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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.
Amidst much speculation, the makers of Prabhas’ next pan-Indian project Salaar announced that the film’s release date will be postponed. The first part of the action film franchise, Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire was initially supposed to be released on September 28. However, the production banner Hombale Films announced that the release was being postponed due to unforeseen circumstances and that the new release date would be announced shortly.
Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire is written and directed by Prashanth Neel and is produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the Hombale Films banner. It stars Prabhas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Hassan, Jagapathi Babu, Sriya Reddy, Easwari Rao, Tinnu Anand and Madhu Guruswamy. Neel's regular collaborators Bhuvan Gowda, Ravi Basrur, and Ujwal Kulkarni return as the cinematographer, music composer, and editor respectively.
After the success of the Rakshit Shetty and Rukmini Vasanth starrer Saptha Sagaradaache Ello: Side A, the makers announced that the film would be dubbed in Telugu. Titled Saptha Sagaralu Dhaati, the Telugu version of the film will be released in two parts, with Side A releasing on September 22.
SSE: Side A released on September 1 and opened to rave reviews. The film was written and directed by Hemanth Rao and produced by Rakshit Shetty. Charan Raj composes the music while Advaitha Gurumurthy handles the cinematographer. SSE: Side B will be released on October 20.
On the occasion of actor Ramesh Aravind’s birthday, the makers of his next film announced the title. Titled Daiji, the film is said to be a horror thriller and will be directed by Akash Srivastava. This will be the second collaboration between actor Ramesh Aravind and Srivastava after the two Shivaji Suratkal films. Daiji is set to feature Ramesh as a man possessed by a ghost. The announcement was accompanied by a poster that shows him in clown makeup with a sinister twist. The film is produced by Ravi Kashyap under the Vibha Kashyap Productions banner.
The makers of actor Ganesh’s next film announced that Ramesh Aravind will be joining the star in headlining the project. Tentatively titled Production No.1, the film is directed by noted producer Vikhyath AR, in his debut. Vikhyath previously produced the Ramesh Aravind starrer Pushpaka Vimana and the Dhananjaya starrer Monsoon Raga.
The film is written, directed, and produced by Vikhyath under the Vikhyath Chithra Productions. The film’s tagline reads, ‘The greatest show never seen’ and the promotional material released to date has shown Ganesh and Ramesh in a clown outfit.
The teaser of Sharafudheen’s upcoming sports comedy Tholvi FC was recently released. The film written and directed by George Kora will see Sharafudheen play a small-time hotel owner, who is tricked into sponsoring an underperforming school football team. It is bankrolled by Abraham Joseph of Nationwide Pictures, with music and cinematography by Sibi Matthew Alex and Shyamaprakash MS respectively.
The Raj B Shetty starrer Kannada film Toby was released on August 25 to rave reviews. The film was praised for its performances and direction. After its success in its home ground, the film is all set to enter Kerala with Dulquer Salman releasing the Malayalam dubbed version of the film on September 22. Salman’s Wayfarer Films is releasing the project.
Toby is written by Raj B Shetty and is directed by Basil Alchakkal. Lighter Buddha Films handles the production of the film along with Agastya Films, a venture by producer Ravi Raj Kalasa. Praveen Shriyan and Midhun Mukundan serve as the cinematographer and music composer. Raj B Shetty stars as the titular Toby while Samyuktha Hornad, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Chaithra J Achar, and Raj Deepak Shetty play other characters.
The makers of the Tovino Thomas starrer Identity announced that filming for the project has officially begun. The first schedule of the film began in Goa, with Hindi actor Mandira Bedi, who makes her debut in Malayalam cinema, shooting her portions. The film also stars Trisha, Vinay Rai, Shammy Thilakan, Aju Varghese, Arjun Radhakrishnan, and Archana Kavi. Identity is directed by Akhil Paul and Anas Khan. Ragam Movies and Raju Malliath are backing the film in association with Century Kochumon, while Akhil George lenses the film. Identity is Tovono Thomas’ second collaboration with the directors after Forensic.
Director Ashiq Abu, who last directed the thriller Neelavelicham has announced his next film. Titled Rifle Club, the film will star Dileesh Pothan and Soubin Shahir in lead roles. Abu produces the project himself under the OPM Cinemas banner. The film is written by Dileesh Karunakaran, Suhas, and Sharfu, with Rex Vijayan acting as the music director. Filming is expected to start later this year.
Director Tharun Bhascker will be returning to the director’s chair after five years with the crime comedy Keeda Cola. The makers of the film have now announced that it will be released in theatres on November 3. The film stars Brahmanandam, Chaitanya Rao Madadi, Raghu Ram, Ravindra Vijay, Jeevan Kumar, Vishnu Oi and Rag Mayur.
Tharun Bhascker also debuts as a producer, backing the project under the VG Sainma banner, along with K Vivek Sudhanshu, Saikrishna Gadwal, Srinivas Kaushik Nanduri, Sripad Nandiraj and Upendra Varma. Rana Daggubati will be presenting the film, which has Bhascker’s frequent collaborator Vivek Sagar as the music director.
After the success of Dasara, Nani will be next seen in the romantic drama Hi Nanna. The film is directed by debutante Shouryuv and will see Nani staring along with Mrunal Thakur and Sruthi Haasan. The makers announced that the film would be receiving its first single ‘Samayama’ on September 16. Hesham Abdul Wahab, who is known for the soundtracks of Hridhayam and the recently released Vijay Devarakonda and Samantha starrer Kushi, will be composing ‘Samayama’.
Hi Nanna is directed by Shouryuv in his directorial debut. It was produced by Moham Cherukuri (CVM) and Dr. Vijendra Reddy Teegala under the Vyra Entertainments banner. Sanu John Varghese and Praveen Antony handle the cinematography and editing respectively. The film is set to release on December 21.
The makers of the crime comedy Japan announced that the dubbing process for the film has started. The Karthi starrer is one of the most anticipated films of the year and is touted to be a gangster comedy featuring the lead actor in a quirky role. The film is directed by Gypsy and Cuckoo fame Raju Murugan.
Japan is backed by SR Prakash Babu and SR Prabu under the Dream Warrior Pictures Banner. It also features Amu Emmanuel, Sunil, and Vijay Milton. GV Prakash Kumar is providing the music for the film while ace cinematographer Ravi Varman will be cranking the camera. Philomin Raj is the editor of the film.
The first look poster of Kamal's Vivekanandan Viralaanu, starring Shine Tom Chacko in the lead role, was unveiled through the social media handles of Prithviraj, Nivin Pauly, and Mamta Mohandas. The film features Swasika and Grace Antony as the female leads, and is being produced by Nediyath Naseeb and PS Shelli Raj through Nediyath Productions.
The film's supporting cast includes Mereena Michael, Johnny Antony, Maala Parvathy, Manju Pillai, Neena Kurup, Aadya, and Siddhartha Shiva, to name some. Vivekanandan Viralaanu has cinematography by Prakash Velayudhan, while Bijibal and Ranjan Pramod handle the music and editing departments, respectively.
The makers of the Muthiah Muralidharan biopic 800 recently announced the release date of the film. It will be released in theatres on October 6. The film is directed by MS Sripathy and stars Slumdog Millionaire star Madhur Mittal in the lead role. The film also stars Mahima Nambiar, Naren, Naaser, Vela Ramamurthy, Riythvika, Arul Das, Hari Krishnan, and Sharath Lohithaswa. RD Rajasekar is the cinematographer of the film with Ghibran composing the music.
Director Halitha Shameem released the first look of her ambitious project Minmini on her birthday. The project is special for the filmmaker as it has been a long-gestating dream that was shot over seven years to trace the natural aging of the actors involved. The poster features the lead stars of the film, Esther Anil and Gaurav Kalai, with a shot of two bikers in the background.
AR Rahman’s daughter Khadija Rahman is composing music for the film while Manoj Paramahamsa is the cinematographer of the film. He also bankrolled the project alongside Anchor Bay Studios.
The makers of the Vijay Antony starrer Raththam have announced that the film’s release is postponed. The murder mystery was initially scheduled to be released on September 28. However, post the delay in Salaar’s release, many films across the industries have eyed the same release date. The biggest in Tamil are the Raghava Lawrence starrer Chandramukhi 2 and Jayam Ravi’s Iraivan. Rattham will now be released on October 6.
Raththam is a murder mystery which is written and directed by CS Amudhan of Thamizh Padam (2010) fame. The film stars Vijay Antony, Mahima Nambiar, Nandita Shwetha, and Ramya Nambeesan. Backed by Kamal Bohra, G Dhananjeyan, Pradeep B, and Pankaj Bohra, the film has music by Kannan Narayanan, with cinematography by Gopi Amarnath.