Actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj had a release last year in Blue Star directed by S Jayakumar with actors Ashok Selvan and Keerthi Pandian in lead roles. He has now collaborated with Malayalam actor Shane Nigam, who made his debut in Tamil cinema in Madraskaaran, for a Tamil Malayalam bilingual project christened Balti. Newbie story teller Unni Sivalingam has penned and crafted the venture. Writer T D Ramakrishnan has assisted with dialogues.
Actress Preethi Asrani of Ayothi fame has portrayed the female lead role in the movie. Popular director Alphonse Puthren is said to have played the antagonist in the film. The entertainer has been shot in and around the surroundings of Coimbatore, Pollachi, and Palakkad. The makers are planning to bring the film to theaters in the month of September this year. An official announcement regarding the release date is expected to be made in the coming days.
Meanwhile, they have released a character introduction glimpse video of actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj from the movie on social media. Taking to his official X handle, actor and director Venkat Prabhu dropped the Tamil, Malayalam, and English version of a special poster along with the link to the character introduction clip from Balti and wrote, “My hearty wishes to you brother!! Here is the Character glimpse of Shanthanu Bhagyaraj as ‘Kumar’. BALTI from September. A Sai Abhyankkar musical.” Here is the post made by the story teller.
The nearly one minute character intro clip starts with actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj camouflaging himself with black paint. Following which we have montages of the star beating up people and a shot of him aiming a knife at someone. In the special poster, the actor is seen standing with a sword with a tense countenance. The actor will be seen portraying a character named Kumar in the flick.
Balti is touted to be a sports action thriller based on kabaddi, and is set to feature many real-life kabaddi players. The high-octane action sequences in the character intro clip hints at an action feast for enthusiasts of action dramas.
The production unit is tightlipped about the rest of the artists that round out the cast. The technical facade of the drama has music composer Sai Abhyankkar handling musical gears for the project. Cinematographer Alex J Pulickal has worked on the cinematography division of the flick. Editor Shivkumar V Panicker has been bestowed with the responsibility to chop and patch the entertainer.
Art director Ashik S has designed sets for the venture. Stunt masters Action Sandhosh and Vicky have choreographed action moves for the drama. The entertainer is backed by Santhosh T Kuruvilla under his production label STK Frames in association with Binu George Alexander for the banner house Binu George Alexander Productions.
On the professional front, actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj is presently occupied in his upcoming flick Magenta scripted by director Bharath Mohan in which he will be romancing actress Anjali Nair. Actress Preethi Asrani is engaged in her next venture Kiss helmed by Sathish Krishnan in which she will be co-starring with actor Kavin, and Killer directed and headlined by S J Suryah.
On the other hand, actor Shane Nigam is simultaneously shooting for multiple Malayalam entertainers Haal scripted by director Prasanth Vijayakumar, Aayirathonnam Ravu crafted by Salam Bappu, and Painkili helmed by story teller Devan. Apart from these movies, he has his long-delayed projects Parakramam crafted by Arjun Ramesh in which he has associated with actress Sona Olickal, and Qurbani scripted by V Geo in which he has performed alongside actress Aarsha Chandhini Baiju in the trunk awaiting release.
