Kalidas Jayaram's next titled Nila Varum Velai

Actor Kalidas Jayaram has joined hands with Enna Solla Pogirai director A Hariharan for his next, titled Nila Varum Velai. Starring Kayadu Lohar as the female lead, the film goes on floors today.

Opening up about the film, director Hariharan says, "It is a period thriller set in the 1970s. It also has supernatural and paranormal elements." Further sharing details about the film that is also being simultaneously made in Telugu as a bilingual, he says, "While Kalidas Jayaram plays the lead in the Tamil version, Sathyadev headlines it in Telugu."

For his sophomore directorial, Hariharan has roped in Prabhu and Radikaa Sarathkumar in key roles. On his casting choices, the director shares, "For the protagonist, I needed an actor who has not explored this genre before. At the same time, I also wanted someone who has a wide emotional range. Kalidas' performance in Thangam and Natchathiram Nagargiradhu led me to take this decision. Similarly, after watching Sathya in films like Thimmarusu, I was convinced that the audience will see him in a varied avatar in this film." Rahul Ramakrishna and Shatru play roles in Telugu that will be played by Vivek Prasanna and Deepak Paramesh in Tamil.  

As Hariharan is a Tamil filmmaker, he shares that he had a team to adapt the screenplay in Telugu. "The story is relatable for both Tamil and Telugu audiences as they're both lovers of the thriller genre," he further explains why he chose to make the story bilingual.

"We are planning to shoot in places like Chennai, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. But the story is set in a fictional town," the director says. Backed by Miracle Movies, Nila Varum Velai has cinematography by Mukessh Gnanesh, music by Vivek-Mervin, and editing by  Bhuvan Srinivasan.