With the release of Yuvan Shankar Raja’s debut production, Pyaar Prema Kaadhal postponed by a day following the demise of DMK leader M Karunanidhi, the much-awaited film this week is Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam 2. Also opening Friday is the Malayalam film Neeli. There are no Bollywood releases in sight.
Vishwaroopam 2
Only Kamal Haasan would get away with calling the second part of a film a prequel-sequel.
The trailer of Vishwaroopam 2 – written, directed by, and starring Kamal Haasan – has glimpses of Viz (Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri) in his Kathak disguise, but largely consists of fast-paced action scenes. From the description, we can perhaps ascertain that not only would we get to know the past of Wisam, but also what happens later – especially when the terrorists’ next target is India.
An action-thriller, Kamal Haasan has performed the stunts in the movie himself. Talking about it, he said: “I enjoyed doing the stunts. I have paid for it in bones, injuries, pain, and also applause. I don’t have time for sports and adventure like others; I have to do all that within my profession. It’s nice having a jungle gym in the workplace.”
The production and release of Vishwaroopam 2 were delayed by a couple of years owing to several issues. When the first installment of the movie was about to release, Kamal Haasan had to contend with the opposition raised by Muslim groups. The frustrated actor then declared that he would have no other option but to leave the country if there’s continued opposition to his film. He also screened the movie to a few Muslim protesters prior to the release. This time around though, Kamal Haasan declared that he will not permit a screening before the release.
The film is produced by Venu Ravichandran in Tamil and by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor in Hindi. Vishwaroopam 2 also stars Shekhar Kapur, Rahul Bose, Andrea Jeremia, Pooja Kumar and others. Ghibran has composed music.
Pyaar Prema Kaadhal
Earlier scheduled to open on August 9, the release of Pyaar Prema Kadhal was pushed to August 10 following the demise of DMK leader M Karunanidhi. The film, said to be a rom-com, is composer Yuvan Shankar Raja’s first production, and is directed by Elan of Graghanam fame. It stars Bigg Boss participants Harish Kalyan and Raiza Wilson in the lead.
Speaking about his role, Harish said: “I am sure everyone would have noticed the different costumes that I wear in the trailer. I am seen in a lungi in certain scenes and in modern clothes during others. This says a lot about my role. I play a naïve boy from a middle-class family with the desire to look sophisticated in order to win the girl of my dreams.”
Neeli
Directed by Althaf Rahman, Neeli, a horror, stars Mamta Mohandas and Anoop Menon in the lead. Produced by Dr Sundar Menon, the film is about a single mother who is in search of her missing daughter. According to reports, Mamta will play a speech therapist with a six-year-old daughter in the film.
Neeli also stars Baburaj, Sreekumar and Sinil Sainuddheen in pivotal roles.
Watch the trailer here:
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