesham Abdul Wahab (of Hridayam fame) musical has been written by Aashiq Akbar Ali and filmed by Renadive. The film has been edited by Vivek Harshan and is set to be released in theatres on August 19.
Vijayand is a biopic of Vijay Sankeshwar, a successful businessman who started the VRL Group. Tracing his trials and tribulation, the film narrates his journey from buying a single truck to owning the country's largest logistics company. The 2-minute-long teaser gives us glimpses of people mocking him for seeking loans, his fight with his father, and his strong determination to become successful.
Directed by Rishika Sharma, Vijayanand stars Shri Anant Nag, Nihal, Bharath Bopanna, Siri Prahalad, Vinaya Prasad, Prakash Belwadi, and V Ravichandran. The film is produced by VRL Film Productions and has music by Gopi Sundar C. Cinematography and editing are headed by Keertan Poojary and Hemanth Kumar D.
Jiivi 2, a sequel to Jiivi, is a fight against fate and money. The trailer features Vetri's voiceover explaining the fate that affects different generations of his family. Billed as a crime drama, the film is written and directed by VJ Gopinath, who made the original. Praveen Kumar has lensed the film, Praveen L has edited the film and KS Sundaramurthy has scored the music. Jiivi 2 is set to skip theatrical release and will get its premiere directly on Aha Tamil.
Peace is billed as a social satire that revolves around a delivery partner and the weird events he encounters. The thrilling trailer gives us glimpses of different characters and their plots that get interconnected as the story progresses.
Directed by Sanfeer K, the film is produced by Joju George and Thayaparan. It features Joju George, Siddique, Asha Sarath, Remya Nambeesan, Aditi Ravi, and Mamukkoya in important roles. While Jubair Muhammed has composed the music, Noufal Abdullah has edited the film and Shameer Gibran has handled the cinematography.
Gaalipata 2, though a sequel to the 2008 release Gaalipata, is said to have a different storyline. The film stars Golden Star Ganesh, Diganth, Pawan Kumar, Anant Nag, Bullet Prakash, Vaibhavi Shandilya, Sharmila Mandre, and Samyukta Menon. The film takes place in Neerkote and traces the story of three college boys and their romances.
Yogaraj Bhat who directed the first installment helms Gaalipata 2 as well. Produced by Ramesh Reddy, the film is scheduled to hit the theatres on August 12. While Deepu S Kumar is the editor, Santhosh Rai Pathaje is the DOP and Arjun Janya is the music composer.
Starring Vijay Sethupathi and Gayathrie in the lead, Maamanithan was released in June this year. Seenu Ramasamy's entertainer is centered around an auto driver, his identity crisis and his struggles to save his family. This film has now won the Gold medal at Tokyo Film Awards in the Best Asian Film category.
The film's cast also includes late actor KPAC Lalitha, Anikha, Guru Somasundaram, Shaji Chen and Hewel Mary. Produced by Yuvan Shankar Raja and K Productions, the film has music by Ilaiyaraaja & Yuvan Shankar Raja. M Sukumar has handled the cinematography and Sreekar Prasad has edited the film.
Karthikeya 2 is a sequel to the 2014 supernatural thriller Karthikeya. Nikhil Siddhartha, who also starred in the first part, reprises his role as Dr. Karthikeya in this film. While the first installment was based on Lord Karthikeya, the sequel is centered around Lord Krishna. The makers took to Twitter to announce that the film, which was scheduled to release on August 12, will now hit the theatres on August 13.
Karthikeya 2 is directed by Chandoo Mondeti. It co-stars Anupama Parameswaran, Anupam Kher, Aditya Menon, KS Sridhar, Srinivas Reddy, Satya, Praveen & Harsha Chemudu. Produced by TG Vishwa Prasad and Abhishek Agarwal, the music has been scored by Kaala Bhairava.
Shiva Kandukuri of Gamanam fame is gearing up for his next film titled Bhootadham Bhaskar Narayana. Rashi Singh plays his romantic interest in the film. The first glimpse hints at a detective story that's accompanied by a mythological plot line. Directed by Purushotham Raaj, the film also stars Arun, Devi Prasad, Varshini, Siva Kumar, Shafi, Shivanarayana, Kalpalatha and Roopa Lakshmi. Sricharan Pakala and Vijai Bulganin have composed the music. Goutham G has handled the cinematography and Garry BH has done the editing.