Hostel, the upcoming Tamil film featuring actors Ashok Selvan and Priya Bhavani Shankar in the lead roles, is a “fun comedy entertainer with a tinge of horror,” according to the film’s director Sumanth Radhakrishnan.
Hostel is the official Tamil remake of the 2015 Malayalam comedy horror Adi Kapyare Kootamani, starring Dhyan Sreenivasan and Namitha Pramod. It is produced by R Ravindran under the Tridents Arts banner.
The teaser of the film was released on social media on Friday.
Speaking to Silverscreen India about the upcoming film, Sumanth, who made his debut with the 2016 Tamil action thriller drama Sadhuram 2, says, “It is about how a girl (Priya Bhavani Shankar) gets stuck in a boys hostel which is controlled by strict guardians, played by Nasser sir and Munishkanth. The plot revolves around how Ashok Selvan’s character helps the girl escape. The story spans a two-day period and it has some fun horror elements to it as well.”
Asked how they chose the primary cast, the filmmaker says, “Basically, we wanted a fresh young pair. Ashok and Priya have not collaborated before. Both of them have also been part of successful films and are ready to take on a variety of scripts, so we went with them for the lead pair. For the warden and his assistant, we again wanted a new combination. Hence, we chose Nasser and Munishkanth. Most of the cast members were our first choices.”
The film also features Sathish, Mundaspatti Ramdoss, Kpy Yogi, and Krrish, among the others.
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The filmmaker adds that planning for the project began during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. Hostel was filmed entirely in Chennai, he tells us. The film was shot in the city over 35 days between January and March 2021.
It is currently in the final stages of post-production with the re-recording work in process.
Hostel has music by Bobo Sasii, who has composed two songs that feature in the film. “One of them is sung by Deva sir,” Sumanth reveals.
Speaking about the release, the filmmaker says the team is aiming for a theatrical release and adds that an announcement will be made soon.