February 16 has quite a number of releases. Aiyaary has endured several date shifts before zeroing in on this one – the only Hindi release. The film competes with mostly Tamil releases, there’s a mix of everything – funny, serious, and horror.
Aiyaary (Hindi)
Aiyaary
An espionage thriller, the film was all set to clash with PadMan on January 26 and again on February 9, but then shifted its release date to February 16. The film revolves around two Army officers having completely different views, yet right in their own way. It’s based on a real-life story.
Sidharth Malhotra plays Major Jai Bakshi, who is in surveillance and listens in on conversations that involves tax payers money and cheating people off. Turns out Jai is a swindler and one of the rotten eggs in the Indian Army, however, his story is kept under wraps so that the honour of the Army is not tainted. Thus begins a chase when Colonel Abhay Singh pursues Jai. Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the film also stars Rakul Preet Singh, Manoj Bajpai, and Pooja Chopra.
Naachiyaar (Tamil)
Naachiyaar Movie Stills Starring Jyothika, GV Prakash Kumar and Others
Director Bala’s film this time has an unlikely lead pair – GV Prakash Kumar and Jyothika. The trailer of the film, which is reportedly based on the life of a man who murdered nine of his family members in Chennai in the 1980s, grabbed eyeballs for a cuss word that Jyothika utters. The moral debate on whether an actress could use a swear word on screen aside, the trailer garnered praises for its rawness and intrigue.
Speaking about this film, GV Prakash, in an interview with Silverscreen, said that it will open new doors for him.
“I wanted to prove myself as an actor with a role such as this. I felt I had to do justice to my career choice. I wanted to try something new after comedy and horror. And, Bala Sir is a good person to go to when you want to do anything differently.”
With music by Ilaiyaraaja, the film is jointly bankrolled by Bala’s home production banner, B Studios, along with EON Studios.
Nagesh Thiraiyarangam (Tamil)
Aari and Ashna Zaveri at Nagesh Thiraiyarangam On Location
Nagesh Thirayarangam is a horror film directed by Mohammed Issack, starring Aari and Ashna Zaveri in the lead roles. Latha, 70s heroine, and senior actress Sithara play important roles too.
The film revolves around Nagesh Theatre, now occupied by a ghost. Aari plays a real estate broker named Nagesh who is trying to sell the theatre, while Ashna plays the role of a struggling bookseller. When their paths meet, things go for a toss.
Music is by Srikanth Deva and is produced by Rajendra M Rajan and Punitha Rajan for Transindia Media & Entertainment Private Limited.
Veera (Tamil)
veera
Starring Krishna and Iswarya Menon, this is an action film directed by Rajaraman and produced by Elred Kumar of RS Infotainment. The film had started production in 2015 but had to start from scratch when Bobby Simha walked out of the project. Vishnu Vishal was brought in as a replacement. However, by the time the movie began production again in 2016, Krishna had replaced Vishnu Vishal as the male lead.
Actors Mottai Rajendran, Thambi Ramaiah also have major roles in the film.
Music is by Leon James (of Ko, Kaanchana 2 fame). Vignesh will handle cinematography, while TS Suresh has been roped in to edit the project. Bakkiyam Shankar has written the story for Veera.
Captain (Malayalam)
captain
In Captain, Jayasurya plays the role of V.P Sathyan, the late national football team captain. Directed by Prajesh Sen, Anu Sithara will play Sathyan’s wife, Anitha Sathyan.
Jayasurya had reportedly devoted three months of his time to get in shape for the role of a former football player. The movie will not just focus on his game, but also on the people around him. Since the film will show the captain’s life in different stages, Jayasurya will sport three different looks. The film will also have 75 real footballers as part of the cast.
The biopic presents V.P Sathyan’s personal life and his association with the football clubs. Sathyan was the captain of Indian national football team and also served as the assistant coach to Stephen Constantine. He played for national clubs like Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting during his career. He committed suicide in 2016.
The film is produced under the banner of Goodwill Entertainments.
Awe (Telugu)
awe
Awe is a Telugu film directed by Prasanth Varma, starring Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menen, Regina Cassandra, Eesha Rebba, Murali Sharma, and others. Actor Nani, who is also producing this film, has lent his voice. The director, in an interview with Hindustan Times, says in terms of characters, Awe is something along the lines of the Hollywood film Pulp Fiction.
The film has elements of a thriller and fantasy, with some horror and social drama. Music is by Mark K.Robin and cinematography by Karthik Ghattamaneni.
