Dhanush-starrer Ilaiyaraaja biopic to go on floors in Oct 2024

Mumbai, Nov 10 (IANS) Legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja, who has delivered some iconic soundtracks in Indian cinema like ‘Nayakan’, ‘Sadma’, ‘Thevar Magan’, ‘Aa Raathri’ and several others, is getting a biopic. What’s more exciting is that Tamil superstar Dhanush will be portraying the legendary composer on screen.

The shooting for the yet-to-be-titled film is scheduled to start in October 2024 with the makers aiming for the release of the film around mid-2025.

Ilaiyaraaja is one of the most prolific composers in a career spanning over forty-seven years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films and apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. He is nicknamed "Isaignani" (the musical sage) and often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Oscar and Grammy-winning composer A. R. Rahman, too, started the aegis of Ilaiyaraaja. He was the protege of the maestro when he joined him in 1986.

Dhanush is one of the biggest superstars of Tamil cinema who has also cultivated a loyal fan following in north India as well with his films like ‘Raanjhanaa’ and ‘Atrangi Re’. He has starred in 46 films and his accolades include four National Film Awards (two as actor and two as producer), fourteen SIIMA Awards.

The new film is a part of collaboration between Connekkt Media and Mercuri, and is the first film from their slate of multiple films set for the next three years.

Commenting on the association, Connekkt Media’s Varun Mathur said: “Mercuri is one of the most reputed names in global entertainment space and has been an amazing partner to us and we are thrilled to be joining hands with them to produce multiple mega-budget films starting with the biopic of a music legend unlike any other. As a national studio our partnership with Mercuri places us in a great position to deliver enthralling content to millions of fans India and globally during this very exciting phase.”

Connekkt Media will be the studio for the films and Connekkt Media and Mercuri Group will be producing the films together.

Sriram Bakthisaran, MD & Group CEO, Mercuri, said: “A resurgence of quality content from the region which is home to the four thriving film industries besides a large entertainment-hungry viewership, a larger than life fan following base seen nowhere in the world. The content coming out from this region is fast attracting global interests and gaining prominence on pan India scale and with our already significant presence in the south market having serviced some of the biggest production houses and the celebrities in the past."

"We feel we are better placed to expand our offerings than before as we jointly venture out to feed all stakeholders including the consumer,” he added.