Tamil watchlist: Will Kamal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’ and Dhanush’s ‘Raayan’ work their magic at the box office this July?

After a lackluster first half, Tamil cinema is anticipating a lineup of star-studded films that audiences eagerly await starting next month.

BySouth First Desk

Published Jun 30, 2024 | 5:16 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 30, 2024 | 5:22 PM

A collage of stills from 'Indian 2', 'Raayan', 'Mazhai Pidikkadha Manithan', and 'Teenz'. (Supplied)

A collage of stills from 'Indian 2', 'Raayan', 'Mazhai Pidikkadha Manithan', and 'Teenz'. (Supplied)

As we approach the end of the first half of 2024, there seems to be only one way to turn around the fortunes of the second half and deliver hits for Tamil cinema. Fortunately, Tamil cinema has a lineup of star-studded films ready to go. This July, the major releases include Indian 2 and Dhanush’s 50th film, Raayan.

In September, we have GOAT, directed by Venkat Prabhu; featuring Vijay. October 10, as a festival release, will see Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan and Suriya’s Kanguva hitting theatres, simultaneously.

August brings us Vikram’s Thangalaan and Keerthy Suresh’s Raghuthatha, while Sivakarthikeyan’s Amaran, Ajith’s Vidaa Muyarchi, and Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai: Part 2 are also expected, though their release dates remain uncertain.

Additionally, we might be in for pleasant surprises with Mari Selvaraj’s Bison, Soori’s Kottukkaali, Bala’s Vanangaan, Jayam Ravi’s Genie, and Nivin Pauly’s Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, backed by significant talents, awaiting release. Here’s the Tamil watchlist for July 2024:

Indian 2

Kamal Haasan’s highly anticipated film, Indian 2, will be released on 12 July. Directed by S Shankar, this sequel to his 1996 blockbuster, Indian, will hit screens in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages.

Produced by Lyca Productions, in association with Red Giant Movies, Indian 2 features Kamal Haasan reprising his role as Senapathy, an iconic character, who transitions from a freedom fighter to a vigilante combating corruption.

 Speaking at the audio launch, Shankar revealed that Kamal Haasan had shown interest in doing an Indian sequel earlier, but at that time, the director didn’t have a storyline ready. “Even today, unfortunately, news of bribery and corruption persists, which made me wonder how Indian thatha would react if he saw this. That’s how I conceived the idea after the release of 2.O.”

The star-studded cast includes Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Vivekh, Kajal Agarwal, SJ Suryah, Bobby Simha, Brahmanandam, Samuthirakani, Nedumudi Venu, Delhi Ganesh, Manobala, Jagan, and Gulshan Grover. Anirudh Ravichander composed the music for Indian 2, Ravi Varman handled the cinematography and Sreekar Prasad managed the editing duties.

Raayan

Dhanush’s second directorial project after Pa Paandi (2017), titled Raayan and featuring him in the lead role, is scheduled for release on 26 July, coinciding with just two days before the actor-director’s birthday on 28 July.

Raayan was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on 13 June.

 The film, bankrolled by Sun Pictures, boasts a stellar cast; including Prakash Raj, SJ Suryah, Selvaraghavan, Aparna Balamurali, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kalidas Jayaram, Sundeep Kishan, Saravanan, and Dushara Vijayan.

Raayan, featuring music by AR Rahman, cinematography by Om Prakash, editing by Prasanna GK, action sequences by Peter Hein, and choreography by Prabhudheva and Baba Baskar, will also be released with dubbed versions in Telugu and Hindi.

Also read: It is Rajinikanth’s ‘Vettaiyan’ vs Suriya’s ‘Kanguva’, this Dasara

Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan

Vijay Antony’s Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan, which also stars Sarathkumar and Sathyaraj, does not yet have an official release date.

Directed by Vijay Milton, the cinematographer, the film features songs composed by Vijay Antony.

 The trailer starts with Sarathkumar’s character urging Vijay Antony’s character to stay low-key and avoid interaction with others, without revealing the reasons. During his secluded life, the protagonist rescues an injured dog, a harmless act that unexpectedly brings trouble, forcing him out of hiding.

Produced by Kamal Bohra, Lalitha Dhananjayan, Pradeep B, Pankaj Bohra, and S Vikram Kumar of Infiniti Film Ventures, this action thriller will be released in Telugu as Toofan. The rest of the technical crew includes music director Achu Rajamani and Sourav Roy, with editing by KL Praveen.

The film’s cast includes Dhananjaya, Murali Sharma, Thalaivasal Vijay, Saranya Ponvannan, and Pruthvi Ambaar.

Teenz

Actor-director Parthiban’s Teenz is expected to be released in July, marking his 16th directorial venture.

The film centres on a group of teenage actors like Prashitha Nazir, Deepesshwaran GS, Asmitha Mahadevan, Deepan, Roshan, and others. Earlier, the trailer was released, showing a group of young students who skip school to visit a friend’s village for ghost hunting. As events unfold, they find themselves entangled in a series of eerie occurrences.

 Teenz’s technical crew includes music composer D Imman, cinematographer Gavemic Ary, and editor R Sudarshan. Parthiban has also written the lyrics for the songs.

Parthiban is involved as the producer, alongside Dr Bala Swaminathan, Caldwell Velnambi, Dr Pinchi Srinivasan, and Ranjith Dhandapani.

(Edited by S Subhakeerthana)

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