Guru Somasundaram to headline Bottle Radha

On Monday, Pa Ranjith's Neelam Productions unveiled the title and first-look poster of their next venture. Titled Bottle Radha, the film is being directed by debutant Dhinakaran Sivalingam and is being headlined by Guru Somasundaram.

In an exclusive conversation with CE, Dhinakaran says, "The film is all about hope and humour. Guru sir is playing a mason who lost his life and the people he most prized to his drinking habit. The story is about his redemption."

Taking the example of the Hollywood classic Shawshank's Redemption, Dhinakaran says that the English film is about how a person escapes an external prison, while his film will be about how the central character escapes his internal prison. However, he doesn't intend to make the film too serious. "I don't want to bore the audience by dishing out pure emotional drama. There is an ample amount of humour in Bottle Radha. I want to keep the tone lighthearted because I want the film to have rewatch value. The film revolves around the lives of alcoholics and people of the working class."

Talking about the locations where the film was made, Dhinakaran says the shoot, which was wrapped within 50 days, took place mostly in Ambattur, Avadi, Royapuram, Puzhal, and Manali. "I mostly chose the suburbs for my film as it requires an agricultural backdrop, which is still kept alive in Chennai's outskirts." The ensemble cast of Bottle Radha also includes Sanchana Natrajan, John Vijay, Lollu Sabha Maaran, and Merku Thodarchi Malai-fame Antony. Noting that all the characters have an individual journey without merely existing to give agency to the protagonist, Dhinakaran says, "John Vijay will be seen in a never-before-seen role. He acts as a mentor. Even though Maaran will be playing a comical role, his character will have an individual, unique journey."

The technical team of Bottle Radha comprises cinematographer Roopesh, editor Sangathamizhan, and music composer Sean Roldan. While the film, which is made both in Tamil and Malayalam, is expected to release either towards the end of July or the beginning of August, the makers have yet to confirm a release date.