A. r. murugadoss Tamil Movie News

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's next is titled Sikandar, blockbuster Tamil filmmaker A. R. Murugadoss made the big announcement on Thursday, April 11, while extending his Eid wishes on X (formerly Twitter). The hit director unveiled a special poster revealing that Salman Khan in and as Sikandar, while once again confirming that the film will be coming out in theatres worldwide as a grand Eid 2025 release. "Immerse yourself in the magic of 'Sikandar' as it unfolds on the big screen EID 2025! #SajidNadiadwala Presents @BeingSalmanKhan in and as #Sikandar", Murugadoss wrote in his announcement. 

EID MUBARAK! 🌙🌟
Immerse yourself in the magic of 'Sikandar' as it unfolds on the big screen EID 2025!#SajidNadiadwala Presents @BeingSalmanKhan in and as #Sikandar

Releasing in cinemas EID 2025 🎬@NGEMovies @WardaNadiadwala #SikandarEid2025 pic.twitter.com/ogMz8kKvIH

— A.R.Murugadoss (@ARMurugadoss) April 11, 2024

There has been a huge buzz ever since it was announced earlier this year that Salman Khan and A. R. Murugadoss are collaborating and the announcement of the title Sikandar will no doubt come as a big treat on Eid for the Bollywood superstar's fans everywhere. The upcoming film is Salman's next after Tiger 3 (2023), which ended up as a box office success, and all sights will now be set on the actor to scale higher peaks and deliver a bigger money-spinning blockbuster. Likewise, Sikandar is also a massive film for Murugadoss, who is returning to Hindi cinema after his previous ventures Ghajini (2008) with Aamir Khan and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014) with Akshay Kumar. Having said that, the Salman Khan-starrer is going to be a straight Hindi film for Murugadoss unlike his Ghajini and Holiday, which were initially made in Tamil as Ghajini (2005) with Suriya and Thuppakki (2012) with 'Thalapathy' Vijay, respectively. 

Although Sikandar marks the first time A. R. Murugadoss is directing Salman Khan, the duo had previously collaborated when the hit Tamil director penned the script of the Hindi superstar's Jai Ho (2014), which was a remake of his Telugu film Stalin (2006) starring 'Megastar' Chiranjeevi. Murugadoss is at present filming the tentatively titled SKxARM / SK 23 with leading Tamil actor Sivakarthikeyan after which he will kickstart the proceedings on Sikandar with Salman Khan. 

Blockbuster Tamil film director A. R. Murugadoss' next big film, the tentatively titled SK 23, starring leading actor Sivakarthikeyan began rolling in February and is currently one of the most exciting projects in development. There is tremendous excitement surrounding the upcoming film also being called SKxARM as it will feature songs and a background score composed by 'Rockstar' Anirudh Ravichander. With filming on SK 23 in full swing, A. R. Murugadoss on Saturday evening, March 23, dropped a surprise update about shooting a sequence at the Thirumayilai MRTS station in Chennai where he returned after 23 years when he last filmed the box office money-spinner Ramana (2002) starring 'Captain' Vijayakanth.

Sharing a screengrab of a scene featuring the late Vijayakanth on his mobile phone, A. R. Murugadoss penned an emotional statement on Instagram writing, "Returning to the iconic location of my film 'RAMANA' after 23 years for the shooting of SKxARM with SK! Feels surreal to be back where it all began, 🎥 #MissyouCaptain #Ramana #SKxARM" (sic) Production on SK 23 began amidst much excitement after a formal pooja ceremony for the film's launch was held in Chennai, which also saw popular Kannada actress Rukmini Vasanth being announced as the female lead, with music director Anirudh also making an appearance. 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Murugadoss Arunasalam (@a.r.murugadoss)

SK 23 is a big venture for A. R. Murugadoss, who will be looking to come out firing on all cylinders in his big filmmaking comeback after Darbar (2020) with 'Superstar' Rajinikanth, and deliver yet another blockbuster along the lines of his previous Tamil films Dheena (2001), Ramana, Ghajini (2005), Thuppakki (2012), Kaththi (2014), and Sarkar (2018). Sivakarthikeyan, who will next be seen in the highly-anticipated biographical action war film Amaran releasing this year, will also be aiming for SKxARM to be a winner and top his previous hits. 

It's official - Sivakarthikeyan and A. R. Murugadoss are joining hands for a new film. The big announcement of SK 23 has come on the special occasion of the blockbuster filmmaker's birthday on Monday, September 25, with the leading Tamil actor-producer also expressing his joy for his next big collaboration by posting pictures of their recent meeting. Taking to X, Sivakarthikeyan posted, "Dear @ARMurugadoss sir, Wishing you a very happy birthday sir 😊👍Sir I’m extremely delighted to join with you for my 23rd film and I'm double delighted after listening to your narration. This film is going to be very special for me in all aspects and I can’t wait to start filming 😊 Thank you so much sir and once again happy happy birthday sir ❤️🤗 - Sivakarthikeyan #SKxARM#SK23" (sic)

Dear @ARMurugadoss sir,

Wishing you a very happy birthday sir 😊👍

Sir I’m extremely delighted to join with you for my 23rd film and I'm double delighted after listening to your narration. This film is going to be very special for me in all aspects and I can’t wait to start… pic.twitter.com/XiOye1GmuL

— Sivakarthikeyan (@Siva_Kartikeyan) September 25, 2023

The Sivakarthikeyan-A. R. Murugadoss project has been discussed for a while now, with the duo also appearing together earlier this year at the audio release function of August 16 1947, where the duo hinted at their collaboration. SK 23 marks A. R. Murugadoss' big comeback after Darbar (2020) with 'Superstar' Rajinikanth and the hit director behind 'Thalapathy' Vijay-starres Thuppakki (2012), Kaththi (2014), and Sarkar (2018) will be looking to come out firing on all cylinders this time. There has been quite a lot of excitement surrounding the A. R. Murugadoss-Sivakarthikeyan film ever since it was implied that the two big Tamil cinema names would be coming together and it now remains to be seen what they are preparing for audiences up next with their SK 23. 

Sivakarthikeyan teaming up with A. R. Murugadoss for SK 23 is also set to be his next big venture after the highly-anticipated big-budget science-fiction film, Ayalaan, directed by Indru Netru Naalai fame R. Ravikumar featuring music by Academy Award winner A. R. Rahman, which is scheduled for a grand Pongal 2024 release. The Maaveeran star is currently also filming the tentatively titled SK 21 being directed by Rangoon fame Rajkumar Periasamy, with a major schedule in Kashmir wrapped up sometime back.

Blockbuster Tamil filmmaker A. R. Murugadoss is all set to present his next big ambitious production venture, 16 August, 1947, scheduled to release in theatres worldwide on April 7. With full-scale promotions already underway for the period action drama directed by his former assistant NS Ponkumar and starring Gautham Karthik, Murugadoss sat down for a one-on-one conversation with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to discuss about the upcoming film set during the time of India's independence, while also explaining why a few of his films that include all the commercial elements didn't perform as he would have expected. 

Upon being queried why some of the commercial films he's made did not work wonders at the box office and among the critics, A. R. Murugadoss explained, "Just like there's a reason for victory, there's also a reason for a failure. All films are in a way a first for a filmmaker. At least, that was the first time I worked on that story. It was a new experience." He added, "For example, if you take Spyder, I did a calculation to balance it in Tamil and Telugu. Back then, the concept of pan-Indian films wasn't as big as it is now. I had thought then to cast SJ Suryah (Tamil) and Mahesh Babu (Telugu). When that balance is struck, the Tamil people will watch for SJ Suryah, while the Telugu audience will go for Mahesh Babu. I can't show Mahesh Babu as a big commercial hero here (in Tamil) and I played it a little subtle. As a result, there was an assumption that a Tamil director underplayed (Mahesh Babu's role) on purpose since SJ Suryah is my friend and many eventually avoided the film." 

Watch A. R. Murugadoss in conversation with Baradjwan Rangan below:

A. R. Murugadoss' next production venture August 16 1947 directed by his former assistant NS Ponkumar and starring Gautham Karthik is gearing up for a big release on April 7. The hit director, who has been promoting the film extensively of late and best known for his blockbusters like Dheena, Ramanaa, Ghajini, Kaththi, Sarkar to name a notable few, recently sat down for a heart-to-heart conversation to discuss about August 16 1947 ahead of its release, while also opening up on his own directorials over the years, including the 2012 money-spinner, Thuppakki, starring 'Thalapathy' Vijay. Speaking about Thuppakki, Murugadoss went on to reveal many interesting experiences in the film, including how iconic Tamil author Sujatha's Ganesh–Vasanth characters in his crime thriller novels served as the inspiration behind Vijay's character Jagadish, which incidentally was the Tamil superstar's first venture to enter the 100 crore club at the box office. 

Explaining how Sujatha's writings and the works of other good and esteemed writers had an impact on him and his films, Murugadoss opened up on the original inspiration for Vijay's character in Thuppakki. The hit filmmaker, who also collaborated with Vijay in blockbusters like Kaththi and Sarkar, said, "Among the characters in the novels written by Sujatha sir, Vasanth approaches any situation in a comedic manner. For example, a murder will have taken place where Ganesh will be conducting the investigation seriously at one end, but Vasanth will be flirting with a girl on the other side. That's such a lovable trait. When I went to pay homage to Sujatha sir at his funeral, what hit me big time was that the Ganesh-Vasanth characters too have died along with him. The way he characterizes those characters have been a big inspiration to me." 

Watch A. R. Murugadoss in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan below: 

A. R. Murugadoss' next big production venture August 16 1947 starring Gautham Karthik directed by his former assistant NS Ponkumar is all set to open in cinemas on April 7. With less than a week for the film's release on the big screen, the blockbuster Tamil filmmaker, who is known for several big hits in his more than two decade career, recently sat down with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to talk about the upcoming period action drama, while also sharing interesting details about the editing process in a key scene in 'Thalapathy' Vijay's Thuppakki released in 2012. 

Speaking about the iconic Rubik's Cube scene in Thuppakki in which Vijay kidnaps a terrorist and comes across his plans, A. R. Murugadoss revealed how he initially wanted the sequence to be short in duration. He said, "When we were editing Thuppakki with editor Sreekar Prasad sir, it came to a point where we had to cut around 20 minutes from the film. I was confused about what we had to remove from the cut we were working on. There were several moments where the shots would go in parallel directions and I needed a mature editor to oversee this. So, when I went to him, I told him to add cuts to the scene where Vijay is using the Rubik's Cube. But, he explained to me how it is important to show that Vijay is thinking in the scene and for that we need to show him walking and the entire process. The audience knows Vijay can pack a punch in the fight sequences, but to see him thinking during the crisis is new. This was a new experience for me and I learnt that from Sreekar Prasad sir. When the music (composed by Harris Jayaraj) was added to the scene, it gave a new feel." 

Watch A. R. Murugadoss in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan below:

A. R. Murugadoss' next big production venture August 16 1947 starring Gautham Karthik and directed by his former assistant NS Ponkumar is gearing up for its theatrical release on April 7 and the blockbuster Tamil filmmaker is going full out in getting the word out about the film centered around India's independence. With less than a week for the release of the period action drama, Murugadoss sat down with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to discuss about the upcoming film, while also opening up about the plans he had long back to do a film with Tamil superstars 'Thalapathy' Vijay and Ajith Kumar. 

After talking about his plans for making a film starring Ajith and Vijay nearly a decade back, A. R. Murguadoss explained why the possibilities of such a project happening are not plausible. He stated, "To be honest, it's not possible. If we do a film with Ajith sir, it's a business. If we do a film with Vijay sir, it's a business. If they both come together (for a film), it doesn't mean it will be double the business. You'll only end up wasting their dates. When an Ajith sir's fan pays Rs. 200 to go watch him in a film, he will expect to see him for the majority duration on the screen. It's the same with Vijay sir's fan, who will want to witness a bigger screen presence of his on-screen idol. Maintaining such a balance is very difficult. It's better to make a two separate films with each of them." 

Upon being queried whether he still has the script he had planned for the Vijay-Ajith film, Murugadoss said, "It's undergone a few changes. I've had an idea to make it with a single hero playing dual roles. Secondly, both of them (Vijay and Ajith) have grown exponentially in the industry and it's not possible to do that film with them now." He added, "If I look at the script again and if it excites me like it did back then, I will know whether I can pursue it further."

Watch A. R. Murugadoss in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan below:

‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth’s upcoming Darbar will be the first big Tamil film to kick off 2020 and has been announced to come out in theatres worldwide on January 9. The upcoming mass cop action film is the second consecutive occasion Anirudh Ravichander has composed for a Rajinikanth film after the blockbuster, Petta, earlier this year. Directed by A. R. Murugadoss under the Lyca Productions banner, the Darbar album has now been released and has 6 tracks in total including a theme for Rajinikanth as well as the villain, Suneil Shetty.

Song 1 : Chumma Kizhi
Composed by : Anirudh Ravichander
Lyricist : Vivek
Vocals : S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & Anirudh Ravichander

The first song that was released a few days back, ‘Chumma Kizhi’ sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Anirudh has gone on to become a chartbuster. A folksy number with pulsating beats, the song is undoubtedly a theatre celebration song which will no doubt get all ‘Thalaivar’ fans on the dance floor. We can see SPB channeling his voice to the days of the late 80s to the 90s and then till the early 2000s where he would elevate himself for the ‘Superstar’. And, the end product this time has turned out to be special. With Vivek’s lyrics raising the bar once again, Anirudh too has chipped in on the vocal department in an amicable manner apart from coming up with a catchy tune and a rhythm that will want you to tap your feet no matter how hard you try to fight it.

Song 2 : Tharam Maara Single
Composed by : Anirudh Ravichander
Lyricist : Vivek
Vocals : Anirudh Ravichander & Arjun Chandy

A song that is more in the zone of Anirudh’s usual song template, ‘Tharam Maara Single’ is a lot more modern and scratches the surface of being an EDM (Electronic dance music) track and includes plenty of improvised calypso verses. The track being a lilting and flowing tune, it will take time to catch on among the youth and is more on the lines of being a intimate salsa song. 

Song 3 : Thalaivar Theme
Composed by : Anirudh Ravichander

We got a taste of the ‘Thalaivar Theme’ when the Darbar motion poster released sometime back and gave us a feel of what to expect in the film when it comes out next year. A track that is filled with thara local beats and the ‘Thalaivaa’ reference on a number of occasions, it will turn out to be a raising the fist and punching the air number that will be best enjoyed by fans in theatres each time we see Rajinikanth living up to his mass image.

Song 4 : Dumm Dumm
Composed by : Anirudh Ravichander
Lyricist : Vivek
Vocals : Nakash Aziz

The ‘Dumm Dumm’ song opens with a chorus and teases a wedding scenario with the track then going full forward with an electronic mandolin serving as the main beat and singer Nakash Aziz taking charge from thereon. The song has all elements to become a hit with the passage of time. Perhaps the biggest drawback in the song is the use of excessive sound, which borders on turning out to become noise after a certain point of time. The reason for using the term 'noise' is in retrospect the romantic overtone get numbed down when the beats overtake the tune as well as the vocals and that isn’t always a good sign for a song that is supposed to be hopeful and passionate.

Song 5 : Villain Theme
Composed by : Anirudh Ravichander

The ‘Villain Theme’ for Suniel Shetty has pizzazz and mystery as well giving us a tease of the Bollywood actor’s character in Darbar. There is a bit of menace we can deduce as well as stylish swag and a polished suave in the theme, which we can picture now already. The song will play out at regular intervals each time Suniel Shetty enters the frame and will be one that will show his evil side.

Song 6 : Thani Vazhi
Composed by : Anirudh Ravichander
Lyricist : Yogi B, Senthuzhan, Syan
Vocals : Rap By Yogi B, Anirudh Ravichander & Shakthisree Gopalan

A pure mass track, ‘Thani Vazhi’ will be a song that will best enjoyed only with the visuals that gets shown. The rap lyrics by Yogi B, Senthuzhan, Syan clearly emphasize the mass of ‘Superstar’ we have known watching Rajinikanth all over the years. The transition of the song from a western number to thara local beats and rap interludes will come as a surprise at times. On the tune front, the song is reminiscent of being a slowed down version of the ‘Petta Paraak’ track in Petta.

VERDICT: Anirudh Ravichander's attempt to bring in a mix of varied elements in his latest offering seem half-baked, but could have been so much better.

RATING: 2.5/5

‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth’s upcoming film, DARBAR, is being filmed at a steady pace under the Lyca Productions banner since filming began a while back. Director A. R. Murugadoss has now posted a shooting spot picture of popular dance master Shobi and the stunt choreographer duo Ram-Laxman at work with the caption "interesting combo, fight and dance masters at work" along with the hashtag #DarbarTreat signifying the team is cooking up something special in light of the film's Pongal 2020 theatrical release. 

Based on A. R. Murugadoss’ tweet, we can assume there might be a sequence in Darbar, which could be in the form of either a song that would include action or an action scene that would see ‘Thalaivar’ performing a few dance moves. Billed to be a mass action entertainer, the film also has Nayanthara as the female lead, Bollywood actors Suniel Shetty and Prateik Babbar as the antagonists along with Nivetha Thomas, Yogi Babu, Sriman in important supporting roles.

Darbar, which has Rajinikanth playing a police officer after a gap of 27 years since his Pandiyan in 1992, is currently in its second schedule at Mumbai with plans for filming to take place until August. The film also has a stellar technical crew comprising names like Anirudh Ravichander scoring the music, Santhosh Sivan for the cinematography, editing being done by Sreekar Prasad, art direction by T. Santanam and Niharikha Bhasin Khan handling the the costume department.

A film that has set the entire town talking already, Lyca Productions' DARBAR will see ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth and Nayanthara in lead roles under A. R. Murugadoss’s direction with music by Anirudh Ravichander and will roll into production from tomorrow (April 10) at Mumbai.

The film’s first look officially released today has now shown director A. R. Murugadoss' prowess at perhaps his best till date as this Darbar poster and his vision has been fulfilled to its best and fullest extent by poster designer Vinci Raj. We here at Galatta have now decoded the poster and is as follows:

‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth’s role in Darbar has already been revealed in this poster and he will be seen as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.

The monument seen atop Rajinikanth’s image in the Darbar poster is the Gateway of India, which was built in Mumbai during the 20th century and was erected in 1911 to honor the arrival of the then King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, George V and his wife, Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India at the Wellington Pier (formerly known as the Apollo Bunder).

What’s more, the Gateway of India placed above Rajinikanth’s head in the Darbar poster resembles a crown and symbolizes him as the ‘KING OF MUMBAI’.

The  police cap shown in the Darbar poster is reminiscent to the one that is usually given to IPS officers in Maharashtra and based on this we can deduce that Rajinikanth is a senior cop in Mumbai. 

A part of the handcuff has been designed to look like the number "3", which could also likely symbolize three different phases of Rajinikanth's character. Although a far stretch, it could also hint that ‘Thalaivar’ might even be seen playing a triple role in the film. 

As there are more than 10 ranks in the Indian Police Services, an IPS badge has been displayed in the Darbar poster and it looks like Rajinikanth will be appearing as either the Commissioner of Police (CP) or the Director General of Police (DGP). 

The police dog in the poster resembles a German Shepherd and is the breed that law enforcement bodies usually employ as a detection dog or sniffer dog in tracking down criminals. 

In addition, the handcuff when taken into account wholly is akin to the number "30" and could likely be a date when an important event takes place in the film. 

There is a blueprint of the Mumbai city map to the left side of Rajinikanth in the Darbar poster and the skyline of the biggest city in the country is shown below the police car towards the right hand side where there is a caution tape signifying the criminal gangster underworld. 

Furthermore, the collar of the leash on the German Shepherd dog has the text “POLICIE” and is mostly used on sniffer dogs from the Police of the Czech Republic, which is the national law enforcement agency of the Czech Republic. 

Besides, the Mumbai city map blueprint in the poster shows an outline of the Queen's Necklace location popularly known to all as Marine Drive. 

The tagline in the Darbar poster - “You decide whether you want me to be good, bad or worse” - is yet another hint to Rajinikanth’s character as he might be playing a role with negative shades.

There are two guns in the Darbar poster that look similar to a long range sniper firearm machine gun bearing resemblance to the AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova) with a sniper scope.

There are also bloodstains on the Mumbai city blueprint map indicating a violent incident taking place in the specific location in Darbar. 

The coolers worn by Rajinikanth in the Darbar poster are vintage steampunk double lens flip-up sunglasses.

There are a total of 4 bullets among which two are mounted on each machine gun rifle while the other two placed above Rajinikanth’s head symbolize two horns (Devil’s Horns) and yet again teases negative shades of ‘Superstar’ in the film. 

There are also two belts on the Darbar poster with the first one shown in full length starting with the police buckle and ending with a shoe above Rajinikanth’s head. The other one is seen placed near the neck of ‘Thalaivar’ and mashes along with the first police belt. 

Upon close inspection using ultra zoom, it is shown that Rajinikanth is also wearing a specific type of Rudraksha prayer bead thus symbolizing his charater is pious and has a belief in God.