Thadai Udai: Buzzing city meets a quaint village

The first look poster of Bobby Simha’s Thadai Udai was unveiled on Sunday. The upcoming family entertainer marks the directorial debut of Rakesh NS. Apart from Bobby Simha, Thadai Udai also stars Misha Narang and veteran comedian Senthil.

“Thadai Udai has both urban and rural settings, and I’m confident the film will appeal to both sections of the audience,” says director Rakesh as he further explains the premise of the film. “Simha will play a role in uplifting the village paving the way towards its development. While the first half takes place in Chennai, the second half takes place in a village in Sivagangai.

The landscape and scenery changes entirely after the first half and some of the scenes were shot in Kodaikanal.” Explaining the reasoning behind the title, which means ‘break the barriers,’ Rakesh says, “The protagonist wishes to indulge in a good endeavour. However, he faces several obstacles. So the film’s title signifies his determination to overcome these hurdles and succeed in his mission.”

Rakesh, an erstwhile assistant of Nalan Kumarasamy and M Saravanan, first met Bobby Simha on the sets of Soodhu Kavvum, which marked the debut of the National Award winner. Shedding light on their friendship ever since, Rakesh says, “In a way, we started our careers together. When I came up with this script, Simha offered to produce the film and that’s how he became my story’s hero.”

Further, Rakesh reveals that they cast Misha in the film because they wanted a relatively new actor to be cast alongside Simha. The filmmaker also assures that veteran actor Senthil will play a rather emotional role in the film, which also stars his son Manikanda Prabhu. “We have mostly seen Senthil sir in comic roles. In contrast, Thadai Udai will feature Senthil as the village chief, who has a very sentimental attachment to his village and rightfully fights for its wellbeing and development. Manikanda plays his onscreen son as well,” explains Rakesh. 

With the film boasting of a strong ensemble, Rakesh says, “While Prabhu and Santhanabharathi play important roles in the rural portions, Rohini has played a full-fledged comedy role in this film. Choreographer Baba Bhaskar, who is often seen in cameos, is playing a key character that will feature throughout the run time of Thadai Udai.” The film also features Thangadurai, Shiva Aravind, Sarath Ravi, and Deepak Paramesh. 

The film’s technical crew comprises of cinematographer KA Sakthivel and editor PK Pon Kathiresh. While Thadai Udai has background score by Srikanth Deva, the songs are composed by Sri. Backed by Mudhras Film Factory, Thadai Udai is currently in the post-production stage. “We plan to release the film either in December this year, or January 2024,” signs off Rakesh, not before revealing that the makers will soon announce more updates about the film.