Everything That Made News In Entertainment From The South (November 4 - 11)

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.

Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam’s KH234 gets a title (Tamil)

Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan will be collaborating again after three decades, with their previous outing being the 1987 crime drama Nayakan. On the occasion of Haasan’s birthday, the makers unveiled the film’s official title. Titled Thug Life, the reveal came with an announcement teaser that shows Haasan as gangster Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakan.

Thug Life co-stars Jayam Ravi, Dulquer Salman, and Trisha Krishnan. Haasan and Ratnam back the film through their RKFI and Madras Talkies banners, with R Mahendran and Siva Ananth joining as producers. The movie is also in association with Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies. AR Rahman will compose the music while Ravi K Chandran and Sreekar Prasad will handle the cinematography and editing, respectively.

Dhanush’s Captain Miller to release for Pongal (Tamil)

Dhanush will be next seen in the period action film Captain Miller. The film is said to be based in pre-independent India and is hinted to be a gory action film that pits Dhanush against the British. While the film was initially supposed to be released on December 15, the makers have now announced that the release has been postponed to coincide with Pongal in January 2024.

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 has composed the music while Siddhartha Nuni has handled the cinematography.

New single from Rakshit Shetty’s SSE-Side B out (Kannada)

The makers of Rakshit Shetty’s Sapta Sagaradaache Ello - Side B have released the second single from the film. A dark version of the title track from Side A, the song is composed by Charan Raj and is sung by Karthik Chennoji Rao. The song is a dark and eerie rock ballad as opposed to Side A’s synth-wave brightness. The song was accompanied by a music video that shows glimpses from the trailer of the film.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello - Side B is directed by Hemanth M Rao, who also co-writes along with Gundu Shetty. It stars Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Chaithra J Achar, Achyuth Kumar, and more. The film is backed by Shetty under his Paramvah Studios banner in association with KVN Productions. Charan Raj has composed the music while Advaitha Gurumurthy and Sunil Bharadwaj have handled the cinematography and editing, respectively. The film is all set to be released on November 17.

Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram gets its first single (Telugu)

The makers of the Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Karam have released the first single of the film. Titled ‘Dum Masala’, the highly energetic song is composed by Thaman S and is sung by Sanjith Hegde, along with Jyoti Nooran. Saraswati Putra' Ramajogayya Sastry has written the lyrics for the song. The song was accompanied by a lyrical video.

Guntur Karam was written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas in his third collaboration with Mahesh Babu. The duo had previously collaborated on the films Athadu and Khaleja. The film is said to be an action entertainer and is backed by S Radhakrishnan under the Hassine & Harika Creations banner. 

It also stars Sreeleela, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Ramya Krishnan, Jagapathi Babu, and Brahmanandam among others. The film has music by Thaman, cinematography by S Manoj Paramahamsa and editing by Naveen Nooli. The film is all set to be released on January 12, 2024.

Megha Shetty to star opposite Prajwal Devraj (Kannada)

Prajwal Devraj is all set to star in Raja Kalai Kumar’s Cheetah. Megha Shetty has recently joined the cast as its female lead, replacing Ashima Narwal. Shetty is known for her work on the serial Jothe Jotheyali and the films Triple Riding and Dilpasand.

Cheetah is the directorial debut of choreographer Raja Kalai Kumar. It is backed by Prathiba Naresh under the Rajalaskhmi Entertainment banner. The film also stars Telugu actor Sunil, who makes his Kannada debut, and Sruthi Hariharan in a pivotal role.

Nandamuri Balakrishna’s NBK109 launched (Telugu)

Nandamuri Balakrishna, who was last seen in Anil Ravipudi’s Bhagavanth Kesari is all set to collaborate with director Bobby Kolli on NBK109. The makers of the mass entertainer released a poster, announcing that the film would be going on floors. The film is produced by Sithara Entertainment. Kolli and NBK clashed earlier this year when the director’s Waltair Veerayya starring Chiranjeevi released along with NBK’s Veera Simha Reddy.

Chethan Ahimsa to join the cast of Sanju Weds Geetha 2 (Kannada)

Actor Chethan Ahimsa, who is known for the films Aa Dinagalu and Birugali is rumored to be a part of Nagashekar’s Sanju Weds Geetha 2. The actor has worked with the director before in the romantic drama Mynaa and according to reports, is in talks with Nagashekar to reunite in the sequel.

Nagashekar announced Sanju Weds Geetha 2 earlier this year. The film sees Srinagara Kitty return as Sanju, while Rachita Ram replaces Ramya as the titular Geetha. The film is produced by Nagashekar Productions and has music by Sridhar Sambram and cinematography by Satya Hegde.

Kajal Aggarwal’s Satyabhama gets a teaser (Telugu)

Kajal Aggarwal is all set to headline Satyabhama, her 65th film. The makers recently released a teaser of the film, which shows Aggarwal as a fierce police officer who fights against the system to bring justice to a group of murderers. The film also stars Prakash Raj and Naveen Chandra.

Satyabhama is directed by debutant Suman Chikkala, based on a script written by Sashi Kiran Tikka of Goodachari fame. The film is backed by Bobby Tikka and Srinivasa Rao Takkalapalli under the Aurum Arts banner. Sricharan Pakala handles the music while Singham Mohith Singh handles the cinematography.

First look of Sunil from Harom Hara out (Telugu)

Sunil is all set to star in the Sudheer Babu film Harom Hara and the makers recently released his character poster. The Maryada Ramanna star is said to play the role of a suspended police officer named Palani Swamy. Harom Hara is directed by Gnansagar Dwarka and is produced by Sumanth G Naidu under the banner Sree Subramanyeshwara Cinema. The film has music by Chaithan Bharadwaj and cinematography by Aravind Vishwanathan.

Vinay Rajkumar’s Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe wraps filming (Kannada)

The makers of director Suni’s next romantic comedy Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe have announced that they have completed filming. The rom-com stars Vinay Rajkumar and Mallika Singh in the lead roles along with senior actor and Vinay’s father Raghavendra Rajkumar in a pivotal role. Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe co-stars Sadhu Kokila and Arun Balraj. The film has music by Veer Samarth and cinematography by Karthik.

Asif Ali is a troubled artist in the trailer of A Ranjith Cinema (Malayalam)

The makers of Asif Ali’s A Ranjith Cinema released the official trailer of the film. The thriller sees Asif Ali play an artist who encounters a string of dramatic events that he has no control over. A Ranjith Cinema is written and directed by Nishanth Sattu and is backed by Nishad Peechi and Babu Joseph Ambatt. The film also stars Saiju Kurup, Namitha Pramod, Anson Paul, and Aju Varghese. Midhun Ashokan has handled the music while Sunoj Velayudhan and Dileep Dennies have handled the cinematography and editing, respectively.

Telugu actor Sunil joins the cast of Mammootty’s Turbo (Malayalam)

Actor Sunil of Pushpa (2021) and Jailer fame is all set to make his Malayalam debut in Mammootty’s Turbo. The action entertainer is directed by Vysakh in his third collaboration with Mammotty after Pokkiri Raja and Mahura Raja. Midhun Manel Thomas has penned the screenplay for the film while Justin Varghese and Vishnu Sharma have handled the music and cinematography, respectively. The film is produced under Mammootty Kampany banner. 

Mammootty’s Kannur Squad gets OTT release date (Malayalam)

Mammootty recently starred in the investigative thriller Kannur Squad, which was released on September 28 to rave reviews. The film became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time and earned over ₹100 crores at the box office. The makers have now announced that the film will start streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on November 17.

Kannur Squad is directed by Roby Varghese Raj and is written by Muhammed Shafi and Rony David Raj. Rony David Raj features in the film along with Azees Nedumangad, Shabhareesh Varma, Kishore, and Vijayaraghavan. The film is backed by Mammootty under the Mammootty Kampany banner.

Dhanush to headline Ilaiyaraja biopic (Tamil)

Actor Dhanush will be playing the role of music maestro Ilaiyaraaja in his biopic. The production house behind the film Connekkt Media which produces the film along with Mercurri Films has announced that the film would go on floors in October 2024 and would aim for a mid-2025 release. The production houses announced that they would be collaborating on multiple blockbuster projects beginning with the biopic.

Dhanush has a lot of films in the pipeline, including Captain Miller, his directorial D50, his next film with Mari Selvaraj as well as his film with Ranjhana director titled Tere Ishq Mein. He is also expected to star in Selvaraghavan’s Aayirathil Oruvan 2, although there have been no new updates about the film.