Everything That Made News In Entertainment From The South (11 – 17 September)

Here’s a recap of the significant stories in entertainment across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films, and sometimes the odd television series as well.

The strange events of Naane Varuvean unfold in a forest. The teaser introduces us to the dual characters played by Dhanush – a vagabond who is skilled at archery and an engineer who enjoys some quality vacation time with family. Elli Avrram plays the former’s love interest, while Indhuja is the engineer’s wife. Both the leading men have a loving family with two children each, and lead seemingly content lives. Until of course they don’t.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s score in the background suggests a looming tragedy. Selvaraghavan, who has also directed the film, dons a rugged look, and gets a striking cameo in the video. The teaser then cuts to Dhanush’s two doppelgängers chasing and fighting different people before facing off against each other. The film, which marks Dhanush’s collaboration with his filmmaker-brother after almost 11 years (their last outing was Mayakkam Enna), is slated to hit the theatres this September.

Indrans’ starrer Vamanan is a horror thriller. The film’s trailer opens with a voice over questioning why a post-mortem is done to the body of a girl, further investigating as to who would not want the body to be found. This sets the eerie tone of the film and pulls the viewer into its unnerving world. The myth of Vamanan and Mahabali are woven into the story as it’s mentioned that it is Vamanan who defeats Mahabali through his wisdom.

Written and directed by A.B Binil, the film’s editing has been handled by Sanal Rajj.  Arun Sivan is the DOP. The film stars Indrans in the titular role and is produced by Arun Babu K B under Movie Gaang Pvt.Ltd. The film’s music is by Nithin George and Sudeep Palanad composed the background score. 

Kiran Antony’s directorial is a light hearted entertainer that follows an underconfident Mejo. The teaser opens with Jeena calling Mejo, with his brother advising him to either go out with her or stop pursuing her. Jeena and Mejo starts spending time with each other, but what happens when obstacles come their way? 

Directed by Kiran Antony and written by Dinoy Paulose, the film stars Dinoy Paulose, Mathew Thomas, and Lijo Mol Jose in lead roles. Shameer Muhammed has handled the editing. Produced by Vinod Shornur, Jomon T John and Shameer Muhammed, the film’s music is composed and arranged by Justin Varghese.

Veteran actor Mansoor Ali Khan, who is known for his evergreen villain roles in Tamil cinema, will be seen in an all-new avatar in Santhanam’s upcoming film. Khan, who sports a handlebar moustache, in the film is playing the role of Ganesh. The bilingual movie will be releasing in both Tamil and Kannada languages.

Buffoon follows the life of an aspiring young man (Vaibhav), who dreams of going abroad to start a business. But life and a world of crime gets in his way.

Written and directed by Ashok Veerappan, the film stars Vaibhav and Anagha in the lead roles. Produced by Kaarthekeyen Santhanam, Sudhan Sundaram, and Jayaram,  the film has Vetre Krishnan handling the editing. It has music by Suren.G and lyrics penned by Raja Gurusamy, Muthamizh Uma Devi, Durai. 

Atharvaa works for the undercover division in the police department in upcoming Tamil film Trigger. And he is put to work when over 20 children from a city are kidnapped as part of a larger scheme.

Directed by Sam Anton, the film stars Atharvaa, Tanya Ravichandran, and Arun Pandian in prominent roles. Produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa, the film’s camera work is by Krishnan Vasant. Ruben has handled the editing and its music is by Ghibran. 

Dongalunnaru Jaagratha, which is billed to be the first survival thriller in Telugu cinema, follows a day in the life of a car thief, who gets trapped in the car. To make things worse, he also finds a bomb in the car. Will he be able to survive? 

Directed by Satish Tripura, the film is produced by D. Suresh Babu and Sunitha Tati under Suresh Productions and Guru films. The film stars Simha Koduri, Samuthirakhani, and Preeti Asrani in lead roles. 

This light hearted romantic entertainer follows a young man, his romance, and his thoughts on marriage. Written and directed by Lakshman K Krishna, the film stars Ganesh Bellamkonda and Varsha Bollamma. The film is scheduled to be released on October 5.

Shahuraja Sindhe’s Champion is a complete entertainer that is centered around a small-town boy who tries to make it big despite the endless hardships thrown at him by life. The film stars Sachin Dhanpal and Aditi Prabhudeva in lead roles.

After Sunday Holiday, Thrissivaperoor Kliptham and B Tech, Asif Ali and Aparna Balamurali will be seen together in Dinjith Ayyathan’s upcoming directorial, Kishkintha Kaandam. The film’s tagline is, “A tale of three wise monkeys” and said to revolve around the lives of three protagonists. Produced by Joby George under Goodwill Entertainments, the film’s music is composed by Sushin Shyam.

Adivi Sesh-starrer Hit: The Second Case is set to be released on December 2. The sequel to Hit: The First Case, is reportedly set against the backdrop of Andhra Pradesh. Written and directed by Sailesh Kolanu, the film also features Meenakshi Chaudhary in a lead role. 

The first single from Nagarjuna’s upcoming film The Ghost was released on September 16. Titled Vegam, the song has been scored by Bharath and Saurab, and penned by Krishna Madineni. The romantic number has vocals by Kapil Kapilan and Ramya Behara. 

Actor-director Sajid Yahiya first production, Pallotty’s 90s Kids is based on the much-celebrated short film Pallotty. Directed by Jithin Raj, the film revolves around two young boys and their friendship. The first look of the film features the main leads and their younger self in school uniform holding a tender coconut and plastic toys.