Naragasooran

Naragasooran
Poster with previous release date
Directed byKarthick Naren
Written byKarthick Naren
Produced byBadri Kasthuri
StarringAravind Swamy
Shriya Saran
Sundeep Kishan
Indrajith Sukumaran
Aathmika
CinematographySujith Sarang
Edited bySreejith Sarang
Music byRon Ethan Yohann
Production
company
Shraddha Entertainment
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Naragasooran (Tamil: நரகாசுரன் lit. 'Narakasura') is an unreleased Indian Tamil-language supernatural horror film written and directed by Karthick Naren. Produced by Badri Kasthuri, it features an ensemble cast led by Aravind Swamy, Shriya Saran, Sundeep Kishan, Indrajith Sukumaran, and Aathmika. It is the second film in Naren's "thriller trilogy", with the first one being Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru, and it also stands as a spin-off of the former.[1]

The film remained unreleased due to various financial constraints.[2]

Cast

Production

Development

In February 2017, Karthick Naren announced their second project, a spin off to his "thriller trilogy" which began with Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru.[3] In a report from The Times of India, Naren stated that the film is an "intense suspense drama that is set against the backdrop of a mountain range".[3] The very same day, Gautham Vasudev Menon announced their collaboration with Naren,[4] by funding the project in his Ondraga Entertainment banner along with Badri Kasthuri.[5]

Casting

Initially Arvind Swami and Naga Chaitanya were reported to appear in the film as parallel leads,[6] with the latter making his Tamil debut.[7] but Chaitanya opted out of the project due to schedule conflicts, and Sundeep Kishan being brought on board for the project.[8] In May 2017, Shriya Saran and Indrajith Sukumaran were reported to appear in pivotal roles.[9][10] Aathmika was reported to play another female lead in the project, bagging her second film in Tamil, after her debut in Meesaya Murukku (2017).[11] Sukumaran was reported to appear the role of a cop,[12] while Kishen's character is reported to have negative shades.[13]

Filming

The film's first look poster, featuring the names of the lead cast was released on 18 June 2017.[14] Naren eventually planned to start the shoot the film in June or July 2017.[3] However, the film began production on 16 September 2017.[15][16] Shooting was filmed extensively in and around Ooty,[17] and was wrapped up in November 2017, within a span of 41 days.[18]

Release

In March 2018, sources claimed that the film will be released in May 2018.[19] However, the financial constraints of Menon's production house, Ondraga Entertainment, resulted the delay of his other projects,[20] had implemented disputes between Naren and Menon with both parties posted cryptic tweets in social media.[21] Subsequently, Menon backed out producing the film, and Badri Kasthuri took care of the rights.[22] The film was sent to the censor board officials in July 2018, where it received U/A certificate without any cuts.[23] The film's official trailer which released in August 2018 received positive response,[24] and Karthick Naren announced that the film will be released on 31 August 2018, after getting approval from Tamil Film Producers Council.[25] However, the release was pushed to 13 September 2018, to coincide the occasion of Vinayagar Chathurthi,[26] which did not happen. The makers released the first look of its dubbed Telugu version in February 2019, titled as Narakasurudu and Satyanarayana Koneru acquired the rights of the film.[27]

During the time of delay, Naren started working on another project, which was the Arun Vijay-starrer Mafia: Chapter 1 (2020).[28] In December 2019, Naren announced that the film will be scheduled for theatrical release on 27 March 2020,[29] which further delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The makers then explored the options of releasing the film directly through OTT platforms, as the uncertainty prevailing over the reopening of theatres due to the pandemic.[30] However, plans for a digital release also failed and the film remained unreleased. On 28 May 2021, it was announced that Sony LIV bought the direct digital streaming rights for the film. The release date is yet to be announced.

References

  1. ^ "Gautham Menon to be a part of D16 director Karthick Naren Naragasooran". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Gautham Menon is likely to produce Karthick Naren's next starring Arvind Swami". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Karthick Naren's next is a suspense drama". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Karthick Naren reveals details about his Aravind Swamy starrer Naragasooran". Behindwoods. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Gautham Vasudev Menon to produce Karthick Naren's next?". The Times of India. 26 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Naga Chaitanya to act in Karthick Naren – Arvind Swami's Naragasooran". Behindwoods. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Arvind Swami, Naga Chaitanya in Karthick Naren's next". The Times of India. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  8. ^ "With Chai opting out, Sundeep roped in for Naragasooran". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Shriya roped in even as Chai opts out of Naragasooran". The Times of India. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Indrajith Sukumaran announces his project with Karthcik Naren". The Times of India. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Aathmika is now the 'girl-next-door'". The Times of India. 5 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Indrajith is a cop in Karthick Naren's Naragasooran". The Times of India. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Shades of grey for Sundeep in Naragasooran". The Times of India. 13 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Naragasooran cast is out". The Times of India. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Shooting For 'Naragasooran' Starring Arvind Swamy Begins Today". 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Karthick Naren's Naragasooran shoot begins today". Sify. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  17. ^ "Indrajith's Tamil film Naragasooran starts rolling today". The Times of India. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Indrajith says shooting for Naragasooran was a delightful experience". The Times of India. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Karthick Naren's 'Naragasooran' to release in May?". The Times of India. 14 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Karthick Naren opens up about Naragasooran controversy". India Today. 1 August 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Karthik Narean accuses Gautham Menon of cheating!". The Times of India. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  22. ^ "'What Gautham Menon said is not fully true': Karthick Naren explains, spat not over". The News Minute. 30 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  23. ^ "'Naragasooran': Karthick Naren's film gets U/A certificate". The Times of India. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Arvind Swami praises Karthick Naren for 'Naragasooran' trailer". The Times of India. 31 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Confirmed: Karthick Naren's 'Naragasooran' to release on August 31". The Times of India. 14 August 2018. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Naragasooran release pushed to September 13". The Times of India. 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  27. ^ "'Narakasurudu': First look of the Arvind Swamy, Sundeep Kishan and Shriya Saran starrer unveiled". The Times of India. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  28. ^ "A new update on Karthik Naren's 'Naragasooran'". The Times of India. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Karthick Naren hints at Naragasooran release". The Times of India. 23 December 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  30. ^ "Karthick Naren's long-awaited 'Naragasooran' to be released directly on digital platforms?". The Times of India. 23 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.