Instead of the usual Friday releases, this week on account of Vinayagar Chaturthi, films like Seema Raja, U-Turn will release on Thursday. Manmarziyaan, Love Sonia, Hotel Milan and Mitron are the Bollywood releases, while Malayalam has Padayottam and Oru Kuttanadan Blog.
Seema Raja
Directed by Ponram, the film is a rural comedy entertainer starring Sivakarthikeyan, Samantha Akkineni and Simran. This film marks the third collaboration between the actor, director and producer R.D. Raja after 2016’s Rajini Murugan and Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam in 2013.
The story revolves around the lead character, Seemaraja, the 33rd vaarisu – a man with a storied history. Produced by 24 AM Studios, the music is composed by D. Imman and lyrics penned by Yugabharathi.
Talking about the film, art director Muthuraj said, “Sometimes, even when I would compromise keeping the budget in mind, he would encourage me to do what was required. In addition, Ponram sir’s aesthetic of presenting village life in a colourful manner helped me think out of the box. Thanks to the wonderful team work and what we achieved, even before release, I have the satisfaction of having worked for a successful film.”
Apart from Sivakarthikeyan and Samantha, the film also features Napoleon, Soori, Yogi Babu and Manobala. While Simran Bagga plays the antagonist, Keerthy Suresh and Motta Rajendran will be seen in a special appearance.
U-Turn
U-Turn, releasing in Tamil and Telugu and directed by Pawan Kumar, is a remake of a 2016 Kannada film with the same title. The original was also directed by Pawan Kumar.
The trailer opens with Samantha standing in the middle of a noisy bar and trying to recall the events of the last five days. She plays a journalist in the film, who is investigating an accident that took place on a flyover in Velachery. The film revolves around those five days. During the course of the investigation, Samantha becomes a murder suspect, despite her trying to convince the cops that she didn’t do anything.
The film also stars Aadhi Pinisetty, who has had a recent good run with hits in Telugu and Tamil, as a cop, Malayalam actor Narain and Telugu actor Rahul Ravindran. Actress Bhumika Chawla is expected to play the role of the ghost, made memorable in the original by Radhika Chetan. Rahul Ravindran will be seen as Samantha’s boyfriend.
Produced by Srinivasaa Silver Screen in both the languages, the film was mostly shot in Chennai and Hyderabad.
Padayottam
Starring Biju Menon in the lead, Padayottam is gangster comedy directed by debutant Rafeek Ibrahim. The film also stars Saiju Kurup, Dileesh Pothan, Lijo Jose Pellisserry, Anu Sithara, Hareesh Kanaran among others. The film is scripted by Arun AR and Ajai Rahul and produced by Sophia Paul. The story revolves around a local gangster Chenkal Raghu.
Oru Kuttanadan Blog
Directed by scriptwriter-turned-director Sethu, it’s a dramedy. The film revolves around Hari, a troublemaker, and his loyal gang of bros living in a village called Kuttanad. The film has two heroines, Raai Laxmi and Anu Sithara, while Mammootty plays the village blogger who’s a role model to the youth in the village.
The comedy entertainer also features Siddique, Suraaj Venjaramoodu, Nedumudi Venu, Adil Ibrahim and Jude Anthany Joseph. The background score is by Sreenath.
Manmarziyaan
It is a romantic comedy directed by Anurag Kashyap, starring Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal in the lead. The film is centered around a love triangle and comes with the tagline: “Love isn’t complicated, people are.” The story revolves around Vicky, a naive Punjabi man who’s head over heels in love with Rumi (Taapsee Pannu), a feisty young woman. The arrival of Robbie (Abhishek) complicates the relationship of Vicky and Rumi who has to chose between two men and two kinds of future.
The dialogues are witty, and Amit Trivedi’s background score is riveting. Jointly produced by Aanand L Rai and Kashyap’s Phantom Productions, Manmarziyaan marks Bachchan’s comeback to films after a gap of two years (his last release was Farah Khan’s Happy New Year).
Love Sonia
Directed by Tabrez Noorani, Love Sonia is a social drama which revolves around a young girl named Sonia, who goes in search of her missing sister in this hard hitting tale about human trafficking. Mrinal Thakur plays the titular character in the film, while Frieda Pinto and Richa Chadda play the role of sex-workers.
Inspired by real events, the film boasts of a stellar cast which includes Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkumar Rao, Richa Chadda, Frieda Pinto, Anupam Kher, Sai Tamankhar and Adil Hussain. The movie has been produced by David Womark who also produced the Oscar-winning Life of Pi.
Hotel Milan
It is a comedy drama directed by Vishal Mishra, starring Kunaal Roy Kapur, Karishma Sharma, Zeishan Quadri, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajesh Sharma and Zakir Hussain. The film revolves around a hotel which is started by two couples for lovers who are looking for a place to spend time with each other.
Mitron
Directed by Nitin Kakkar of Filmistaan fame, Mitron is the Hindi remake of the National Award-winning Telugu film, Pelli Choopulu, which starred Vijay Deverakonda and Ritu Verma. Set in Gujarat, the film stars Jackky Bhagnani and Kritika Kamra, who are set on the path of finding themselves despite their social and cultural backgrounds. Produced by Vikram Malhotra, presented by Abundantia Entertainment, the film also has Pratik Gandhi and Neeraj Sood. The film’s music is by Tanishk Bagchi, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Vayu, Sameer Uddin, DJ Chetas, Lijo George, Sharib-Toshi and Abhishek Nailwal.
