This week’s major Tamil release are Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum and Nedunalvaadai. The Bollywood films are Mere Pyare Prime Minister, Photograph and Milan Talkies. There are no major releases in Malayalam and Telugu.
Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum
Directed by Ranjit Jeyakodi, this film is a romantic-comedy starring Harish Kalyan and Shilpa Manjunath of Kaali fame in the lead. It is produced by Balaji Kapa, and also features Ma Ka Pa Anand and Bala Saravanan in supporting roles. The music composed by Sam CS, and the film has songs sung by Anirudh Ravichander and Vijay Sethupathi.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ranjith said that the film was a violent love story: “Violent, in the sense of dominance. More than physical, it’s about the psychological violence that leads to certain unwarranted situations. The hero is violent by nature, while the heroine is kind-hearted. We wanted to show the dichotomy between the characters.”
Nedunalvaadai
This film by debut director Selvakannan, who quit his engineering job to pursue a career in cinema, has been crowd-funded by his college friends under the banner B Star Productions. Poo Ramu, Mime Gopi, Elvis Alexander, Ajay Natraj, Senthikumari and Aindhu Kovilan star in pivotal roles. The music is composed by Jose Franklin. Lyrics are by Vairamuthu, and editing is by Kasi Viswanathan.
Speaking to Times of India, director Selvakannan said that the film will give a lively picture of his native Nellai district. “Nedunalvaadai is a poem written during the Sangam period by Nakkirar and talks about the pain of separation. The story of my film revolves around a grandfather and his grandson, and the grandson’s love interest. There is no single lead hero-heroine; the film is about several characters.”
Mere Pyare Prime Minister
Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, this film is a social drama starring Anjali Patil and Om Kanojiya in the lead. It is jointly produced by ROMP Pictures and Aham Brahmasmi Entertainment, and also stars Atul Kulkarni, Makrand Deshpande, Niteesh Wadhwa and Rasika Agashe in supporting roles. The music composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and cinematography by Pawel Dyllus.
The film revolves around an 8-year old boy who writes a letter to the Prime Minister of India after his mother is raped. The movie focuses on the need for public sanitation and toilets, and is told through the eyes of a boy who wants to be heard. Also highlighted, is the relationship between a mother and son, with Anjali Patil playing the mother. This was the only Asian film to be screened at the Rome Film Festival in 2018.
Photograph
Photograph is a coming-of-age romantic comedy directed by Ritesh Batra, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra in the lead roles. The film is about a street photographer who tries to convince a woman to pose as his fiancee, so his grandmother stops pressurising him to get married.
It is jointly produced by Poetic License Motion Pictures and RSVP Movies, and also features Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Vijay Raaz and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles. With music by Peter Raeburn, the film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and the European premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.
Director Ritesh Batra said in an interview with News 18, “My idea was to make a movie about a poor guy and a somewhat rich girl and make it believable. There’s something inside them that is making them spend time together. Some kind of longing. The movie is about the corners of our heart, we don’t know exist.”
Milan Talkies
Pegged to be a romantic drama, Milan Talkies is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, and stars Ali Fazal and Shraddha Srinath in the lead roles. The film marks Shraddha’s debut in Bollywood. She became known for her role as an advocate in Vijay Sethupathi-Madhavan starrer Vikram Vedha.
Milan Talkies is produced by P.S. Chhatwal and Om Prakash Bhatt, under the banner Filmy Keeda Productions. It features Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Reecha Sinha and Sikandar Kher in supporting roles. The music composed by Rana Mazumder and Akriti Kakar, lyrics are by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Akriti Kakar.
The film is said to revolve around an aspiring filmmaker and his girlfriend who are in a fix after facing opposition from her family members. Ali Fazal reportedly said in a press statement, “What really hit my heart was that this boy works at a projection room that is the hub of communication to the outside world in a small city like Allahabad, and yet he is unable to communicate his love to his girlfriend. It is a story revolving around them in the period when the single screens were making the big shift to the multiplex.”
