Mani Ratnam’s next production venture Vaanam Kottatum, starring Vikram Prabhu, Aishwarya Rajesh, Madonna Sebastian and others, starts shoot today.
The film is directed by Dhana Sekaran of Padaiveeran fame and is co-written by Mani Ratnam, whose home production Madras Talkies made the official announcement about the film today.
Sources say the first schedule is on in Chennai.
As the skies roar, we begin #VaanamKottattum! ?
Starring @iamVikramPrabhu @aishu_dil @MadonnaSebast14 @realsarathkumar @realradikaa @imKBRshanthnu & @amitashpradhan directed by #Dhana and co-written by #ManiRatnam!
On floors from today…@LycaProductions @sidsriram— Madras Talkies (@MadrasTalkies_) July 19, 2019
In April, a press note from the producers confirmed that Aishwarya Rajesh and Vikram Prabhu play siblings in the film, and Madonna Sebastian may star opposite Vikram Prabhu.
The latest addition to the cast is Amitash Pradhan, the actor who played villain in Vellai Illa Pattadhari. Radhikaa and Sarathkumar have signed up for supporting roles. Their last project together (not as a couple) was Chennaiyil Oru Naal six years ago, and the real-life couple will play husband and wife in this film.
Others in the crew include Abhiyum Naanum-fame Preetha Jayaraman for cinematography and Amaran for art direction. Govind Vasantha was initially on board for music, and also shared the news on social media with a picture with Mani Ratnam. But he had to back out because of date clashes, and singer Sid Sriram decided to make his debut as a composer with this film.
He confirmed the news this month on Twitter and wrote, “Humbled by the blessings of my loved ones, family, gurus and supporters. Going to need all your love, we’re going to make something special!”
Work on the background score and songs has already begun.
The news is out. Humbled by the blessings of my loved ones, family, gurus and supporters. Gonna need all your love, we're going to make something special! All love, no hate pic.twitter.com/gjLQkJqdzg
— Sid Sriram (@sidsriram) July 9, 2019
Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies has previously produced films by his associates, such as Azhagam Perumal’s Dumm Dumm Dumm and Susi Ganesan’s Five Star.
Vaanam Kottatum was reportedly planned as a Mani Ratnam directorial, but he couldn’t take it up because of his commitment to the Ponniyin Selvan adaptation. The pre-production works for the mega-budget film reportedly starring Jayam Ravi, Vikram, Nayanthara, Aishwarya Rai, Mohan Babu and others is on. Shoot is likely to start in the beginning of next year.
