Udhayanidhi Stalin's Nenjukku Needhi certified U/A

Udhayanidhi Stalin's upcoming film Nenjukku Needhi has been certified with U/A. The film, which is directed by Arunraja Kamaraj, is a remake of the 2019 Hindi film, Article 15, a neo-noir crime drama, directed and produced by Anubhav Sinha. Taking to his social media page, Udhayanadhi shared the news, "#NenjukuNeedhi @ZeeStudios_ @BoneyKapoor @BayViewProjOffl #RomeoPictures @mynameisraahul @RedGiantMovies_ @Arunrajakamaraj @actortanya @Aariarujunan @dineshkrishnanb @dhibuofficial @AntonyLRuben @zeemusicsouth @kalaignartv_off @SureshChandraa @ProRekha @DoneChannel1 @teamaimpr (sic)."

The Hindi film had Ayushmann Khurrana playing the lead, who plays a police officer and uncovers a history of caste oppression in a remote village in Uttar Pradesh. The film is said to be inspired by real life incidents, especially, the 2014 Badaun gang rape and the Una flogging incident in 2016, which sent shockwaves across the country. The title of the film is named after Article 15 of the Indian Constitution that prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or birthplace. The film opened in the 10th edition of London Indian Film Festival and received praise from the critics and audience for its sensitive portrayal of caste-based discrimination. The cast for the Hindi version included Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Sayani Gupta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Isha Talwar, Sushil Pandey, Veen Harsh and Sumbul Touqeer.

The Tamil version stars Udhayanidhi Stalin, Aari Arujunan, Tanya Ravichandran and Shivani Rajasekhar in the lead. The shoot was wrapped up in December and the post-production was going on full swing. This is Arunraja Kamaraj's second directorial after Kanaa. The title of the Tamil version, Nenjuku Needhi, is named after the autobiography of Udhayanidhi's grandfather and the DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi. Cinematography for the film is by Dinesh Krishnan and editing is by Ruben. Nenjukku Needhi was originally scheduled to release in March, but the film is now expected to hit screens on May 20.