Pon Manickavel, the upcoming Tamil film starring actor-choreographer-filmmaker Prabhu Deva, will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on November 19, the OTT platform announced on Wednesday. The makers also released the film’s trailer on the same day.
Written and directed by filmmaker AC Mugil Chellappan, Pon Manickavel is backed by V Hitesh Jhabak under the Nemichand Jhabak banner with B Ganesh serving as the executive producer.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Mugil, who has earlier collaborated as a writer on the Prabhu Deva directorials Villu (2009) and Engeyum Kadhal (2011), calls Pon Manickavel an “emotional action thriller.”
“Prabhu Deva plays the title role and his character is inspired by the real-life IPS officer Ponn Manickavel, who was posted in Salem when I was studying in college there. He was known as a strict officer and made an impact on me then. Prabhu Deva and I were initially looking to work on another project, but that did not take off. So then, I narrated a line of this script to him and that’s how it all started,” he adds.
Pon Manickavel revolves around a certain incident that happens in the personal life of the protagonist, says the filmmaker. “The story starts in Salem and travels to Chennai. It revolves around a police officer who happens to witness an incident. He then thinks about how much a common man in his place would have been affected by it. The story is about how he confronts the situation and whether he abides by the law or not. While the real Ponn Manickavel has inspired the characterisation of the cop character, this story has nothing to do with him otherwise.”
Mugil always wanted to cast Prabhu Deva, though many felt the actor was an unconventional and risky choice for the role of a cop. “On the first day, we shot with him in a police costume. He looked and felt apt, and that’s when I gained confidence,” says the director.
The film went on floors in 2018 and was wrapped in 2019. It was shot in Chennai and Salem by cinematographer KG Venkatesh.
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Pon Manickavel also features Nivetha Pethuraj as the wife of Prabhu Deva’s character. The cast includes late filmmaker J Mahendran and Suresh Menon, as well as Bijesh, grandson of veteran comedian Nagesh.
D Imman has composed five songs for the film.
Regarding the OTT release, the director says the decision was made by the producers. However, he is optimistic about it and cites other films such as Soorarai Pottru and Jai Bhim, which have made a mark after having released digitally, as the reason for his confidence.
After Pon Manickavel, the director says he will be working on a “sentimental” film script revolving around a mother.