Indian star Shruti Haasan will headline India-U.Okay. movie co-production “Chennai Story.”

Haasan, who can be a famend musician, has appearing credit throughout India’s varied language movie industries and within the U.S. and U.Okay. In 2023, she was one of many leads in “Salaar,” one in all India’s largest hits of the 12 months, and led British thriller “The Eye.” In 2019, she had a key position in USA sequence “Treadstone.”

Tailored from Timeri N. Murari’s bestselling 2004 novel “The Preparations of Love,” “Chennai Story” is a coming-of-age romantic comedy set towards the backdrop of Wales and India the place Haasan takes on the pivotal position of Anu, a spunky non-public detective. The position was beforehand speculated to be performed by Samantha Ruth Prabhu who’s now taking a 12 months’s sabbatical as a consequence of well being causes. The forged additionally contains Viveik Kalra, who was the lead in “Blinded by the Gentle” and is at present in Netflix heist thriller “Carry.”

The movie is written and directed by BAFTA winner Philip John (“Downton Abbey”) and co-written by British Sri Lankan actor Nimmi Harasgama, who performed the feminine lead in “Humorous Boy.” “Chennai Story” is an English-language movie interspersed with Tamil and Welsh. Cinematography will likely be by Graham Frake (“Downton Abbey”), whereas Ciaran Thompson (“Willow”) is the manufacturing designer.

India’s Guru Movies (“Oh! Child”), the U.Okay.’s Ripple World Footage (“The Final Rifleman”) and Wales’ Ie Ie Productions (“Queerama”) are co-producing the movie that goals to be made underneath the bilateral U.Okay.-India co-production treaty. The movie is backed by the British Movie Institute‘s (BFI) U.Okay. International Display screen Fund.

“Shruti’s potential to effortlessly traverse between her Tamil origins to world attraction, positions her as a flexible actress and a world musician. She represents each side of ‘Chennai Story’ – a real reflection of the present younger Indian technology,” mentioned Sunitha Tati, founder and CEO of Guru Movies.

Haasan added: “Hailing from Chennai, a narrative exhibiting the range and uniqueness of Chennai is so particular to me – collaborating with Phil is one thing I’m so excited to expertise, telling world and rooted tales via worldwide collaboration is what making cinema is all about. I’m all up for Sunitha Tati’s imaginative and prescient of taking a culturally-rooted story to a world viewers via ‘Chennai Story’.”

John mentioned: “I’m thrilled to be teaming up with the extremely gifted Shruti, on an emotional curler coaster of a narrative set in Chennai and Cardiff – two vibrant and multicultural cities. With the assist of BFI, this movie brings an entire new collaboration to worldwide movie manufacturing, whereas additionally bringing a contemporary, under-explored Wales and India to the massive display.”

Dominic Wright, producer and founding father of Ripple World Footage, added: “We’re thrilled that the multi-talented Shruti Haasan has joined the forged of this prestigious BFI-backed U.Okay.-India co-production movie. Shruti brings an thrilling, genuine, up to date edge to the position, and enjoying reverse rising British star Viveik Kalra will likely be electrical on this genuinely authentic cross-cultural rom-com that we consider audiences worldwide will enjoyment of.”