Everything That Made News In Entertainment From The South (June 11 - June 17)

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.

Mari Selvaraj promises an intense drama with Vadivelu-starrer Maamannan, trailer out (Tamil)

Maamannan is a makeover for Vadivelu, with the celebrated comic playing a dramatic role, that of Udhyanidhi Stalin's father in the film. Based on the trailer, Fahadh Faasil will be seen as the antagonist, a political leader who has a violent side to him. Although the trailer doesn't reveal the story, it does paint a fair picture of the central conflict: caste-based discrimination. Vadivelu leads a group of people, with the help of Udhayanidhi, who are against the atrocities done by Faasil’s character. Keerthy Suresh also plays an important role in the film. 

Written and directed by Mari Selvaraj, the film is produced by Stalin under his Red Giant Movies banner. AR Rahman has scored the music while Theni Eswhar and Selva RK act as the cinematographer and editor, respectively. Yugabharathi has penned the lyrics. The film is all set to release on June 29. 

Pichaikkaran 2 gets an OTT release date (Tamil)

Prominent music director and actor Vijay Antony’s directorial debut Pichaikkaran 2 was released in theatres on May 19. The makers have now announced that the film will be streaming on Disney+Hotstar from June 18.

The action entertainer also features Kavya Thapar, John Vijay, Harish Peraddi, YG Mahendra, Ajay Ghosh and Yogi Babu. Vijay Antony also acts as the music composer, editor, writer and producer of the film while Om Narayan has cranked the camera. The actor-director has also mentioned that he would be working on the third instalment of the franchise. 

New poster from Anjali’s Eegai out (Tamil)

On the occasion of her birthday, the makers of actor Anjali’s 50th film Eegai recently released the second look poster of the film. The poster shows Anjali sitting on a chair in a power stance while the background is filled with pictures of prominent women achievers.

Directed by Ashok Velayutham, Eegai is produced by D3 Productions and Green Amusement Productions. Dharan Kumar has composed the music, while rapper Arivu has provided the lyrics. Sridhar has lensed the film and Praveen KL has handled the editing. 

First single from Leo to release on this date (Tamil)

The makers of the Thalapathy Vijay starrer have announced that the first single of the film will be released on June 22. Coinciding with Vijay’s birthday, the single is titled ‘Alter Ego: Naa Ready’. The song is composed by Anirudh Ravichander. This would be the first update about the film after the announcement teaser in February.

Leo is an action entertainer that is written and directed by Lokesh Kannagaraj, in his second collaboration with Vijay after Master (2021). The film also stars an ensemble cast of Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Priya Anand, Gautam Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Mathew Thomas and others. Manoj Paramahamsa is the cinematographer while Philomin Raj acts as the editor. The film is backed by SS Lalit Kumar under the Seven Screens Studio banner and is all set to release on October 19.

First look of Sreeleela in Bhagavanth Kesari and Guntur Karam revealed (Telugu)

With a packed lineup for 2023 and 2024, Sreeleela is one of the busiest actors in Tollywood currently. Recently, on the occasion of her birthday, the makers of multiple films starring Sreeleela released the first look posters and glimpse videos. Among them, the makers of the Nandamuri Balakrishna starrer Bhagavanth Kesari released the poster featuring  Sreeleela, who plays the female lead in the film. The Anil Ravipudi directorial is touted to be a commercial entertainer.

The makers of the Mahesh Babu starrer Guntur Karam too released a poster featuring the actress. The poster sees her in a traditional avatar while she applies nail polish. The film is written and directed by Trivikram. Sreeleela has many releases in the pipeline including Pawan Kalyan’s Ustaad Gabbar Singh, Vaishnav Tej’s Aadi Keshava and Ram Pothineni’s BoyapatiRAPO.

Sriya Reddy and Emran Hashmi join the cast of OG (Telugu)

Days after announcing the casting of actor Arjun Das, the makers of Pawan Kalyan's OG, directed by Sujeeth, have announced that Sriya Reddy and Emran Hashmi have joined the cast of the film. Sriya will also be seen in Prabhas’ Salaar. Haashmi will be making his debut in Telugu cinema, and the announcement poster indicates that he will be playing the antagonist to Pawan Kalyan in the film.

OG is written and directed by Sujeeth who is known for Saaho. It is backed by DVV Danayya under the DVV Entertainments banner. S Thaman will score the music while Ravi K Chandran will serve as the cinematographer. The film co-stars Priyanka Mohan and Prakash Raj.

Vijay Devarakonda’s VD13 launched (Telugu)

The makers of Vijay Devarakonda's next film announced the launch of the film. Tentatively titled VD13, the film also stars Mrunal Thakur. With the cast and crew in attendance, the makers launched the film with a formal puja ceremony.

VD13 is produced by Dil Raju and Shirish under the Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra banner in their 54th production. The film is currently in its pre-production stage and will go on floors soon. Gopi Sundar will provide the music for the film while KU Mohanan and Marthand K Venkatesh act as the cinematographer and editor respectively. 

Rakshit Shetty’s Saptha Sagaradache Ello gets release dates (Kannada)

The makers of the Rakshit Shetty starrer Saptha Sagaradache Ello recently revealed that the romantic saga will be released in two parts. The team has now announced the release dates for both films. The first part of Saptha Sagaradache Ello, named Side A, will be released on September 1, while the second part, Side B, is slated to hit the screens on October 20. Both films will be released in the span of over a month.

While announcing the release dates, director Hemanth M Rao revealed that he had written the film over the past 12 years. The film marks his second collaboration with Rakshith Shetty after the successful Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu. It also features Rukmini Vasanth, Sharath Lohitashwa, Chaithra J Achar and Achyuth Kumar. Rao’s regular collaborator Charan Raj returns to compose music for the film while Advaitha Gurumurthy handles the cinematography.

First look poster from Vamshi’s Firefly out (Kannada)

The makers of Firefly announced that production for the film has begun with a first-look poster. The poster features lead actor and director Vamshi underwater. The tagline reads ‘The light beyond the light’. Vamshi debuts as a director with the film after being an assistant in the heist comedy Mayabazar (2016). Niveditha Shivarajkumar, the youngest daughter of actor Shivarajkumar, ventures into film production with the film through her Sri Muthu Cine Services Banner. The banner had produced multiple web series before this. Charan Raj will provide the score for the film while Abhilash Kalahathi will handle the camera.

First Look of Raj B Shetty’s Toby Out

The makers of the Raj B Shetty starrer Toby unveiled the title and motion poster of the film, along with a release date. The film will be released in theatres on August 25. Directed by Basil Alchakkal, Raj Shetty also serves as the writer of the film. He stars as the titular Toby along with Samyuktha Hornad, Gopalkrishna Deshpande, Chaithra J Achar and Raj Deepak Shetty.

Lighter Buddha Films handles the production of the film along with Agastya Films, a venture by producer Ravi Raj Kalasa. While Praveen Shriyan serves as the cinematographer, and Midhun Mukundan scores the music.

Lijo Jose Pellissery and Mohanlal wrap up filming of Malaikottai Vaaliban (Malayalam)

The filming of Malaikottai Vaaliban has been wrapped up. A video of Lijo Jose Pellissery thanking the crew and a glimpse of Mohanlal from the film was released recently. Mohanlal’s first collaboration with ace director Lijo Jose Pellissery has been one of the most anticipated films of the year. The team shot for 130 days in various locations such as Rajasthan, Chennai and Pondicherry.

The film also features Hareesh Peradi, Manikandan Achari, Danish Sait, Sanjana Chandran and Sonalee Kulkarni. Set in the pre-independence era, the film sees Mohanlal as a wrestler. The film is written by PS Rafeeq, who wrote Amen with Lijo.  This period film is lensed by Madhu Neelakandan, who earlier worked on Churli and its music is composed by Prashant Pillai.

Valatty gets a trailer (Malayalam)

The film features an all-canine cast and is said to be an experimental film. Directed by debutant Devan, the film is bankrolled by Vijay Babu's production house Friday Film House. Prominent actors such as Aju Varghese, Roshan Mathews, Indrans and Sunny Wayne have lent their voices to the film. Vishnu Panicker has lensed the film while Ayoob Khan has handled the editing.

Tovino unveils first look from Nadikar Thilakam (Malayalam)

Actor Tovino Thomas recently unveiled the first look poster of his film Nadikar Thilakam. Named after the moniker given to the prominent actor Sivaji Ganesan, the film will see Tovino play a superstar. The film is directed by Lal Jr., who is known for films such as Driving Licence and Honey Bee. Produced by Y Naveen and Y Ravi Shankar under the Mythri Movie Makers banner, the film also features an ensemble cast of Veena Nandakumar, Soubin Shahir, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Anoop Menon, Shine Tom Chacko, Sreenath Bhasi, Lal and Madhupal. Yakzan Gary Pereira will provide the music while Alby Antony will handle the cinematography. The team is aiming for a 2024 release.