In Theatres This Week: A Preview

A total of eleven films will release this Friday – from the much hyped Rajathandhiram to the interestingly titled Ivanukku Thannila Gandam. In the absence of ‘big’ releases, the week sees a lot of first time directors, producers and even actors. As we look forward to much shuttling between screens, here’s a quick sneak peek at the movies set to release tomorrow:

Rajathandhiram 

Rajathandhiram is a heist film that marks the directorial debut of Amid, also known as the sibling of music director Ghibran. Pattiyal Sekhar dons the villain role for the first time…ever, while GV Prakash Kumar has composed the sole track in the film. Bollywood favourite Sandeep Chowta has been roped in to compose the background score for the movie. In a first, the deleted scenes from the movie were made available online by the team much before its release.

Veera of Nadunisi Naaygal fame plays the male lead while Regina Cassandra plays his girlfriend. Also seen in an interesting role is the ever quirky Darbuka Siva as Austin and newbie Ajai Prasath in a negative role. Fox Star’s role in the production and the innovative promotions for the project (leading stars revealed some character teasers, culminating in the release of the teaser by Vijay himself) have given the film a high profile.

 

Ivanukku Thannila Gandam

Small screen favourite Deepak Dinkar makes his silver screen debut with the quirkily titled Ivanukku Thannila Gandam. The film boasts of offbeat humour and of course, Mottai Rajendran in biker leathers. The plot revolves around a TV host (Deepak) who lands in trouble after a night of drunken revelry. Neha Ratnakaran plays the love interest while actor Elango Kumaravel essays a pivotal role.

SN Sakthivel, a popular name in the television serial circuit, makes his directorial debut with this film and tells us that the film will be an ‘out and out laugh riot’.

 

Vaanavil Vaazhkai

Billed as Tamil cinema’s first ‘true’ musical, Vaanavil Vaazhkai marks the directorial debut of James Vasanthan. A host of fresh faces star in this film about college rivalry and music bands and also boasts a total of seventeen songs. Carnatic singer Sowmya will be seen onscreen for the first time, and plays mother to the film’s female lead. The film’s audio was launched in January this year and featured a lot of live performances. That’s another thing about this movie – all songs have been rendered by the actors themselves.

 

Mahabalipuram

With Sathyaraj stepping in to distribute Mahabalipuram under his Nathambal Film Factory, the modestly made film has grabbed the attention of industry insiders. At first glance, the film seems like your usual bromance film – sun, sands and alcohol..but director Don Sandy insists that it’s a thriller. “Many people will walk in expecting a feel good film..but really, this film is a thriller. There’re a lot of twists and turns in this; and actor Karunakaran’s character is the highlight!”

Starring Vinayak, Vithika Sheru, Angana Roy, Ramesh Thilak (of Soodhu Kavvum fame), the movie has elicited a lot of positive buzz from its pre-release screenings. The film’s audio was launched in September last year and drew a lot of stars – from Vijay Sethupathi to Sibiraj.

 

Kadavul Paathi Mirugam Paathi

This is another psychological thriller, with Pooja Umashankar in a pivotal role. Directed by the actress’s good friend, Raj Zacharias, the film went into production with Arya and Aadhi billed as its leads. Due to some production issues, both actors backed out, and were replaced by Raj himself and Mynaa fame Sethu. Malayalam composer Rahul Raj has composed music.

 

Aivarattam

Aivarattam has the Eesan duo – Niranjan and Dushyanth – in lead roles, with some lovely music courtesy Swaminathan, son of popular kanjeera artist and music composer Selvaganesh. The film follows a village football team, overcoming all to win a tournament. Niranjan and Dushyanth play determined footballers in this Mithun Manickam directorial and there’s a sweet little romantic track as well with Nithya Shetty as the love interest. The proud father that he is, Jayaprakash has an important role in this project.

 

Katham Katham 

Katham Katham has Nandha and Natty playing good cop – bad cop. Babu Thooyavan makes his directorial debut with this one, with Sanam Shetty playing the love interest. The commercial thriller features a lot of high octane stunt sequences and of course, some innovative one-liners.

 

Thavarana Pathai 

Thavarana Pathai is a bilingual, directed by Arun Kumar. Set in the rural mileu, the movie follows a young couple who fight against all odds to be together. The film’s music composer Sai Madhukar tells us that the film is a love story with a difference. Bonus fact – the film has got some really nice songs.

 

Sankarabharanam

If none of these films appeal to you, there’s always the ever dependable Sankarabharanam. This iconic film is being re-released this week and has got movie aficionados thrilled. Starring Manju Bhargavi and Somayajulu, this musical drama regularly finds a spot in the hundred best Indian films of all time – reason enough to go watch the digitally restored version at a theatre near you.

 

*****