Mankatha is an upcoming Tamil comedy-action detective story movie written as well as directed by Venkat Prabhu. It’s going to function Ajith Kumar in the main part, making it his 50th movie, along with an ensemble cast together with Arjun, Trisha Krishnan, Vaibhav Reddy, Lakshmi Rai, Andrea Jeremiah, Premji Amaren and Anjali. The movie, to be produced and distributed by Dhayanidhi Alagiri’s Cloud 9 Movies, was officially launched in August, 2010 and is expected to release in July 2011.
The movie is alleged to spin around a Mafia gang gambling throughout the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season.
The movie is meant to be a “multi-starrer”, with a number of leading South Indian actors expected to appear on this movie, which is a uncommon occurrence and can be the first of its kind in the Tamil movie industry. Telugu star Nagarjuna was initially approached to essay a powerful character as a CBI officer, being originally fixed by the director throughout the launch of the film. He had also conveyed curiosity in remaking the movie into Telugu and taking part in Ajith Kumar’s role in return, but since he could not alter his call sheet, he was pressured to drag out, with Arjun changing him in November 2010. In an meeting from August 2010, Venkat Prabhu had also affirmed that Mohan Babu’s son, Manoj Manchu, Ganesh Venkatraman, Venkat Prabhu’s younger brother, Premji Amaren, who had been a part of all his brothers’ movies until then, and a newcomer Mahat Raghavendra, a childhood pal of producer Dhayanidhi Alagiri, have been signed to play different essential part alongside Ajith Kumar. However, Manoj Manchu could not settle for the offer due to a shoulder damage and was ultimately replaced by Vaibhav Reddy, starring in the third consecutive Venkat Prabhu movie, while in December 2010, sources revealed that newcomer Ashwin Kakumanu, who beforehand was seen in Nadunisi Naaygal, was roped in for the fourth character. Experiences alleged that Venkat Prabhu himself would also perform a pivotal role in the film.
Prabhu termed the movie as “male-oriented”, attaching less importance and significance to the feminine characters in the film. For the lead female roles, early Experiences advised that Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Anushka Shetty have been initially approached, while in July 2010 then, based on Experiences, Neetu Chandra, and Lakshmi Rai have been allegedly signed for the roles. However, sources revealed that Neetu Chandra was not a part of the mission, refusing the mission due to unavailability of dates, and as a substitute Trisha Krishnan had bagged the lead female role ultimately, making it her third movie with Ajith Kumar, with Lakshmi Rai being confirmed afterward, who was signed to play an essential and “lengthy role”. Earlier, Experiences advised that Sri Lankan model and star Jacqueline Fernandez was also roped in for a guest role. In November 2010, Sneha was reported to be added to the cast to be paired reverse Arjun, However the role was later finalized with Andrea Jeremiah portraying that character, who accepted the offer, after she was granted to sing a music for the soundtrack as well. different additions to the cast in the following months included Subbu Panchu, who rose to fame along with his look in Boss Engira Bhaskaran and would essay a police officer character, character actor Jayaprakash, enacting the daddy of Sanjana (Trisha), and Anjali, taking part in Vaibhav’s pair.
Venkat Prabhu renewed his previous associations along with his cousin Yuvan Shankar Raja, for the background rating and soundtrack of Mankatha, Sakthi Saravanan, who would deal with the cinematography, and K. L. Praveen, who along with N. B. Srikanth, would maintain the editing. Vasuki Bhaskar and Kalyan remained the costume designer and the primary choreographer, respectively, with Shoby joining the latter for a couple of songs, while Selva was assigned as the stunt coordinator.