Actor Kamal Haasan and director Mani Ratnam will be reuniting for a new film for the first time in 35 years. On Sunday, November 6, it was announced that the new film has been tentatively titled KH234. The news came a day ahead of the actor’s 68th birthday on Monday. Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam teamed up for the gangster drama Nayakan in the year 1987, which has acquired a cult status among fans.
The upcoming film is to be produced by Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, R Mahendran and Siva Ananth under their respective banners, Raaj Kamal Films International and Madras Talkies. Incidentally, in September, Kamal Haasan had attended the launch of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan-1 in Chennai, along with the director and superstar Rajinikanth.
Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies will present the film and it is scheduled to be released in 2024. As per IANS, Kamal Haasan said on Sunday evening that he looked forward to working on the film. "I was equally excited 35 years ago when I was about to start work with Mr Mani Ratnam. Collaborating with someone with a similar mindset is stimulating,” he said in a statement. He also added that he was equally excited to work with music composer AR Rahman and is eagerly looking forward to presenting this venture with actor and politician Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Here we go again! #KH234
— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) November 6, 2022
பயணத்தின் அடுத்த கட்டம்!
#ManiRatnam @Udhaystalin @arrahman #Mahendran @bagapath @RKFI @MadrasTalkies_ @RedGiantMovies_ @turmericmediaTM pic.twitter.com/ATAzzxAWCL
Commenting on the collaboration, Mani Ratnam said, "Happy, honoured and excited to collaborate with Kamal Sir again." Udhayanidhi Stalin said that it's an honour to present this film. "It's a wonderful opportunity to join Kamal Sir in presenting 'Ulaganayagan KH 234' after the great success of Vikram and the much-awaited Indian 2. An absolute honour to present this film and tell this special story."
He added: "Kamal sir and Mani sir have been the pride of Tamil cinema globally and I have been an ardent admirer of both these iconic personalities. Thank you Kamal sir for this great opportunity." The film is likely to hit the big screens in 2024.
#KH234 pic.twitter.com/lgKXocxsuz
— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) November 7, 2022
Kamal is currently hosting the reality show Bigg Boss Tamil. His upcoming film Indian 2 with director Shankar is also in the works, while he has a film with Malayalam director Mahesh Narayanan in the line up. A new poster from Indian 2 was also released by the makers of the film on Monday, November 7, marking Kamal’s birthday. Meanwhile, Mani Ratnam’s last outing Ponniyin Selvan-1 had a successful run at the box office, and its sequel is expected to hit the big screens next year.
(With IANS inputs)