Mersal Kerala theatrical rights acquired for a huge amount; Biggest ever for a Vijay film!

Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s Mersal is one of the most anticipated films of the year. The movie marks the reunion of Vijay with director Atlee after the blockbuster success of Theri. AR Rahman is scoring music for the movie, produced by Sri Thenandal Films.

It is already known that Vijay commands a massive fan base in Kerala, perhpas on par with the superstars of Mollywood. The Kerala distribution rights for Mersal has been bagged by Global United Media Company for a whopping price. It is reportedly the highest ever distribution amount for a Vijay film in Kerala. The news was confirmed by leading trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai. He tweeted,

#Mersal Kerala theatrical rights snapped @gumediacompany, highest ever 4 a #Thalapathy film. Big wide release 4 #Diwali. @ThenandalFilms.

Mersal already has a tremendous pre-release hype. The movie has Vijay playing a triple role for the first time in his career. Nithya Menen, Kajal Agarwal and Samantha Ruth Prabhu are playing the female leads. It also has a big supporting cast that includes filmmaker turned actor SJ Suryah, who is rumoured to be playing the prime antagonist, Sathyaraj, Vadivelu, Sathyan and Kovai Sarala.

To cash in on the increasing popularity of Vijay in the Telugu speaking states, the makers are also dubbing the movie and the Telugu version has been titled as Adirindhi. Baahubali writer KV Vijayendra Prasad and Ramana Girivasan have helmed the film’s screenwriting.

Mersal is scheduled to release worldwide for this year’s Diwali. It is also the 100th film to be funded under the prestigious banner of Sri Thenandal Films.

Rajinikanth heaps praise on Madhavan-Vijay Sethupathy starrer Vikram Vedha

Director duo Pushkar-Gayatri’s Vikram Vedha is the latest talk of K Town. The movie starring Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathy in the titar roles was released worldwide on July 21. It opened to excellent reviews from all the centres with critics lavishing praise on the lead cast’s terrific perfomances.

Superstar Rajinikanth had watched a special show of the movie and it seems like he was mighty impressed by the film. The director duo Pushkar-Gayatri, in their Twitter page shared what Rajinikanth told them after watching the film. Here’s what they had tweeted,

#VikramVedha
Mass film made with so much class.
That’s what Superstar told us…
Whata man!
Thanks @superstarrajini

Popular trade analyst Ramesh Bala tweeted,

@superstarrajini watched a spl show of #VikramVedha earlier today.. His words: “Fantastic.. Fantastic.. Mass film made with so much class”

Earlier, Kollywood celebrities like Arya, Suriya and director Karthik Subbaraj appreciated and congratulated the team for their success. In a series of tweets, Pushkar and Gayatri expressed their gratitude to the audience for turning their movie into such a big success.

Here’s what they wrote on their Twitter space,

We want to thank everybody who has appreciated and celebrated #VikramVedhaon social media. The awesome word of mouth started with you (1/3)

#VikramVedha You people took our film to the larger audience out there and we will be eternally greatful. Sorry we couldn’t converse (2/3)

#VikramVedha -each of you. There was just this outpouring of love for this film. But we want to thank each and every one of you. BIG CHEERS

Vikram Vedha is inspired from the popular folklore Vikram Betaal. The basic concept is borrowed from there and placed in an engaging cat and game between a cop and a gangster. Madhavan plays the tough and forthright cop Vikram and Vijay Sethupathy plays the role of Vedha, a gangster with grey shades. The movie also stars Shraddha Srinath, Kathir, Harish Perady and Varalakshmi Sarathkumar in prominent roles.

*Tweets are not spell checked

Bollywood cinematographer Binod Pradhan to wield camera for this Nivin Pauly starrer

Nivin Pauly is presently one of the most sought after actors in Mollywood. He has a string of exciting projects in his kitty. One of them is his upcoming movie with ace filmmaker Roshan Andrews, which is based on the real life of Kayamkulam Kochunni. The movie stars Nivin in the titular role and Amala Paul is playing the female lead. National award winning duo of Bobby and Sanjay are scripting this film. This big budget project is being funded by Gokulam Gopalan under his banner Sri Gokulam Films.

The makers have roped in Binod Pradhan, one of India’s leading cinematographers to crank camera for this film. He is renowned for his works in films like Devdas, Rang De Basanti, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag etc. This upcoming Roshan Andrews directorial will mark his debut work in Malayalam film industry.

Kayamkulam Kochunni has some other leading technicians associated with it. PM Satheesh, the sound designer of films like Baahubali, Talaash and Mangal Pandey is also working on this ambitious project. It is learnt that the sound design works alone will take up to three months time. Foreign technicians will be involved in choreographing the movie’s action sequences. Gopi Sunder has already started composing music for this movie.

Bobby & Sanjay have scripted the movie after doing extensive research works for over two years. The movie will explore several unknown aspects of Kochunni’s life from how he became a rebel to his love life. Nivin Pauly will be undergoing a complete makeover along with taking formal training in Kalaripayattu for the movie.

The movie is scheduled to start rolling by September first week in Sri Lanka. Majority of the portions will be canned in Sri Lanka and the remaining in Kayamkualm and nearby areas. The makers are eyeing to release the movie by March next year.

Anoop Menon plays Zaheer Ali in Kamala Surrayya’s biopic Aami

Works for veteran filmmaker Kamal’s most ambitious project Aami, the biopic on revolutionary writer Kamala Surayya is fast progressing. Manju Warrier is playing Kamala Surraya’s role in the film, which also stars Murali Gopy and Anoop Menon in prominent roles

Recently, Anoop Menon revealed details about his character and the look he sports in the movie. He is playing the role of Zaheer Ali in the movie. He posted a photo from the sets of Aami in his Facebook page. Along with the photo, he wrote,

“As zaheer ali in kamal sir’s AAMI…a brilliantly written biopic on one of the most revered writers from our land, kamaladas, this film is fashioning itself into a classic …”

It is learnt that Anoop Menon is playing a very pivotal role in the movie. It is reportedly a very challenging character and the actor is excited to pull off such a plum role.

Aami is being produced by P T Rafel and Roban Rocha on a budget of 5 Crores.M Jayachandran and Thoufeeq Quershi are handling the music director. Veteran Sreekar Prasad is the editor and Oscar award winning sound designer Resul Pookkutty is also part of the technical team.

Ko Ko; Makers of Kaththi and 2.0 to produce Nayanthara’s next

Nayanathara is regarded as the ‘Lady superstar’ of South Indian cinema and true to that tag, she is currently on a signing spree committing for some big projects. It was recently announced that the actress would be playing the lead role in Ko Ko, an upcoming movie directed by debutant Nelson Dilipkumar.

Lyca Productions, one of the most established banners in Kollywood is funding this movie. They have produced biggies like Vijay’s Kaththi and Chiranjeevi’s Khaidi 150. Their upcoming projects are Rajinikanth- Akshay Kumar starrer 2.0 and Kamal Haasan’s Sabaash Naidu.

Nayanthara, of late has been taking up only projects that offer her good scope for performance. Ko Ko is a dark comedy and the movie also stars Saranya Ponvannan and Yogi Babu in pivotal roles. Anirudh will be composing music for this upcoming movie.

Unlike her contemporaries, Nayanthara is very particular that her character has depth and prominence in the movie’s storyline. She has a slew of films in her kitty, both with new age filmmakers and veterans. Her next release is Velaikkaran, directed by Mohan Raja, in which she will be sharing screen space with Sivakarthikeyan and Fahadh Faasil. Ajay Gnanamuthu’s Imaikka Nodigal, Gopi Nainar’s Aramm, Chakri Toleti’s Kolaiyudhir Kaalam and Telugu superstar Balakrishna’s 101st film are some of her upcoming movies.

Photographer fame Mani and Anumol team up for Udalazham

Udalazham is an upcoming movie starring Anumol and Mani in the lead roles. Mani is noted for his performance as a tribal boy in Mohanlal’s Photographer released back in 2006. Mani’s performance was highly appreciated and he went on to win the Kerala State Award for best child actor that year.

Mani is making a comeback after 12 years with Udalazham. The movie directed by Unnikrishnan Avala narrates the dilemma of Gulikan, a 24 year old tribal caught in gender identity issues. Director Unnikrishnan Avala has also scripted this movie, which deals with sensitive issues like natures, tribals and society.

Sajitha Madathil, Joy Mathew, Indrans and Nilambur Ayisha are playing significant roles in the movie. Udalazham is produced by Doctors’ Dilemma, an association of four doctors of Kozhikode Medical College. Muhammed A is cranking the camera and Bijibal is handling the background music. Playback singers Sithara and Mithun Jayaraj will compose the songs. Ranganath Ravee is in charge of the sound design.