Tuticorin or Thoothukudi is famous for its pearls and because of this, this southern coastal town is also known as Muthunagaram. Director K. Thirupathi’s forthcoming film, Muthunagaram, is based on some unique aspects of the town. “When anyone commits a crime, the town’s elders get together and mete out appropriate punishment to the culprit. But, in an unfortunate situation, the hero, Viswa (who earlier appeared as Sathish in Oru Mazhai Naangu Saaral ) and his friends are framed for a crime not committed by them. Not given a chance to prove their innocence, the boys decide to commit a petty crime, quite playfully. However, to their shock, it turns out to be a serious affair which lands them in a mess. How they manage to come out unscathed is what Muthunagaram is all about,” says Thirupathi. Asrikbanu plays the heroine.
Lessons in love
After an impressive tally of 59 Kannada films, director B. Ramamurthy has planned his first Tamil film, interestingly titled Sollithara Naan Irukkiren . Dhanishbabu plays the hero with Vidya ( Virundhali) as his love interest. “The hero is a lazy, unemployed youth who believes that no job will fit his profile. His worried mother, in the absence of a runaway father, resorts to demeaning jobs to keep the home fires burning. One day, the hero comes across a guy at a busstop who though successful at charming women is unable to make them fall in love with him. That’s when the hero decides to start an institute to teach the art of falling in love to aspiring female candidates. His first batch comprises four 40-plus women,” says Ramamurthy. Somewhere along the way he gets trapped in his own scheme of things, when Vidya turns up as his candidate. Does he make a living out of this unique vocation or does he mend his ways? Sollithara Naan Irukkiren is all about that.
Striking a chord
Manishajit is remembered as the six-year-old daughter of Sarathkumar in Gambeeram after which she acted in nearly 40 films as a child artiste. Now, she makes her debut as a heroine in director K. Jeyakumar’s Nanbargal Gavanathirku alongside Sanjeev ( Kulir 100 Degrees, Neeyum Naanum ). “It is a story about friendship and love. Three fathers and their three children form the crux of the story. A landlord has a daughter; a tender coconut vendor in the vicinity has a son; and the local school teacher has one. Expectedly, the fathers have different aspirations for their children; but when the children fail to meet them, it causes heartbreaks. The six characters are so lifelike that many in the audience will be able to relate to them. There are many twists and turns in the script in addition to an unexpected climax,” says Jeyakumar.
Playing protagonist
The children of veterans in the film industry are fast emerging as a force to reckon with. It’s now the turn of playback singer Mano’s son S. K. Shakir to don the hero’s role in director A. C. Sounder’s upcoming film Thedinen. (He was part of Naanga earlier.)Shakir will have Lakshmi Nair and Divya Nagesh for company in the film. Says Sounder: “The hero’s character is such that he’s always concerned about others and never about his life or career. How the two girls help him take it more seriously, forms the crux. Thedinen is a family entertainer with five songs and an interesting comedy track. The songs have been excellently scored by Ilanthirayan, a music college lecturer who has earlier composed the music for films in other languages; this is his first in Tamil.”
