Mani Ratnam's next film to feature Simbu, Rukmini Vasanth in the lead?

Chennai: If sources in the industry are to be believed, ace director Mani Ratnam, whose eagerly awaited action extravaganza ‘Thug Life’ is to release on June 5, is to next work on a film that will feature actor Simbu in the lead.

Industry insiders say that the possibility of the film going on floors soon after the release of ‘Thug Life’ is very high and that the film will be a romantic drama.

However, there has been no official confirmation regarding this development.

It may be recalled that Simbu at present is working on director Ramkumar Balakrishnan’s film, that is being tentatively referred to as #STR49. The film, which is being produced by Aakash Baskaran of Dawn Pictures, has Kayadu Lohar as the female lead. Interestingly, the film will feature Santhanam as a comedian.

The film has been facing production issues after the ED conducted raids at the residence of producer Aakash Baskaran and the offices of Dawn Pictures a few days ago.

Sources also drop actress Rukmini Vasanth’s name as the female lead in the film. Rukmini Vasanth made her debut in Tamil cinema with her impressive performance in director Arumugakumar’s recently released ‘Ace’, featuring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead.

Meanwhile, Mani Ratnam is gearing up for the release of his film ‘Thug Life’, featuring Kamal Haasan in the lead. The film also features actors Silambarasan, Trisha, Joju George, Ashok Selvan and Abhirami in pivotal roles.

Kamal Haasan plays a character called Rangaraya Sakthivel Naickan in this film, which director Mani Ratnam’s production house Madras Talkies had described as “an epic tale of power, rebellion, and triumph.”

The film has music by A R Rahman and cinematography by Ravi K Chandran. It has editing by Mani Ratnam’s trusted editor Sreekar Prasad and stunts by the stuntmasters, Anbariv.

Produced by cinematic giants Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies, and Red Giant Movies, Thug Life will hit cinemas on June 5 this year. N Sudhakar Reddy of Sreshth Movies will release the movie in the Telugu states.

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