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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 years of speculation, prominent Tamil actor Vijay has finally and officially announced his entry into politics. He announced his newly found party 'Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam'. The actor also made it clear that he would not be contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and would instead use this time to prepare and "politicise" his cadres for the 2026 Assembly State elections.
Vijay added that he doesn't consider politics a mere occupation, but a service to the people. Vijay, who is currently filming Venkat Prabhu's The Greatest of All Time for his 68th movie, revealed that he would completely involve himself in politics once he finishes his film commitments.
After the success of his romantic saga Sapta Sagaradache Ello, Hemanth Rao is gearing up for his next feature film. The makers of the film have announced that the director would be collaborating with actor Shiva Rajkumar in the lead role. Currently titled Production No.1, the film is produced by Vaishakh J Gowda under the Vaishakh J Films banner. The announcement came with a video, which showed a fantastical setting for the film. The tagline, which was a quote from Sun Tzu’s Art of War read, “The hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy”.
Celebrating his birthday, the makers of Silambarasan TR a.k.a. STR's next film with Desingh Periyasamy released the first look poster of STR48. The poster sees STR in a fantastical avatar and hints at him playing a dual role. A fiery red dominates the colour palette as a devilish altar fills the background.
STR48 is written and directed by Desingh Periyasamy and backed by Kamal Haasan and R Mahendran under the RKFI Films banner. The film marks the first collaboration between Haasan and STR. Simbu was last seen in the gangster drama Paathu Thala (2023).
Surya Vasishtha is all set to make his directorial debut with the surrealist psychological drama Saramsha. The makers recently launched the film’s trailer and first single at an event. The trailer hints at an aspiring screenwriter being affected psychologically by his past while he works on a screenplay. The film will be released on February 15.
Saramsha is backed by RK Nallam and Ravi Kashyap. The film has music by Udith Haritas and cinematography by Ananth Bharadwaj. It co-stars Sruthi Hariharan, Deepak Subramanya, and Shwetha Gupta.
Yatra 2 is a sequel to Mammootty’s Yatra (2019), the biopic of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. The trailer of Yatra 2 features Jiiva playing the role of current CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (son of Rajasekhara Reddy). There is also a short cameo by Mammooty as YSR.
Yatra 2 is also written and directed by Mahi V Raghav and is bankrolled by Shiva Meka. This film co-stars Ketaki Narayan, Suzanne Bernert and Mahesh Manjrekar. Madhie has cranked the camera, while Santhosh Narayanan has composed the music. Yatra 2 will hit the screens on February 8.
Actor Pruthvi Ambar has a stacked year of releases in 2024. The actor will be seen in the romantic comedy Juni and For Regn soon. Now, the makers of his cop drama Matsyagandha have announced that the film will hit the screens on February 23.
Matsyagandha is written and directed by Devaraj Poojary and is backed by BS Vishwanath under the Sahyadri Productions banner. The film is presented by Kannada Pichchar. The film also stars Gopal Krishna Deshpande, Bhajarangi Loki, Sharath Lohitashwa, and Disha Shetty. It has music by Prashanth Siddhi and cinematography by Praveen M Prabhu.
Kannada actor and director Raj B Shetty will soon be joining hands with Antony Varghese on his upcoming film with the makers of RDX. Shetty has reportedly joined the cast of the film, making it his third Malayalam film as an actor. He has already joined the cast of the films Rudhiram and Mammootty’s Turbo.
The yet-to-be-titled film is directed by debutant Ajit Mampally and is backed by Weekend Blockbusters. The film will be the second collaboration between the banner and actor Antony Varghese after last year’s action drama RDX. Sam CS scores the music while Jithin Stanislaus handles the cinematography.
Actor Darshan’s political action film Kaatera opened to positive responses upon release in December 2023. The film tackles issues of caste politics in the mainstream setting and was lauded for its treatment of the subject matter. The makers have now announced that the film will stream on Zee5 on February 9.
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 co-stars Radhana Ram, Jagapathi Babu, Shruthi, and Kumar Govind. Rockline Venkatesh backs the film under his Rockline Entertainment banner. V Harikrishna has composed the music while Sudhakar S Raj has handled the cinematography.
The makers of Biju Menon’s Thalavan recently released the teaser of the film. It shows Biju Menon as a police officer who is at loggerheads with another officer played by Asif Ali. A shift in power dynamics is hinted at in the teaser as Ali’s character seems to be in a higher position than Menon, which the latter does not like. The ego clash between the two seems to affect a case that the department is working on.
Thalavan is directed by Jis Joy, who co-writes the script along with Anand Thevarkatt and Sarath Perumbavoor. The film is backed by Arun Narayan and Sijo Sebastian under the Arun Narayan Productions and London Studios banners. Sharan Velayudhan is the cinematographer while Deepak Dev is the music composer. Thalavan also stars Dileesh Pothan, Miya George, Anusre, Jafer Idukki, Renjit Shekhar, and more.
Dhanush's period action film Captain Miller was released on January 12 to mixed responses. The film is all set to have its OTT premiere on Amazon Prime Video on February 9. The action drama is set during the pre-independence era and sees Dhanush as a dacoit who finds himself in the freedom struggle.
Captain Miller is written and directed by Arun Matheswaran, with dialogues by Madhan Karky. The film is backed by Satya Jyothi Films, with the producers being Sendhil and Arjun Thyagarajan. It also stars Sundeep Kishan, Priyanka Mohan, Dr. Shivarajkumar, and Edward Sonnenblick among others. GV Prakash Kumar composes the music while Siddhartha Nuni handles the cinematography.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is gearing up for the release of his long-awaited dream project Aadujeevitham. While the film is set to be released on April 10, the makers have been releasing promotional material. After the first two posters of the film showing Prithviraj in a tortured avatar, the third poster brings a refreshing change. The actor looks shaven, sporting a moustache, and seems to be more hopeful. He looks through a button with a smile.
Aadujeevitham is based on the popular novel of the same name by writer Benyamin. The film adaptation 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 has handled the editing.
After missing the release date of Sankranti, Vijay Devrakonda’s Family Star finally has a new release date. The makers of the film recently announced that the family comedy would be released on April 5. The film is directed by Parasuram Petla, who previously collaborated with Vijay Deverakonda on Geetha Govindham.
Family Star is backed by Dil Raju and Sirish under the Sri Venkateswara Creations banner and also stars Mrunal Thakur in the main lead. The film has music by Gopi Sundar and cinematography by KU Mohanan.
After the success of the superhero fantasy film HanuMan, which was released during Sankranti, the makers of the film announced that it would begin streaming on Zee5 on March 2. The film received positive responses for its VFX and storyline, and found success despite a stack of big releases. Director Prashanth Varma also announced that a sequel titled Jai HanuMan had begun pre-production.
HanuMan starred Teja Sajja, Amritha Aiyer, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Vinay Rai in lead roles. The film was backed by Kandagatla Niranjan Reddy under the Primeshow Entertainment banner. Dasaradhi Sivendra handled the cinematography while the music was handled by Anudeep Dev, GowraHari, and Krishna Saurabh.
While Jersey (2019) director Gautham Tinnanuri was set to make his next film with Vijay Deverakonda, he recently announced his next project. Titled Magic, the film is said to be a young-adult drama with music as its central theme. The announcement poster resembled the album cover of The Beatles’ album Abbey Road. The film has music by Anirudh Ravichander.
Magic has reportedly finished production and is set to be released this Summer. The film is backed by Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya under the Fortune Four Cinemas and Sithara Entertainment banner. Girish Gangadharan has handled the cinematography while Anirudh returns as the music composer.
Megastar Chiranjeevi will be next seen in the mythological film Vishwambhara. The makers of the film recently announced that the film will be released on January 10, 2025. The film is touted to be a huge commercial entertainer with mythological elements. It is directed by Vassishta, who previously helmed the Kalyan Ram starrer Bimbisara (2022). The film is backed by Vamsi and Pramod under the UV Creations banner. Chota K Naidu handles the cinematography while MM Keeravani handles the music.
The makers of the upcoming sports drama Test announced that the crew has completed the production process. The film stars R Madhavan, Nayanthara, Siddharth, and Meera Jasmine in lead roles. Sashikanth, known as the producer of Y Not Studios, makes his directorial debut with this film. He has previously produced films such as Vikram Vedha, Irudhi Sutru, and Jagame Thandiram. The announcement was accompanied by a short BTS video that showed the actors on set.
Test is based on a story by Suman Kumar, who is gearing up for the release of his film Raghu Thatha. The film has music by Shakthisree Gopalan and cinematography by Viraj Singh. Sashikanth backs the film along with Ramachandra Chakrvarthy under the Y Not Studios banner.