1947 August 16: Here's when Gautham Karthik's period drama bankrolled by AR Murugadoss will hit the screens

AR Murugadoss, who has been away from limelight for quite some time, surprised everyone when he announced a while ago that he has been busy with his production venture 1947 August 16. Set against the backdrop of British rule in India, NS Ponkumar has directed the movie starring Gautham Karthik in the lead.

The film's story revolves around a village where people are clueless about India gaining independence on August 15, 1947. How the British took advantage of this unfortunate scenario, which led to a youngster organizing a protest against them forms the rest of the story.

Om Prakash Bhatt and Narsiram Choudhary have joined hands with Murugadoss in bankrolling the project which features TSR Srinivasan and Pugazh among others essaying key roles. Sean Roldan has composed music for the film which has editing by Sudharsan R and cinematography by Selvakumar SK.

Rajasekhar and Dinesh have choreographed stunt sequences and dance moments respectively while T Santhanam has helmed art direction for the big budget film. The makers had unveiled its teaser a few months ago which offered a glimpse into its plot. Kottikara Payalae, the first single, too, was released more than a week ago.

They have now announced the release date of 1947 August 16 along with a poster. The movie will hit the screens on April 7; it is the latest to join the flurry of Tamil releases in April along with the likes of Ponniyin Selvan 2, Rudhran, Kannai Nambathe and Pichaikkaran 2.

Touted as a pan Indian project, the movie will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. An excited Murugadoss posted on his Twitter page, "Get ready to travel back to a time of courage, love and hope (sic)."