From Dhanush’s Pa Paandi, to Viday Balan’s Begum Jaan, to Mammootty’s Puthan Panam and more, here’s our preview of the films releasing this week.
Pa Paandi:
Power Paandi
Actor Dhanush makes his directorial debut with Pa Paandi, starring veteran actor Raj Kiran in the titular role. Speaking about his foray into directing, Dhanush said it was a dream come true to direct the versatile actor.
Pa Paandi was earlier titled Power Paandi, until the makers decided to change the name so they could claim a tax exemption in Tamil Nadu. The exemption is only given to movies with Tamil names.
Read: There’s Something Very Familiar About Power Paandi’s Trailer
The film seems strikingly similar to the Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia Bollywood film Pyaar Mein Twist. Released in 2005, Pyaar Mein Twist revolves around a retired couple, both of whom have lost their spouses and eventually find love later in life with each other.
Whether Pa Paandi is a refreshing spin on the subject or not remains to be seen.
The movie also stars Revathi, Madonna Sebastian, Prasanna, Chaya Singh, Robo Shankar, and Dhivyadarshini. With music composed by Sean Rolden and camerawork by Velraj, Pa Paandi has been produced by Dhanush under the banner Wunderbar Films.
Kadamban:
Kadamban Poster
Kadamban will be Arya’s first solo release after a long time. He was last seen as the antagonist in the recent Malayalam movie The Great Father, starring Mammooty.
Kadamban was earlier titled Thani Kaatu Raja with Vikram Prabhu as the first choice for the lead. However, Vikram declined the role due to other commitments and Arya was brought in as the lead. Kadamban has been helmed by Naveen Raghavan and bankrolled by RB Chowdary of Super Good Films.
Joining Arya in the lead cast is Catherine Tresa, with YG Mahendran and Madhuvanti Arun in supporting roles. Kadamban has music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja while SR Sathish Kumar handles the cinematography.
Shivalinga:
Shivalinga Trailer Starring Raghava Lawrence, Ritika Singh and Directed by P Vasu
Raghava Lawrence is back, just one month after his last release Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva. This time he stars in a genre that seems to be his favourite – horror. Shivalinga also stars Ritika Singh (Iruddhi Sutru) as the female lead. In an interview with IndiaGlitz, Ritika says she did the movie because she like liked the story, and liked the Kannada version. She also felt it would be challenging to match dance steps with Lawrence.
The movie is a remake of a Kannada movie with the same name and has been helmed by P Vasu in both the versions.
“I have essayed my role with the aim of not seeming to have been influenced by the original. I have sported make-up, unlike in ‘Guru’. It was not easy to dance and give those expressions. If Lawrence master rocks it with his dances, I can’t dance much! So, that was another challenge. He advised me on my body language and expressions,” she said.
The movie also features Shakthi, Vadivelu, and Urvashi in the supporting cast. The music has been composed by SS Thaman and has produced by R Ravindran.
Begum Jaan:
Vidya Balan in ‘Begum Jaan’
Begum JaanVidya Balan, whose last movie Kahaani 2, had a subdued run at the box-office, is back. This time she plays the titular character, a brothel owner, in Begum Jaan. The multi-starrer is a remake of the Bengali film Rajkahani (2015), which was also directed by Srijit Mukherji and starred Rituparna Sengupta in the lead role.
Begum Jaan is about overthrowing patriarchy and set during a tumultuous time – when India and Pakistan were partitioned. The filmmakers were asked to tone down some of the abusive language in the film, and the film was awarded an ‘A’ certificate by the CBFC, without any cuts.
The movie also features Pallavi Sharda, Gauhar Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, and Chunkey Pandey in the supporting cart. Begum Jaan has been produced by Mukesh Bhatt and Vishesh Bhatt under the banner of Vishesh Films.
Sakhavu:
Sakhavu
Malayalam actor Nivin Pauly is back with his next release, Sakhavu. This time the actor plays a political activist. The film’s trailer generated additional interest among the actor’s fans as this will be Nivin’s first release in 2017.
Sakhavu has been directed by national-award winning director Sidhartha Siva. Nivin will play the roles of Krishnan and Krishna Kumar. Tamil actress Aishwarya Rajesh plays the female lead. Sakhavu marks her debut in the Malayalam industry.
The movie has been produced by B Rakesh under the banner of Universal Cinema. The supporting cast includes Gayathri Suresh, Aparna Gopinath, Sreenivasan, KPAC Lalitha, and Maniyanpilla Raju.
Prashant Pillai has composed the music for the film and George C Williams has handled the cinematography.
Puthan Panam:
1491938723_puthan-panam-mammootty-puthan-panam-review
Actor Mammootty is back with his next release, exactly two weeks after his last film, The Great Father. Critics had panned that movie as a stylish ride catering solely to the actor’s fans.
In Puthan Panam, Mammootty will play a man from Kerala’s northern-most place, Kasargode. The movie has been written and directed by Ranjith.
According to a Times of India report, the movie will deal with the circulation of black money in India. Ineya and Sheenu Abraham play the female leads, while Siddique, Sai Kumar, Renji Panicker, Harish Kanaran, Mamukoya, Vishak Nair, and Ganapathy have prominent roles.
Puthan Panam has been bankrolled by Ranjith and Arun Narayanan.
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