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. 

 

 

 

 

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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. 

Actor-politician Vijayakanth passed away in Chennai on Thursday morning, December 28, after being admitted to the hospital following complications of pneumonia. With many big names paying their tributes to the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) political party, leading Tamil filmmaker A. R. Murugadoss shared memories of his time spent with the Tamil cinema stalwart when they worked together in the blockbuster, Ramana (2002). In an exclusive telephonic interview with Galatta, A. R. Murugadoss opened up on how he was anxious initially during filming to direct Vijayakanth, while also sharing his thoughts on Ramana 2. 

A. R. Murugadoss recalled working with Vijayakanth during Ramana and said, "It was surprising to me back in the day that I was directing someone like Vijayakanth, a senior artiste, in my second film because I had relatively little experience and had done only one film at that point of time. I was a bit hesitant during the first two days of the shooting about how I would direct him. But, as the shooting progressed, he understood that I was hesitating and he would sit with me and indulge in conversations. We would eat together and that distance between us went away soon. He would also discuss various topics with me to make my anxiousness go away. And, that is the reason why I was able to make such a big film. If that distance between us remained till the end of the shooting, that communication would not have happened. I was able to make the film because he made the rapport easy between us." 

Speaking about the story discussion of Ramana, A.R. Murugadoss stated, "I was told that he should not play a parent and that he wanted a climax without his death. As I began narrating the story, he got engrossed in the story and gave his nod when I shared the climax that I had initially planned. That was how the film began. It was his belief in the script that convinced him to agree to do the film."

A.R. Murugadoss also spoke about his thoughts on a Ramana sequel and said, "After the culture of parts 2 & 3 began and Indian 2 was launched, I did have thoughts at times that we could do Ramana 2 with 'Captain'. But, if he had been healthy, he would have acted in more films. That would have helped many people to come up in life because he has been part of village-based films like Chinna Gounder, Vaidehi Kathirunthal, and En Aasai Machan, while also acting in revolutionary stories like Captain Prabhakaran, Pulan Visaranai, Ramana, and many more. He acted in films that gave film institute students a chance to shine like Ommai Vizhigal, which introduced him only in the second half. He's a hero who has appeared on 70MM screens the most and wanted to convey revolutionary ideas in films, which is something that directors usually do. He did it with boldness and there would be no vulgar scenes in his films. He balanced his career with both village-based films and revolutionary stories."

Listen to A. R. Murugadoss talk about 'Captain' Vijayakanth in the video below: 

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 is one the leading director who made his debut in the Ajith starrer film Dheena. He went on to do many hit films and is known for making commercial entertainers. The director has done three films with Vijay, including Thuppakki, Kathi and Sarkar, which were massive blockbuster hits. The hit combo has created huge anticipation among fans as Thuppakki was one of the path-braking movies in the career of 'Thalapathy' Vijay. The Director has turned producer for films helmed by his assistants.

As 16 August 1947, which is a film produced by him is scheduled to hit the theatres on 7th April, the director A.R. Murugadoss sat for an exclusive interview with National Award-winning critic Baradwaj Rangan, the editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus. The director revealed interesting details about his dream project in the interview. The director said he wanted to do a project with a monkey as hero, before Dheena, but it did not cross the pre-production stage due to some reasons and Blue-cross restrictions. The director went on and revealed that the project kept evolving and two years back he started working with a Hollywood company. “As I kept going forward, there is a companying called Double Negative. They got seven Oscar awards continuously for special effects and have worked on a project like Avengers. When I sent the story they said we will do it and 2 years of work went on in Zoom meetings. After Vijay sir's film got missed, this I was working on this for two years. we collaborated with Hollywood technicians and pre-production work was going on. At that time, as the Hindi film industry came down one by one, they held the project. The work was happening but it did not move to the next stage. Already one year went into Vijay sir's project, and two years went into this. So, I have decided to work on something else but the work it is going on on one side."

The director A.R. Murugadoss revealed in the interview that a project with Vijay was in the works during the pandemic but it did not see the light. This confirmation comes as a surprise to 'Thalapathy' Vijay fans who expect another hit from the blockbuster combo. Here's the full interview.

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 is a director who has worked with many leading actors in the Tamil film industry and had done many commercial entertainers. He made his debut as a director with the film Dheena starring Ajith Kumar in lead role. The director has also been a part of many interesting projects like Ramanaa, Gajini, Thupaaki, 7 Am Arivu, Kathi, Sarkar, Darbar, Spyder, etc. 

The director AR Murugadoss gave an exclusive interview with National Award-winning critic Baradwaj Rangan, the editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus. When the host asked about his dream project, the director said he had to wait for some time as Ajith Kumar had signed to play Citizen movie. He said "the producer Chakravarthi sir said he will do films only with Ajith sir. I said what sir you are taking like Devar films. He said yes like him he would do only films with Ajith or with animals as lead and asked if I had any story in the meantime, I said 'I have a story with a Monkey sir. Ok think and come tell the story.' So I went and thought and said he approved immediately. At first, it got ready on a big level we completed it fully and the story was also a very happy one. He asked me to say the story to four people and they also said it was great. But when we started the film we got to know about the blue-cross rules and regulations and then we got to know that people cannot use animals that much and the circus is itself coming down. So we went to see many circuses and by that time Dheena itself got okay. The project stayed in my mind that I must do it somehow."

"20 years ago the film started before Dheena now it has evolved and become a full CG project and they also made a pre-vision for the project, It was great best action sequences. There awas 20 minutes for a hero and Akshay Kumar sir said he will do it without dramatisation as a Profit share project. so, After his films as the Hindi industry dropped the project is delayed and so I have decided to do with another film in meantime and touch the film afterwards.", revealed the director A.R. Murugadoss.

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:

AR Murugadoss is one of the leading directors who had done many films in Tamil and some in Telugu and Hindi. The director is known for making commercial entertainers. The filmmaker made his debut with Ajith Kumar’s Dheena and then did many films with prominent heroes including Vijaykanth, Vijay, Suriya, Telugu star Mahesh Babu and Hindi actress Amir Khan and Akshay Kumar. The latest film that was released by the director was Darbar which has Rajinikanth as lead. It was set in Mumbai and revolves around a high-level cop. The director has also produced many films helmed by his assistant directors. The upcoming film 16 August 1947 produced by him is set to release in theatres.

Ahead of the release of the film, The Director gave an exclusive interview with National award-winning critic Baradwaj Rangan, the editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus. When the interviewer asked why some of his films does not work sometimes. The Director said “After some time I thought this craft, writing of the story, filmmaking comes to us quickly. That is what I had evaluated myself wrongly. So when Rajinikanth sir said the film (Darbar) has to start in March, in June there will be rainy season in Bombay and in August he wants to start his political party. So, within this time limit I had to shoot in February. I am a hard-core Rajini Sir fan. So, for any reason, I did not want to miss the opportunity. At that time, it was talked about as the last film of Rajini sir because of his political entry. We committed to do the film in February and to start shooting in March and completed the film within June. I just want to give a hit film with Rajinikanth at the same time, I should not miss it, That is where I got it wrong. For any person who is involved in a skillful craft, if there is no correct planning then it will end up wrong. That is what it thought me. But, there is a time before shooting, right, however, with the time we have we should have planned (the film). That too, if we shoot in Bombay, Today, location, costume, shooting and juniors and today all crafts should give their 100%."

A.R. Murugadoss then added what Amir Khan said to him while shooting Gajini. The director said “Amir Khan said he has not revealed this secret to anyone and said 'I am telling this to you, sir. if anyone begins a film by saying at this date, we are going to release this film, and then begins the film. 50% chance that that film will flop in the beginning itself. First, you start. Check how fast the film is going, if there is anything wrong in the craft. Is there any change is it coming out like we want it to after 10 days of editing it and watching it together with the crew. Then when the film is over 80-90% you should plan the release.' I got to know that this is true with experience. I learn't that when you are a director you should not give place to the fan you are to the actor, or big salary be the reason to slip, that is what I learn't from the movie (Darbar).