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Director Mari Selvaraj's Tamil film Manjanathi was formally launched earlier on September 7, with legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja inaugurating the event. The film is produced by Navvi Studios and Fortune Entertainment.
The film launch also marked the start of the film's shoot today. Announcing the film's launch, Mari Selvaraj thanked the maestro in his post on X, writing, "Our eternal gratitude and love to our music genius who has inaugurated the days of Manjanathi from today!! #Manjanathi #Shootbeginstoday"
Ilaiyaraaja was announced as part of the film on June 1 through a video Selvaraj shared on social media. In the video, Mari was seen saying that he was waiting to write a mature and well-rounded script to approach the composer with. "I don't have to tell him anything. I knew that I just needed to narrate the script and he will take care of everything. I can simply sit and watch," he says.
The Tamil director made this announcement on social media, expressing his joy at the collaboration. "THE TRANSCENDENT MOMENT HAS FINALLY HAPPENED” FROM ILAIYARAAJA X MARI SELVARAJ," he wrote on X.
The film's cast includes Kathir, Priyanka Mohan, Kayadu Lohar, Vidhu and Poornima Ravi among others. Produced by Sushant Prasad, Divya Mari Selvaraj, the film is written and directed by Mari Selvaraj. Technical cast includes Ezhil Arasu K as cinematographer, editor Selva RK and the film is co-produced by Harsh Lalwani. Fortune Entertainment, Skanda Pictures and Navvi Studios are the banners behind the film.
Selvaraj recently announced his next film as a producer, Maakaali, which stars fellow filmmaker Ameer in the lead role. The first-look poster, released on September 2, reveals S.B. Aravinth, longtime assistant director to Selvaraj, as the writer and director, marking his solo directorial debut.
Mari Selvaraj's upcoming directorials also include the yet-untitled Suriya 50, superstar Suriya's 50th film, which is being produced by Kalaippuli S. Thanu. Selvaraj is also heading the Dhanush-led Tamil fantasy film tentatively titled D56.
Meanwhile, Ilaiyaraaja has composed music for Karthik Subbaraj's TIFF-headed Dorothy, which stars Keerthy Suresh in the lead as the titular character, alongside Sananth and Rishikanth. The project marks Subbaraj's 10th film and Ilaiyaraaja's 1540th film. llaiyaraaja's other projects include Sathya Jyothi Films' upcoming Tamil film Lenin Pandiyan. The banner made this announcement with a special video, featuring songs from the composer's earlier work for the production house, including iconic films such as Moondram Pirai (1982), Pagal Nilavu (1985), and Kaakki Sattai (1985).