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.
Nivin Pauly's Mahaveeryar is a fantasy drama that presents a mix of the royal age and modern times. The teaser gives us a glimpse of different characters. Apart from Nivin Pauly, the film also features Asif Ali, Lal, Lalu Alex, Siddique and Shanvi. It is produced by Nivin Pauly, PS Shamnas and Abrid Shine. The music is composed by Ishaan Chhabra.
Eesho is directed by Nadirshah. The teaser opens up on an eerie night. It shows a strange conversation between Eesho (Jayasurya) and an ATM security guard. Apart from Jayasurya, the film stars Namitha Pramod and Jaffar Idukki. It is produced by Arun Narayan.
After Manmatha Leelai, Venkat Prabhu is joining hands with Naga Chaitanya for his next, a Tamil-Telugu bilingual. This is also Venkat Prabhu's directorial debut in Telugu. It is tentatively titled NC22 and is produced by Srinivasaa Chitturi under the banner Srinivasaa Silver Screen.
Sridevi Shoban Babu is written and directed by Prasanth Kumar Dimmala, known for the Naga Chaitanya starrer Savyasachi (2018). Sridevi Shoban Babu stars Gouri G Kishan and Santosh Shoban in the lead roles. Set against a village backdrop, the main plot is centred around the lead pair fighting over the ownership of a house. The film is produced by Vishnu Prasad and Sushmita Konidela under the banner GoldBox Entertainment. The music is composed by Kamran.
Captain is directed by Shakti Soundar Rajan, known for the Zombie movie Miruthan, space flick Tik Tik Tik and more recently Teddy. In the poster of Captain, Arya is seen holding a gun, but the major talking point is an alien creature in the background. Simran, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Harish Uthaman play crucial roles in the film. It is produced by Think Studios and Arya's The Show People and the music is composed by D Imman.
The teaser introduces the different characters and gives a sneak peek into the happenings of the night that seems to be interconnected. The film features Dhyan Sreenivasan, Sunny Wayne, Anu Mohan, Aju Varghese, Rahul Madhav and Dain Davis. It is directed by debutant Sanjith Chandrasenan and produced by Vinayaka Ajith.
Antakshari is a crime thriller around the "game of songs". The film is written and directed by Vipin Das. It stars Saiju Kurup, Vijay Babu, Binu Pappu, Sudhi Koppa and Priyanka Nair. Ankit Menon has composed the music and it is produced by Sulthan Brother's Entertainments. It will stream soon on Sony Liv.
The glimpse of 18 pages introduces the lead characters. Anupama is seen writing a diary and Nikhil reading it. 18 pages is penned by Sukumar, the director of Pushpa: The Rise. It is directed by Palnati Surya Pratap and produced by Bunny Vas. The music is composed by Gopi Sundar.
Keedam is an investigative thriller about the hunt for a missing person. Rajisha Vijayan's character, related to the missing person, takes the matter into her own hands. How the investigation plays out forms the rest of the plot. Keedam is written and directed by Rahul Riji Nair. The film stars Rajisha Vijayan, Sreenivasan, Vijay Babu, Manikandan Pattambi and Renjit Shekar Nair in lead roles. It is produced by First Print Studios in association with FairyFrames Productions. Keedam will hit the theatres this May.
On the occasion of Rashmika Mandanna's birthday, a motion poster of her upcoming film with Dulquer Salmaan was released. She plays Afreen, a Kashmiri Muslim girl. She is shown walking in front of a burning car. At the end of the glimpse video, there is also a timestamp dated 01-08-1964, New Delhi and mentions the Indian Army and Jammu & Kashmir.
The yet to be titled film also stars Mrunal Thakur. It is directed by Hanu Raghavapudi and is produced by Swapna Cinema. The music is composed by Vishal Chandrasekhar. The film is said to be made simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
Vishal is seen as a police officer with a lathi in hand in the first look of Laththi. He is injured and has bruises on the back but looks furious. There are also multiple laser points targeting him in the backdrop of a building that is under construction. It is directed by debutant Vinod Kumar. Sunainaa plays the female lead in the film and Yuvan Shankar Raja is the music composer.
The teaser of CBI 5: The Brain reveals an investigation discussion about the assassinations of Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The team seems to be looking for a clue that connects all these assassinations. This film marks the fifth instalment in the Malayalam CBI series of investigative thrillers with Sethurama Iyer (Mammootty) as the protagonist. It is written by SN Swamy and directed by K Madhu.
Vijay's Beast is scheduled to release on April 13. Meanwhile, the shooting for his next Thalapathy66 went on floors this week. It is directed by National Award winning director Vamshi Paidipally and Rashmika Mandanna plays the female lead. It will be simultaneously shot in both Tamil and Telugu. Also, Sarath Kumar plays a major role in the film. Thaman has been roped in as the music composer and it is produced by Dil Raju under Sri Venkateswara Creations.
Hondisi Bareyiri is a coming-of-age story that narrates college life and things that take place after it. The teaser shows memories of fun, friendship, love and heartbreak during college times. The film is written and directed by debutant Ramenahalli Jagannatha. It stars PraveenTej, Naveen Shankar, Shri, Anirudh Acharya, Bhavana Rao and Samyuktha Hornad. It is produced by Ramenahalli Jagannatha & friends under the banner Sunday Cinemas.
Oh My Dog teaser shows us a beautiful relationship between a small boy and a dog. The film is written & directed by Sarov Shanmugam. The film stars the trio of Vijaykumar, Arun Vijay and Arnav Vijay (grandfather-father-son in real life). It is scheduled to release on Amazon Prime on April 21. The film is produced by Jyotika & Suriya under the banner of 2D Entertainment. The music is composed by Nivas K Prasanna.
Samantha's Yashoda is scheduled to release in theatres on August 12. Apart from Samantha who plays the titular role, the film also features Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Murli Sharma, Unni Mukundan and Sampath Raj in pivotal roles. The film is produced under the banner of Sridevi Movies.