Everything That Made News In Entertainment From The South (4 – 10 September)

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.

Suriya, who was last seen in a cameo in Lokesh Kanagraj’s Vikram, has released the motion poster of his next Suriya 42 with director Siva. Going by the poster, it looks like a period spectacle shot in the 3D format. The motion poster shows a slow-mo of warriors fighting in a war and an eagle flying across the battlefield. The eagle finally sits on the shoulder of a warrior, played by Suriya. 

The makers also announced that the film will release in 10 languages. Suriya 42 is penned by Adi Narayana and has dialogues by Madan Karky. The shooting for the film kickstarted this August. The film is bankrolled by Studio Green and has music by Devi Sri Prasad. Disha Patani is said to play the female lead. While Vetri Palanisamy is the DOP, Nishad Yusuf is the editor. 

The trailer of Ponniyin Selvan I, accompanied by Kamal Haasan’s powerful voiceover, lets us in on Mani Ratnam’s aesthetic universe of Ponniyin Selvan. Setting the mood for the magnum opus, Haasan narrates, “1000 years ago, the oracles foretold that the comet demanded the sacrifice of royal Chola blood.” And thus begins an age-old story of rivalry and treachery. The trailer further introduces us to its main characters. At the center of Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan are three siblings in the Chola Kingdom – Aditya Karikalan (Vikram), Kundavai (Trisha), and Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi). The film also has Karthi playing Vanthiyathevan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the princess of Pazhuvoor Nandini.

It is an AR Rahman musical. The film has been lensed by Ravi Varman and edited by Sreekar Prasad. The film is produced under the banner of Lyca Productions and Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies. It will be releasing in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada languages.

Kiran Abbavaram plays a driver in Nenu Meeku Baaga Kavalsinavaadini. The trailer suggests a mass entertainer that is packed with comedy, romance, sentiment and songs. There are also a couple of action sequences in the film. It is slated to hit the theatres on September 16.  

Nenu Meeku Baaga Kavalsinavaadini co-stars Sanjana Anand and Sonu Thakur. Helmed by Sridhar Gade, the film is produced by Kodi Divya Deepthi. While Manisharma is the music director, Raj Nalli is the cinematographer and Prawin Pudi is the editor.  

Ginna is a horror film starring Vishnu Manchu, Sunny Leone, and Paayal Rajput. Vishnu Manchu plays a wedding contractor who supplies chairs, tables, tents, and other essentials. However, he is blamed of bad luck and has a lot of debts. Sunny Leone visits the village, and it looks like the horror elements are centered around her. Ginna is scheduled to release this October. 

Helmed by Suryaah, the film is produced under the banner AVA Entertainment and 24 Frames Factory. It is presented by Dr. M. Mohan Babu and has music by Anup Rubens. While Chota K Naidu has handled the cinematography, Chota K Prasad has done the editing. 

Rosshan Andrrews’ entertainer Saturday Night is a tale of friendships. Nivin Pauly plays Stanley who is fond of his friends. He is also a party lover. However, there is some trouble between these friends, and it looks like they have a bad past. What happens when old friends meet but old grudges and issues tag along? The trailer of Saturday Night welcomes one into the mad world of love, fights, and laughter.

Directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Naveen Bhaskar, the film stars Nivin Pauly, Siju Wilson, Aju Varghese, Saiju Kurup, Grace Antony, Saniya Iyappan, and Malavika Sreenath. It is produced by Vinayaka Ajith under the banner Ajith Vinayaka Films. While Aslam K Purayil has lensed the camera, the music is composed by Jakes Bejoy and the editing is handled by T. Shivanandeeswaran. 

The entire teaser of Samantha’s sci-fi thriller is interspersed and cut with chaotic incidents from Yashoda’s life. As the doctor advises her to maintain a peaceful sleep pattern, the video immediately cuts to a shot of Yashoda waking up in a frenzied state. While the teaser doesn’t reveal much else about the plot, it is clear that Yashoda’s action-packed life has got something to do with her unborn child.

Directed by Haresh Narayan and Hari Shankar, Yashoda co-stars Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Unni Mukundan, Rao Ramesh, Murali Sharma, Sampath Raj, Shatru, and Madhurima. The film is produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under the banner Sridevi Movies. The Mani Sharma musical has editing by Marthand. K. Venkatesh and cinematography by M. Sukumar.

Sudheer Babu plays an aspiring director who comes across Krithi Shetty and wants to cast her in a film. However, her parents do not approve of it. When she leaves the project mid-way, they both face personal and professional problems. Will Babu be able to achieve his dream? 

Aa Ammayi Gurinchi Meeku Cheppali is written and directed by Mohanakrishna Indraganti. The film co-stars Srinivas Avasarala, Vennela Kishore, and Rahul Ramakrishna. The film has music by Vivek Sagar, cinematography by PG Vinda, and editing by Marthand K Venkatesh. It is produced under Benchmark Studios and Mythri Movie Makers.

Rorschach marks the sophomore directorial of Nisam Basheer of Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha (2019) fame. The makers released the film’s trailer marking the occasion of Mammootty’s birthday on September 7. The ambiguous trailer begins with supernatural events, however, quickly takes the route of a thriller, introducing audiences to a mysterious character – Luke Antony, played by Mammootty. Luke, who has a lot of businesses in Dubai, has returned from the UK, but people are left wondering why he is back in town. The trailer then ends with a masked man blackmailing someone.

Helmed by Nisam Basheer, the film is written by Sameer Abdul. Produced under the banner of MammoottyKampany, the film has music by Midhun Mukundan. Nimish Ravi has lensed the film and Kiran Das has handled the editing.

A village set within a big forest goes by its usual routine and celebrates its traditional festivals. However, a forest officer is disappointed with them bursting crackers and harming the wild animals. On the other hand, there is another set of people who misuse the forest. How the village people, led by Rishab Shetty save the forest and their homelands forms the rest of the plot. The film is slated to release on September 30. 

Helmed by Rishab Shetty, the film co-stars Kishore, Achuth Kumar, Sapthami Gowda, Pramod Shetty, and Vinay Biddappa. Kantara is produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. B Ajaneesh Loknath has composed the music, Arvind S Kashyap has lensed the film and Pratheek Shetty and K M Prakash have edited the film. 

Suresh Gobi starrer Mei Hoom Moosa is a suspense thriller. The teaser opens up with a person named Moosa inquiring about a person named Moosa at a police station. Confused, right? Some say Moosa died 19 years ago, some wonder if Moosa is a spy in hiding and some think he might have a secret chip in his body. Who is Moosa? Is he alive? How many Moosa are there? The film tries to find answers to these questions to unravel the identity of Moosa.

The Jibu Jacob directorial is written by Rubesh Rain. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Saiju Kurup, Hareesh Kanaran, and Salim Kumar in prominent roles. Sooraj E.S has handled the editing. Produced by Dr. Roy C J & Thomas Thiruvalla, Sreenath Sivasankaran has composed the music and Vishnu Narayanan has cranked the camera. 

Atharvaa’s Trigger, directed by Sam Anton, is set to hit the screens on September 23. The film is produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa under the banner of Pramod Films. It also stars Arun Pandian and Tanya Ravichandran in important roles. The plot of Trigger explores the life of Atharvaa’s character, who takes on the mission of saving 20 kidnapped kids. 

The film’s cast also includes Seetha, Krishna, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, Munishkanth, and Chinni Jayanth. It is a Ghibran musical. While Krishnan Vasant is behind the lens, Ruben has handled the editing. 

Sharwanand who was recently seen in the Telugu-Tamil bilingual Oke Oka Jeevitham/Kanam has signed his next film with Krishna Chaitanya. The film has Raashi Khanna play the female lead. Chaitanya is known for his films like Rowdy Fellow and Chal Mohan Ranga. The film is bankrolled by Karthikeya 2 fame People’s Media Factory. The film went on floors this week. 

Sharaan plays a teacher who happens to take up a job in a village to gain one year of experience. The students in the village are notorious and make fun of the teachers. However, when a landlord claims that the entire village is owned by him, people come together to fight for their rights. The teacher plays a major catalyst who coaches them in Kho Kho. If the students manage to win the trophy, they can win back their lands. Guru Shishyaru releases on 23 September. 

Helmed by Jadeshaa K Hampi, the film is produced under the banner Laddu Cinem House by Sharaan Krishna & Tharun Kishore Sudhir. It co-stars  Nishvika Naidu and Dattana. B Ajneesh Loknath has composed the music and KM Prakash has edited the film. 

Choreographer-turned-filmmaker Brinda Gopal made her directorial debut with Dulqeur Salmaan’s Hey Sinamika. In her sophomore project, she is making an action entertainer titled Thugs. The first look poster features Bobby Simha, RK Suresh, Hrishu Haroon, Anaswara Rajan, and Munishkanth with blood spattered all over the poster. Releasing the poster, the director wrote on Twitter, “A raw and violent saga of bloodshed and brutality.” While the film has music by Sam CS, Priyesh Gurusamy has lensed the film. The film is expected to release in November in multiple languages.