While fans eagerly await the release of Lokesh Kanagaraj's Master, the director has upped expectations with the announcement regarding his next. Director Lokesh Kanagaraj who rose to fame with his debut film Maanagaram became a household name when his Karthi starrer Kaithi topped the charts last year.
Now, the director is all set to make his next film with Kamal Haasan, produced by Kamal's home banner Raaj Kamal Films International (RKFI) with Anirudh Ravichander roped in for music. The film will be Kamal's 232nd film. The first-look poster in red has a man's side-profile put together in graphic art with a collage made of guns and bullets. "Once upon a time there lived a ghost..." it blares in bold. The poster announces Summer 2021 but it is unclear if it will start rolling by then or if the film will release next summer. Hashtag 'Yevan Endru Ninaithai' accompanies RKFI's tweet in Tamil font.
Sitharamal Padharamal Oru Epic Entertainer!#KamalHaasan232 #எவனென்றுநினைத்தாய் @ikamalhaasan @Dir_Lokesh @anirudhofficial pic.twitter.com/KvWXjyS5u7
— Raaj Kamal (@RKFI) September 16, 2020
Initially, there were speculations that Lokesh will be joining hands with Superstar Rajinikanth for his fourth directorial, and that the film was expected to be produced by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International. Now, it has been made official that the young director is all set to team up with Kamal Haasan.
Lokesh Kanagaraj is currently awaiting the release of Master, which marks his first-time collaboration with actor Vijay. The film was set to hit the screens in April but this did not happen due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Tipped to be a gangster drama, there are rumours that the film will feature Vijay in the role of a college professor with a troubled past. The film has been predominantly shot against a college backdrop. It’ll be the first time Vijay will be seen playing a professor.
The film will see Vijay Sethupathi play the antagonist and he’s believed to be essaying a deadly character. Malavika Mohanan, last seen playing a key role in Karthik Subbaraj’s Petta, has been signed as the leading lady. The film, which will have music by Anirudh Ravichander, also stars Arjun Das and Shanthnu Bhagyaraj in key roles. Sathyan Sooryan has done the cinematography while Philomin Raj has done the editing.
Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan who is busy with his political assignments has two films – Indian 2 and Thalaivan Irukkindran – in different stages of production. Indian 2 is the sequel of his 1996 blockbuster Indian directed by Shankar. It went on floors in 2019 after multiple delays but came to a halt following a tragic accident on set that killed three.
Bankrolled by Subaskaran Allirajah‘s Lyca Productions the film has Kamal Haasan and Nedumudi Venu reprising their roles from the prequel. The star cast for Indian 2 comprises Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth, Bobby Simha, Rakul Preet Singh and Priya Bhavani Shankar. Anirudh Ravichander is composing the tunes for this flick with cinematography and editing handled by R Rathnavelu and A Sreekar Prasad respectively. The lyrics of the songs have been penned by Thamarai, Pa Vijay, Vignesh Shivan, Haresh Vikram-Malaysia and Vivek.
Kamal Haasan's long-pending project Thalaivan Irukkindran which is rumoured to be the sequel of his blockbuster hit Devar Magan had been revived again for the third time last year. Rumour has it that Vijay Sethupathi will be seen sharing the screen space with Kamal Haasan in the project. The project will be bankrolled by Lyca Productions and Raaj Kamal Films International.
(Content provided by Digital Native)