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Cinema-Snippets: Vijay starrer Varisu begins final leg of shoot in Hyderabad

Mohanlal to reprise his role of Abraham Qureshi from 'Lucifer' in Thalapathy 67; poor response for the advance bookings of 'Naane Varuvean'.

Ayyappa Prasad

Published Sep 26, 2022 | 8:00 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 26, 2022 | 8:00 PM

thalapathy vijay varisu

Thalapathy Vijay's 'Varisu' entered the final leg of shoot in Hyderabad. (VarisuTamilFilm/Twitter)

Thalapathy Vijay’s 66th film, titled Varisu, entered the final leg of shooting in Hyderabad on Sunday, 25 September.

Meanwhile, sources said that director Lokesh Kanagaraj, who brought in Kaithi (2019) characters into Kamal Haasan’s latest outing Vikram (2022), will bring in Khureshi-Ab’ram — the protagonist of Malayalam blockbuster hit Lucifer (2019) played by Mohanlal — in his next outing Thalapathy 67.

In Lucifer, the Khureshi-Ab’ram character flies off to an unknown destination after completing his mission in Kerala. Incidentally, Lucifer’s Telugu remake is getting ready for release (Godfather) with Chiranjeevi in the lead.

Just like Narain from Kaithi appears in Vikram, Thalapathy 67 will have Mohanlal reprising the role of Khureshi-Ab’ram from Lucifer. As proof of confirmation, Lokesh followed Mohanlal and Lucifer producer Antony on Twitter. Earlier, Vijay and Mohanlal worked together in the Tamil film Jilla (2014).

According to reports, Lokesh is doing away with the song-dance routine in Thalapahty 67. The film will have Vijay and Trisha pairing up with each other one more time. They acted in four films thus far and their last outing Kuruvi (2008) received mixed reviews. Thalapathy 67 will go on the floors in December.

As Ajith’s Thunivu starts the final leg of shooting in Bangkok and Vijay’s Varisu in Hyderabad, the trade is waiting to see if both the stars would clash at the box office for Pongal in January 2023.

Rashmika is the lead lady in Varisu and Manju Warrier in Thunivu. Ajith’s next is with Vignesh Shivan. Currently, H Vinoth is helming Thunivu, as part of the three-film deal he signed up with Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor.

Poor response for Naane Varuvean in advance bookings

Dhanush-Selvaraghavan combo’s Naane Varuvean, which is releasing a day (29 September) prior to Ponniyin Selvan-1, has got almost zero response in advance bookings.

Backed by Movie Moghul Kalaipuli Thanu, the film’s trailer got a terrific response. But the advance booking shows are hardly filling up on day 1. Even in Chennai multiplexes, where the bookings for Naane Varuvean are expected to be good, it has got an average response.

Given the circumstances, trade analysts hope that producer Thanu may postpone the release by a week. Indeed, the trade is puzzled that Thanu — the king of publicity — has soft-pedalled on Naane Varevean as he knows that PS-1 is top in promotions. Going by theatre count too, the film has got one-fourth of what PS-1 got in Tamil Nadu.

As the countdown begins, trade is waiting to see whether it’s a case of David and Goliath or a case of everyone wins. Business-wise, Thanu has made profits even before the film’s release by selling it to the distributors for a fairly good amount. Even the OTT rights have reportedly been sold for a high price.

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