Actor Jiiva and director Rathna Kumar, who is best known for directing Vijay Sethupathi in Rekka, have joined hands for the first time for a new project. Tipped to be a racy entertainer about friendship based on real incidents, the project was officially launched last month and is slated to go on the floors very soon.

Telugu actress Riya Suman, who has worked in films such as Majnu and Paper Boy, has been signed to play the leading lady. In an official statement, it was announced that Riya has been signed for the project. This film will mark Riya’s Tamil debut.

Talking about her character, she said in the statement as reported by Silverscreen, “My role isn’t just going to be just chirpy, but will be seen throughout the film. In fact, she will help the lead in unlocking a lot of mysteries in the film."

Riya went on to add her biggest hurdle in the film was underestimating the time it would take for her to learn Tamil. “It was a huge mistake to have such a misconception. I’m curious about the language and want to have a command over it. The thing is I didn’t have enough time to learn Tamil as I had to join the shooting at the earliest.”

The film, which has music by D Imman, also stars Gayathri of Merku Thodarchi Malai fame. The principal shooting is expected to begin from early January. Meanwhile, Jiiva currently awaits the release of heist comedy Gorilla and a travel-based drama with Joker director Raju Murugan, Gypsy. He also has techno thriller Key in the offing and is due for release next year.

Speaking about Gorilla in an interview, the film's director told TOI, "We have had scenes in Tamil cinema that show bank robberies. But no Tamil film has explored the idea in totality, in a full-length film. This movie will be like those bank robbery movies in Hollywood. It will be an out-and-out comedy where the lead cast heads off to loot a bank. They all have a short flashback as to why they are doing it, too. It will be an interesting subject for Tamil audiences.”

(Content provided by Digital Native)