Director Karthik Subbaraj’s new film with Vikram and his son Dhruv as the leads had recently started rolling. Tentatively titled as ‘Chiyaan 60’, the film is produced by Lalit Kumar of 7 Screen Studio. The film touted to be a gangster thriller has a stellar star cast. The makers have got Simran and ‘Oh My Kadavule’ fame Vani Bhojan as the two female leads.
Latest to join the team is Bobby Simha, a regular in Karthik Subbaraj’s films. Bobby has been all his films except ‘Mercury’. He even won a National award for his performance in Karthik’s gangster-comedy ‘Jigarthanda’. In ‘Chiyaan 60’, he is expected to play a prominent role.
‘Chiyaan 60’ has Santhosh Narayanan as the music director, another frequent collaborator with director Karthik. The makers had initially signed Anirudh Ravichander but later got replaced due to some unknown reasons. Karthik even thanked Anirudh for understanding and opting out.
Excellent opening for The Priest in Kerala box office
Mammootty’s ‘The Priest’ got released last day (March 11) among massive hype. It is the first major Malayalam film to release post pandemic and expectations were huge. Going by the initial response, the film has taken an excellent opening at the box office. Though the correct numbers are yet to be out, it is learnt that the film has fared beyond expectations. The good response in Kerala is expected to reflect in the film’s theatrical run in Gulf countries.
‘The Priest’ directed by debutant Jofin T Chacko is a mystery thriller. Mammootty plays a priest named Father Benedict, who’s into solving crimes and parapsychology. The film is centred around his encounter with a mysterious girl named Ameya. ‘Kaithi’ fame Baby Monica plays the kid’s role while Nikhila Vimal and Manju Warrier also essay important roles.
Jofin has written the film’s story and screenplay is penned by ‘Kunjiramayanam’ fame Deepu Pradeep and Shyam Menon. ‘The Priest’ is a technically superior film with top-notch cinematography by Akhil George and thrilling background score by Rahul Raj.
Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan first look poster shared by Dulquer Salmaan
Dulquer Salmaan’s production house is producing a new film titled ‘Upacharapoorvvam Gunda Jayan’ in association with My Dreams Entertainment. Saiju Kurup plays the lead role in the film. On the actor’s birthday, the makers have released the first look poster. Making it even more special, this is also his 100th film. Along with sharing the poster, Dulquer has also written a brief note wishing Saiju. His post reads,
Here is a first look poster from Upacharapoorvam GundaJayan ! This film marks my brother Saiju Govinda Kurup ’s 100th film. And today being his birthday what better gift than to share this poster. We at Wayfarer Films are extremely happy to be a part of this lovely film and team. Happy Birthday Saiju Bhai !!! Here’s wishing you 100s more and all happiness, good cheer and health !
Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan first look poster
‘Upacharapoorvvam Gunda Jayan’ is directed by debutant Arun Vaiga. Rajesh Varma has scripted the film and it promises to be a fun entertainer. The film’s star cast also comprises of Siju Wilson, Shabareesh Varma, Johny Antony, Sabumon, Sudheer Karamana, Jaffer Idukki, Shani Shaki, Biju Sopanam, Vijilesh, Sagar Surya, Vrindha Menon, Parvathy, Nayana, Shailja, Radha Gomati, Uthara among others.
Thattan Thattan: Here’s the third single from Karnan
The makers of Dhanush’s upcoming movie ‘Karnan’ have released a new song online. Titled as ‘Thattan Thattan’, the song is sung by Dhanush and Meenakshi Ilayaraja. Lyrics is penned Yugabharathi and the song is set to tunes by Santhosh Narayanan. This is the third single from the film. The other two songs — ‘Kanda Vara Sollunga’ and ‘Pandarathi Puranam’ were well received.
‘Karnan’ directed by ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ fame Mari Selvraj is a rural-based film that is partly inspired from real life incidents. It promises to be an intense and hard-hitting film. Expectations are high among Dhanush’s fans as well as general cinema lovers.
‘Karnan’ has Malayali actress Rajisha Vijayan as the female lead. The supporting cast includes Lal, Lakshmipriya Chandramouli, Azhagar Perumal, Natarajan Subramanian, ’96’ fame Gouri Kishan and Yogi Babu. Kollywood’s veteran producer Kalipuli S Thanu is producing the film under the banner of V Creations.
‘Karnan’ is scheduled for a grand theatrical release on April 9.
‘The Priest’ opens with the scene of a woman soaked in blood being rushed to the hospital. From there, the scene cuts to an orphanage where we get to see a girl with strange behavioural pattern. Mammootty’s character Father Benedict then comes into the picture. Along with the police team, he tries to unearth a set of mysterious suicides within a family. As their investigation closes in, he discovers another crime, which brings all these people together.
Debutant director Jofin T Chacko has done a good job in getting the mood right for a mystery thriller. The first half moves briskly and lands on a killer interval punch. Mammootty’s towering screen presence and Rahul Raj’s thrilling background score makes it one of the most memorable scenes in the film. The stage is now set for a gripping second half. From there, the narrative follows the usual tropes of a Malayalam mystery thriller film.
The Priest Movie Review
Father Benedict is a cake-walk role for Mammootty, who effortlessly pulls it off. His body language and mannerisms hardly give away anything as there is always a mystery around him. ‘Kaithi’ fame Baby Monica has a very prominent role to play in the film. She portrays a wide range of emotions in a role, which is also physically taxing. Despite that, the child actress has delivered a commendable performance. Nikhila Vimal plays another major character in the film. While she is all graceful and elegant in the first half, the second half has her mostly terrified and she does a good job. Manju Warrier appears in an extended cameo role. There is a particular scene where she is pitted against Mammootty, and for that alone, the character demanded an actress of her stature. Saniya Iyappan, Venkatesh and Ramesh Pisharody also make their presence felt with good performances.
The Priest Movie Review
‘The Priest’ is a technically sound film that has some brilliant work by composer Rahul Raj. His background score helps a great deal in setting the mood right and enhancing the jump scares. Akhil George’s cinematography where most of the scenes are shot in low light is also worth a mention.
The Priest Movie Review
Overall, ‘The Priest’ is a gripping thriller that that keeps you hooked for most part of its running time. Watch it in a theatre with good visual and sound quality.
Tovino Thomas has completed his portions for his new film ‘Naradhan’ directed by Aashiq Abu. The film scripted by Unni R had Anna Ben as the female lead. It is produced jointly by Santhosh T Kuruvila, Aashiq Abu and Rima Kallingal. After wrapping up the shoot, Tovino flew to Hassan in Karnataka where ‘Minnal Murali’ is being shot.
Meanwhile, the star took to his social media handle to share some photos from ‘Naradhan’ sets and thanked the team members for their support. He has written,
And my journey with ‘Naradan’ comes to a memorable end. Got to play another never-before role, which was super fun. Thanking everyone – many familiar as well as new friends, for the great support and time. Stay blessed.
Though the makers have not divulged details about the film’s genre, ‘Naradhan’ certainly promises to be an interesting project. Renji Panicker, Indrans, Navas Vallikunnu, Rajesh Madhavan, Sharafudheen, Lukman and many others are part of the cast. While it is a first for Anna Ben, Tovino has already worked with Aashiq Abu twice, in ‘Mayaanadhi’ and ‘Virus’.
‘Naradhan’ has cinematography by Jaffer Zadique. Saiju Sreedharan is the editor and music department is being handled by ‘Da Thadiya’ actor Sekhar Menon.
After multiple postponing, the makers of ‘Ajagajantharam’ have finally announced that the film will be hitting screens on May 28. It was supposed to release this month but they decided to push it further since second shows were not allowed in Kerala then. The fact that theatres have still not resumed functioning in many foreign countries were also taken into consideration.
Finally, the State government has given the nod for second shows following which release dates for many new films are being announced. ‘The Priest’ and ‘Tsunami’ is hitting screens today while Kunchacko Boban’s ‘Mohan Kumar Fans’ is scheduled for March 19.
Ajagajantharam’ directed by ‘Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil’ fame Tinu Pappachan promises to be an action-packed entertainer. Antony Varghese reportedly plays the lead role in the film, which is set against the backdrop of a temple festival. Arjun Ashokan, Lukman, Kichu Tellus, Sudhi Koppa and Vineeth Viswam will be seen essaying other major roles.
The film is jointly produced by Emmanuel Joseph and Ajith Thalapilly under the banner of Silver Bay Studios.
As informed earlier, the trailer of Mammootty’s new film ‘One’ has been released online. Scripted by Bobby-Sanjay and directed by Santhosh Viswanath, it is a political film with a huge star cast. Mammootty plays the lead role of Kerala Chief Minister Kadakkal Chandran in it.
The makers have often repeated that the film is not based on any real life person but about how an ideal Chief Minister of a State should function. From the trailer, we get to see that CM Kadakkal Chandran is a honest person, who stands for what is right despite stiff opposition from the opposition and within his own party.
Along with Mammootty, the film has a large supporting cast. Nimisha Sajayan, Murali Gopy, Joju George, Ranjith, Sudev Nair, Suresh Krishna, Salim Kumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Alencier Ley Lopez, Mamukoya, P Balachandran, Mathew Thomas, Krishna Kumar and many others are part of the film.
Vaidy Somasundaram is the cinematographer and music department is handled by Gopi Sunder. Sreelakshmi R is producing the film under the banner of Ichais Productions and it will be released by Central Pictures
Manju Warrier to make her Hindi debut opposite Madhavan
Last day, during the press meet of her upcoming film ‘The Priest’, Manju Warrier was asked about the latest buzz regarding her Bollywood debut. Though the actress hinted that she is doing a Hindi film, she refused to reveal more details about the project.
As per reports, Manju Warrier’s debut Bollywood film is titled as ‘Amriki Pandit’ and it will have her sharing screen with R Madhavan. This film is directed by debutant Kalpesh and Alphonse Roy is the cinematographer. Manju is expected to start shooting for the film shortly.
In 2019, Manju made her Tamil debut with ‘Asuran’. Her performance in it was widely appreciated and proved that her wait for the perfect entry was worthy. Likewise, the actress will be hoping to make an impressive debut in Hindi. More details on the project are expected to be out soon.
In Malayalam, Manju has a handful of projects coming up like ‘Kayattam’, ‘Jack and Jill’, ‘Lalitham Sundaram’, ‘Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham’, ‘Chathur Mukham’ and ‘Padavettu’.
Operation Java set to be remade in other languages!
‘Operation Java’ has managed to emerge as the box office hit despite most other films failing to do well due the pandemic situation and crowd restriction in theatres. The film is still continuing in a good number of centres. Critics as well as common audience have lapped up the film despite the absence of a big star. It once again proved that there is takers for good content.
‘Operation Java’ is now set to be remade in other languages. In a recent interview, director Tharun Moorthy revealed that they have received remake offers from various languages and an official word regarding the same will be out soon. Since the film is basically about the world of cyber crimes, it should appeal to other language audience as well.
‘Operation Java’ also ends with the possibility of a second part. It has already been confirmed that a sequel will be made but only after 2-3 years. It remains to be seen if the same characters will be returning once again. Balu Varghese, Lukman, Vinayakan, Irshad, Shine Tom Chacko, Binu Pappu, Dhanya Ananya, Mamitha Baiju, Vineetha Koshy, Johny Antony and Prashanth Alexander played the main roles in it.
