Everything That Made News In Entertainment From The South (7 – 13 August)

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.

Dhanush’s Thiruchitrambalam is a food delivery driver who leads a monotonous life in the upcoming Tamil film Thiruchitrambalam. But his life gets a breath of fresh air when he finds potential for romance in two women (Priya Bhavani Shankar and Raashi Khanna). The trailer also details Pazham’s relationship with his inner circle — his grandfather whom he is named after (played by Bharathiraja), his best friend since childhood, Shobana (Nithya Menen), and his strict father, who also happens to be a stricter police officer (Prakash Raj).

The film, which has been directed by Mithran R Jawahar, has music by Anirudh Ravichander. The Sun Pictures production will be released in the theatres on August 18. The film also marks Dhanush’s fourth collaboration with director Mithran following films such as Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Kutty (2010), and Uttama Puthiran (2010).

Ahaana Krishna plays Malavika who owns a cafe named “Ma Cafe”. She comes across as someone who enjoys baking and spending moments with a young girl. The plot revolves around the two and the events that change their lives. Apart from Ahaana Krishna, it stars Meera Nair, Karthi VS, Anoop Mohandas, Arun Pradeep, Rahul Rajagopal, and Pradeep Joseph. 

Helmed by Abhilash Sudheesh, the story is penned by Abhilash Sudheesh and Abhijith Sainthav. Nimish Ravi has lensed the camera, Athul Krishnan has edited the web series and Dheeraj Sukumaran has scored the music. The web series is produced by 11th Hour Productions. 

Premadesam is a love story that explores the fun, fights, friendships and love lives of college students. Directed by Srikanth Siddham, Premadesam stars Megha Akash, Thrigun, Ajay Kathurvar, Maya, Madhubala, Shiva Ramachandra, Vaishnavi Chaithanya, Thanikella Barani, Viva Harsha and Kamal Teja Narla. The film is produced by Shireesha Siddham. While Manisharma has composed the music, Sajad Kaakku has cranked the camera and Kiram Thumpera has edited the film. 

When 20 kids are randomly kidnapped, the police are not able to find any clues. In a Ratsasan-esque thriller, Atharvaa plays a cop and has some power packed action sequences. Arun Pandian plays the father of Atharvaa and it is said that the story revolves around this father-son duo. 

Trigger is directed by Sam Anton, who previously collaborated with Atharvaa for the 2019 thriller 100.  Tanya Ravichandran plays the female lead. Produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa, the film has music by Ghibran. Krishnan Vasant has handled the cinematography and Ruben has edited the film. 

Tees Maar Khan stars Aadi Saikumar in the lead. The trailer opens up with a young boy who claims that if someone talks cheaply about his moter, he will not leave them. It then traces his journey from childhood and college days to how he becomes a cop. The film releases on August 19 in theatres. 

Tees Maar Khan stars Adi Saikumar, Payal Rajput, Sunil, Poorna, Kabir Singh and Anoop Singh Thakur. The film is directed by Kalyani Gongana and produced by Nagam Tirupathi Reddy under the banner Vision Cinemaas. Sai Kartheek has composed the music for the film.

Alphonse Puthren took to Facebook to announce the release plan of Gold, starring Nayanthara and Prithviraj Sukumaran. He wrote, “Gold is melting this Onam.” Gold is expected to be a multi-starrer with many other prominent actors featuring in pivotal roles and making guest appearances.

Apart from Prithviraj Sukumaran and Nayanthara, the film also features Ajmal Amir, Mallika Sukumaran, Lalu Alex, Saiju Kurup and Justin John. Prithviraj and Nayanthara will be pairing up for the first time as lead actors. Earlier, the duo had appeared together on screen for a song in Twenty:20. The film is produced by Supriya Menon and Listin Stephen under the banner Prithviraj Productions and Magic Frames. The music is composed by Rajesh Murugeshan.

Sharwanand plays an amateur musician in Kanam and the film seems to be centered around a mother-son relationship. Kanam is a Tamil-Telugu bilingual. It is titled Oke Oka Jeevitham in Telugu. Ritu Varma plays the female lead in the film. 

Kanam is directed by Shree Karthick. The film co-stars Amala Akkineni, Sathish, Ramesh Thilak,  Nassar, Ravi Raghavendra, M.S. Bhaskar and Vaiyapuri. It is produced by SR Prakash Babu and SR Prabhu under the banner Dream Warrior Pictures. Sujit Sarang is the DOP, Jakes Bejoy is the music composer and Sreejith Sarang is the editor of the film. 

Directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu, Cobra is slated to release on August 31. The Vikram-starrer was earlier scheduled to release on August 11, but was postponed. Produced by Lalith Kumar under the banner 7 Screen, the film has music by AR Rahman. Cobra will release in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Interestingly, it is said that Vikram will be seen in more than 20 looks in Cobra. The film also stars Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, Srinidhi Shetty, Mrinalini, Malayalam actor Lal, Kanika, Padmapriya and Babu Antony.

After bankrolling Minnal Murali, Sophie Paul’s next venture is RDX directed by Nahas Hidayath. The film goes with the tagline “Let the fight begin” and is billed as a high-voltage action entertainer. The cast includes Antony Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, Shane Nigam, Mahima Nambiar, Aima Rosmy, Baiju Santhosh, Shammi Thilakan, Maala Parvathi, and Nishanth Sagar. The story is penned by  Adarsh Sukumaran and Shahbaz Rasheed, and the shooting is scheduled to start by August 25. While Sam CS is roped in to score the music, Anbu and Arivu will handle the fight choreography. 

Amala Paul’s next action drama Adho Andha Paravai Pola will hit the screens on August 26. Produced by Century Films International, it is billed as an adventure thriller that is cenetered around a woman who gets caught in a jungle. It explores her struggles and how she escapes from the jungle. The title is inspired from the classic song of MGR’s Aayirathil Oruvan. While Jakes Bejoy has scored the music, Santhakumar has handled the camera.  

After D Block and Dejavu, Arulnithi’s next film is Diary. Directed by Innasi Pandiyan, the film is all set to release on August 26. Arulnithi plays a police officer and Pavitra is the female lead. Yohan has scored the music and Jayaprakash and Aadukalam Kishore have played important roles. 

Theerppu translates to “judgment”. With Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead, Saiju Kurup and Indrajith Sukumaran play Parameshwaran Potty and Kalyan Menon. The tagline of Theerppu is “Verdicts and beyond”. Prithviraj took to instagram to announce the release date with a thematic poster. It has a snake and ladder game with images of the film characters and a few historical figures like Gandhi.  

Directed by Rathish Ambat, the story is penned by Murali Gopy. Theerppu stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Murali Gopy, Indrajith Sukumaran, Isha Talwar, Saiju Kurup, and others. The film is produced by Vijay Babu, Murali Gopy and Ratish Ambat. Sunil KS has lensed the camera, Deepu Joseph has handled the editing and Gopi Sundar has composed the background score.

Directed by Doctor fame Nelson, Jailer stars Rajinikanth in the lead. The shooting for the film began on August 10, and Rajinikanth is expected to join the team from August 15. The film co-stars Ramya Krishnan, Vasanth Ravi and Redding Kingsley. Touted be an action drama, the rest of the cast is yet to be announced. While Vijay Kartik Kannan is roped in as the cinematographer, Anirudh Ravichander will be scoring the music. 

After a decade-long journey in the film industry, Anirudh Ravichander is all set to perform his first concert in Tamil Nadu. The music composer, who has performed in global concerts, took to social media recently to announce the big news. Notably, his 25th film album was Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kadhal. His concert is scheduled for September and October 2022 in Chennai and Coimbatore. He wrote on Twitter, “After 10 years, the day we’ve been waiting for is finally here! Its gonna be the biggest ever.”