On Friday, the makers of Mani Ratnam's next, headlined by Vijay Sethupathi and Sai Pallavi, confirmed that AR Rahman is the music composer for the film. The announcement comes even as speculations were doing rounds that Sai Abhyankkar is the composer for the film.
The announcement was made by Madras Talkies, who are backing the film with Lyca Productions and India Talkies. The film has been tentatively titled Production No. 23. Details about the genre, plot, extended cast and crew of the upcoming Mani Ratnam directorial remain unconfirmed.
Vijay Sethupathi has previously worked with Mani Ratnam in the auteur's Chekka Chivantha Vanam. Their reunion was confirmed by the actor in an interview last month. Speaking to Variety India about reuniting with Mani Ratnam, Vijay Sethupathi said, “I’ve worked with Mani Sir before, in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, in 2018. This time we will be doing something completely different.”
Meanwhile, Vijay Sethupathi was last seen in Gandhi Talks, a silent film co-starring Aditi Rao Hydari and Arvind Swami. He has Pocket Novel,Train,Arasan, Jailer 2, and Slum Dog: 33 Temple Road in various stages of production. Mani Ratnam last helmed Kamal Haasan's Thug Life, which opened to underwhelming reviews.
Sai Pallavi will next be seen in Ek Din with Junaid Khan, which is slated for release on May 1. Recently she came on board Dhanush's D55, helmed by Rajkumar Periasamy. She is also set to be seen as Sita in the magnum opus two-part Ramayana opposite Ranbir Kapoor's Rama, for which AR Rahman is the composer. Meanwhile, the musician has a number of films as a composer in the pipeline. Some of them are Ram Charan's Peddi, Prabhu Deva's Moon Walk, Hansal Mehta's Gandhi and Mari Selvaraj-Dhanush's D56, among others.