Operation Java teaser to be released by leading stars!

As ‘Operation Java’ gears up for release on February 12, the makers have announced the teaser release date. The teaser will be out on Wednesday (January 20) evening at 6 PM. Leading stars like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Keerthy Suresh, Kunchacko Boban, Nimisha Sajayan and Asif Ali will be releasing the teaser through their respective social media handles.

‘Operation Java’ makers have not yet divulged any other details regarding the film, including its genre. From the first look poster, which comes with the tagline, ‘Stories of Unsung Heroes’, it looks like a cop-investiagtion flick. The film is written and directed by debutant Tharun Moorthy.

Vinayakan, Balu Varghese, Irshad, Binu Pappu, Sudhi Koppa, Deepak Vijayan, Lukman, P Balachandran, Dhanya Ananya, Mamitha Baiju, Parvathy Nena Mouli and Prashanth Alexander play the major roles. On the technical side, the film has cinematography by Faiz Siddik, who has also wielded camera for the upcoming films ‘Aanaparambile World Cup’ and ‘Adi’.

Nishadh Yusuf is handling the edits and Jakes Bejoy has been entrusted with the music department. Sound designers Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar (Sound Factory), costume designer Manjusha Radhakrishnan and art director Dhundhu Renjeev Radha are also part of the technical crew.

V Cinemas, the banner that earlier backed the Tovino-starrer ‘Oru Kuprasidha Payyan’, is producing ‘Operation Java’ as well. Sree Priya Combines will be presenting the film.

Alphonse Puthren starts recording for Paattu

‘Premam’ director Alphonse Puthren is making a musical film next. Titled as ‘Paattu’, it has Fahadh Faasil and Nayanthara as the leads, and it is their first film together. Alphonse has been working on the film for quite a long time. He has been learning music professionally as he is turning a composer with this film. Besides directing, scripting and composing, he will also be handling the edits.

Last day, Alphonse shared a photo from one of the recording sessions of ‘Paattu’. Actor Neeraj Madhav, cinematographer Anend C Chandran and many others are present in the photo taken at Audiogene Sound Studios in Kochi. Of late, Neeraj Madhav has been performing rap music and it seems like he has recorded one under Alphonse’s composition as well.

‘Paattu’ will have Anend C Chandran as the cinematographer. Notably, he was also part of Alphonse’s previous two films — ‘Neram’ and ‘Premam’. Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar will be handling the sound design. Zacharia Thomas and Alwin Antony are jointly producing the film under the banner of UGM Entertainments.

Vijay Deverakonda starrer Liger to be released in 5 languages; First look poster out

After the success of ‘Arjun Reddy’ and ‘Dear Comrade’, Vijay Deverakonda was flooded with offers from Bollywood. The star is now making his pan-Indian debut with ‘Liger’ directed by Puri Jagannadh. The film will be releasing in 5 languages — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam. Bollywood actress Ananya Panday plays the female lead.

Karan Johar, who is presenting the Hindi version, has shared the first look in his social media handle. The poster features Vijay Deverakonda as a boxer. Karan has written,

Proud to present LIGER, starring the ruler of big screens and many hearts – Vijay Deverakonda & the fiery Ananya Panday. Directed by the exceptionally skilled Puri Jagannadh, we can’t wait to let the world witness this story in 5 languages – Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada & Malayalam. See you at the big screens! #Liger #SaalaCrossbreed

Vijay reportedly plays a kickboxer in ‘Liger’. He underwent a solid physical transformation for the film and even went to Thailand to train in martial arts. Sharing the poster, he has written,

Humbly announcing our arrival Pan India! Someone with my background shouldn’t have reached anywhere near here according to the conventions & set Norms. But with sheer madness, passion, hardwork, Here we are! Nation wide madness Guaranteed.

‘Liger’ also stars Ramya Krishnan, Ronit Roy and Vishu Reddy in important roles. The film is being co-produced by actress Charmme Kaur along with director Puri Jagannadh’s production house, Puri Connects.

Making video of Vijay-Vijay Sethupathi starrer Master released

The behind the scenes (BTS) video of ‘Master’ has just been released online. It features the making video of various action scenes, the opening dance sequence and some other highlight scenes. More such videoes are expected to be out in the coming days.

Meanwhile, ‘Master’ has got a massive start at the box office. The film has already crossed the Rs 100 crore mark. Despite releasing amidst the pandemic and with only 50% occupancy in Indian theatres, it took only 3 days to reach the three-figure mark.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1350435398497890311

‘Master’ directed by Lokesh Kangaraj is an action-packed mass flick that has the two lead stars, Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, clashing against each other. The film got dubbed and released in Telugu and Hindi as well. The Telugu version had a superb opening and is likely to become a superhit there. The film’s Hindi remake rights have already been sold. Endemol Shine India, Cine1 Studios and 7 Screens have acquired the rights. More details on the cast and crew will be out soon.

Master grosses Rs 125 crore from Indian box office alone!

‘Master’ has got off to an extraordinary start at the box office.The Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial is an action-packed mass flick that has the two lead stars, Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, clashing against each other. The film got dubbed and released in Telugu and Hindi as well. As per trade experts, the film has grossed a whopping Rs 125 crore from the domestic box office alone in just five days of its release.

Trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai has shared the breakdown of the collections. He has tweeted,

#Master is a mega hit! India domestic gross b-o approx collections from trade sources, Jan 13 to 17 :
1. #TamilNadu 81 Cr
2. #TeluguStates 20 “
3. #Karnataka 14 “
4. #Kerala 7.5 “
5. #ROI (including
Hindi dubbed) 2.5”
Total ₹ 125 Cr

‘Master’ was the major release in Indian cinema post-pandemic and high hopes were pinned on the film to revive the industry that has suffered heavily over the past 10 months. Despite releasing amidst the pandemic and with only 50% occupancy in theatres, the film has managed to register such high numbers.

Meanwhile, the film’s Hindi remake rights have already been sold. Endemol Shine India, Cine1 Studios and 7 Screens have acquired the rights. More details on the cast and crew will be out shortly.

Ottakomban to be made on a budget of Rs 25 crores

Suresh Gopi’s 250th film titled ‘Ottakkomban’ is set to go on floors soon. It will be directed by debutant Mathew Thomas and produced by Tomichan Mulakkupadam. The makers are currently busy with the final set of pre-production works which includes finalizing the cast and crew.

As confirmed by the makers, ‘Ottakkomban’ will be made on a budget of Rs 25 crores. The film will have a Bollywood-based heroine and a villain. The other supporting cast includes Mukesh, Sai Kumar, Renji Panicker, Johny Antony, Sudhi Koppa and KPAC Lalitha. Shaji Kumar of ‘Pulimurugan’ fame will be handling the camera. Music director Harshavardhan Rameshwar, noted for his work in the blockbuster Telugu film ‘Arjun Reddy’, is making his Malayalam debut with this film.

The project, which was initially tentatively titled as ‘SG 250’, was first in the news when the makers of Prithviraj-starrer ‘Kaduva’ filed a court case against them alleging that there were similarities between both the films. The lead characters in both the films were named as Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan. The Kerala high court then ordered a stay on the shoot and promotional activities of Suresh Gopi’s film. Later, they reworked the script and named it as ‘Ottakkomban’.

Shoot will be beginning shortly. Pala, Kochi, Bengaluru and Malaysia have been finalized as the major locations.

Pad Man director Balki to team up with Dulquer Salmaan for a thriller

Bollywood filmmaker R Balki, who is known for helming feel-good and inspiring films like ‘Cheeni Kum’, ‘Paa’ and ‘Padman’, is set to make a thriller next. As per reports, Dulquer Salmaan will be playing the lead role in this film. The director is currently finalizing the cast and crew. An official announcement is expected to be made soon.

This will be Dulquer Salmaan’s third straight Hindi film. He made his debut in 2018 with ‘Karwaan’, which also starred Irrfan Khan and Mithila Palkar. He then played the lead in ‘The Zoya Factor’ along with Sonam Kapoor. Though Dulquer is a hugely popular star in the South, he is yet to make a mark in Bollywood. Balki’s film is expected to be that much-needed big break for him.

Dulquer meanwhile has multiple projects lined up in South. In his home turf Malayalam, he has signed for films with Rosshan Andrrews and debutant Praveen. A few days of shoot is left for his ambitious film ‘Kurup’. In Tamil, he recently finished shooting for ‘Hey Sinamikaa’, a rom-com co-starring Aditi Rao Hydari and Kajal Aggarwal.

Dulquer also has a period love story coming up in Telugu. Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi of ‘Padi Padi Leche Manasu’ fame, this film will have the star playing an army officer named Lieutenant Ram. ‘Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo’ fame Pooja Hegde is most likely to be paired with him in this film.