For GV Prakash, Bala’s Naachiyaar seems to have been an anomaly. Bala, in the kind of experimentation that directors often amuse themselves with, plucked Prakash out of the raging adolescence that seemed to course through the actor’s films, and placed him in a setting starkly different from the ones he was used to. With 100 Percent Kadhal though, GV Prakash is back where he belongs. And, it isn’t a flattering portrait.
A remake of the Telugu film 100 Percent Love starring Naga Chaithanya and Tamannaah, the script revolves around young “love” and angst. In the teaser for the Tamil remake, GV Prakash does his usual boy-child act, reveling in the pubescent space that he’s come to adore. Actress Shalini Pandey is enlisted to support his antics; she all wide-eyed innocence, still nursing a hangover from Arjun Reddy. Only, the teaser is also a throwback to those sleazy films of the 80s and 90s that one tries hard to forget; with heavy, unrelenting focus on women’s bodies. In two separate instances in the one-and-a-half minute teaser, the camera distastefully zooms in on Shalini Pandey’s waist. Also part of the film are children of various sizes indulging in banter that just cannot be called age-appropriate.
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Directed by SS Chandramouli, the film also stars Manobala, Nasser and Jayachitra in key roles. For the role of Mahalakshmi, the female lead, several actresses including Tamannaah were considered before the makers signed on Shalini Pandey. Reportedly, Lavanya Tripathi was earlier a part of the project, but she had to opt out due to scheduling conflicts. GV Prakash Kumar has composed music for the film while Ganesh Rajavelu has handled the cinematography.
Apart from 100 Percent Kadhal, Shalini Pandey has Gorilla, NKR 16 and Haunted Rooh in various stages of completion. GV Prakash Kumar, on the other hand, has Ayngaran, Adangathey, Kuppathu Raja and Sarvam Thala Mayam in the pipeline.
Watch the teaser here: