Uttama Villain

Utthama Villain
File:Uthama Villain.jpg First look poster
Directed by	Ramesh Aravind
Written by	Kamal Haasan Crazy Mohan
Produced by	N. Lingusamy Kamal Haasan
Starring	Kamal Haasan
Cinematography	Shyam Dutt
Edited by	Vijay Shankar
Music by	M. Ghibran
Production companies	Thirrupathi Brothers Raaj Kamal Films
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Utthama Villain (English: Optimal Villain) is an upcoming Tamil horror film directed by Ramesh Aravind and produced by N. Lingusamy. The film is co-written and co-produced by Kamal Haasan, who himself stars in the lead role. Crazy Mohan writes the film's dialogues while M. Ghibran composes the film's music. The film will be released in late 2014.

Cast

• Kamal Haasan
• K. Balachander
• Anant Mahadevan

Production

Development

In early 2013, director-producer N. Lingusamy made an official statement confirming that Kamal Haasan had agreed to direct and feature in a film to be produced by the production house, Thirrupathi Brothers. The actor had handed Lingusamy three scripts and the pair chose the most commercially viable option, with early working title of the film being Bitter Chocolate. The project was eventually titled in June 2013 as Utthama Villain, with Crazy Mohan signed on to work on the comedy script and the film's dialogues. Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed on to compose the film's music, while reports also incorrectly suggested that Rajesh was added to the scripting team for the film. In July 2013, Kamal Haasan revealed he would not direct the project any more, and that actor Ramesh Aravind would take over duties instead. It was later announced that M. Ghibran, who had worked with Kamal Haasan in Vishwaroopam II, would compose music for the film instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja. Shyam Dutt and Vijay Shankar were also subsequently announced as cinematographer and editor of the project.

Casting

Kajal Aggarwal was reported to have signed on to play the lead female role, though her manager later confirmed that she was not approached and that her dates were already allotted for other projects. Asin and Deepika Padukone were also reported by the media to be cast in the lead female role, though neither reports materialised. The team later held discussions with actresses Divya Spandana and Lekha Washington for roles in the film, though neither were signed. A month prior to shoot, it was revealed that three female lead characters would appear in the film with Kajal Aggarwal, Tamannaah and Trisha Krishnan being actively considered for the three roles. Reports then later suggested that Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah and Parvathi had been selected to portray roles in the film instead. Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti Haasan was considered for the role of his on screen daughter in the film but her unavailability meant that the team chose to pick a new actress instead. Actors Sarath Kumar and Vivek were also reported to have been added to the preliminary cast, though the actors later noted this was untrue. It was also suggested that comedian Santhanam had been signed on to star in the film in December 2013. Rumours which suggested that Mammootty, Vijay Sethupathi and Shanthanu Bhagyaraj would play other characters in the film proved to be untrue.

In January 2014, Kamal Haasan revealed that his mentor and noted director K. Balachander was selected to play a pivotal role in the film and would sport a beard for his character. Producer Lingusamy himself was also reported to be playing a role in the venture, after being seen sporting a new look during the making of his directorial project Anjaan. Anant Mahadevan, who featured in the Vishwaroopam series, was also given the role of the manager of Kamal Haasan's character in the film.

Filming

In mid February 2014, the team carried out make up tests involving Kamal Haasan in Bangalore with a photo shoot being held with the actor. The first look poster and logo of the film were released on 1 March 2014.