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    • Source: Retro (film)

      • Retro is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. It is produced by Stone Bench Creations and 2D Entertainment. The film stars Suriya and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles, alongside Jayaram, Joju George, Karunakaran, Nassar, Prakash Raj, Sujith Shankar, Prem Kumar, Ramachandran Durairaj and Remya Suresh.
      The film was officially announced in March 2024 under the tentative title Suriya 44, as it is the actor's 44th film as the lead actor, along with the tagline Love, Laughter and War, and the official title was announced in December 2024. Principal photography commenced in June 2024 and wrapped by early-October. Filming locations included Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ooty, Kerala and Chennai. The film has music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography handled by Shreyaas Krishna and editing by Shafique Mohamed Ali.
      Retro is scheduled to release worldwide in mid 2025 in theatres.


      Premise


      A violent young man leaves his life as a gangster after promising his wife, but whether he lives a peaceful life despite being in trouble from his enemies forms the rest of the story.


      Cast




      Production




      = Development

      =

      In late 2021, director Karthik Subbaraj and actor Suriya began having a discussion for a potential collaboration between the two in the future. Although they had finalised to collaborate back then, both's respective prior commitments delayed the beginning of the project's production process. Following two-and-a-half years later, on 28 March 2024, Karthik announced through his social media accounts that he would join hands with Suriya for his directorial venture after Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023). The project would be jointly funded by Karthik, Karthekeyan Santhanam, Kalyan, Subramaniam and Jyothika under their respective headed production houses, Stone Bench Creations and 2D Entertainment. The project was kept confidential by the makers until its announcement.
      Tentatively titled Suriya 44 with the tagline Love, Laughter and War, the production process was set to begin after the actor completed his film with Sudha Kongara, Suriya 43 or Puranaanooru. However, a few days later, it was reported that since the start of Kongara's film would take a few more months, they were planning to complete the shooting of the project by then. Reportedly set in 1980s, the film was touted to be as a gangster action drama film. But Karthik clarified that the film is a romance film with lots of action. The film's official title Retro was revealed on 25 December 2024, Christmas day.


      = Pre-production

      =

      Karthik had met Suriya prior to the shooting of Jigarthanda DoubleX and narrated a one-liner, which the latter requested to develop. It took him several months for the writing and pre-production. After the release of Jigarthanda DoubleX, Karthik narrated the entire script to the actor.
      On the occasion of his birthday (15 May), Santhosh Narayanan was announced as the film's composer by the production house, in his eighth collaboration with the director. Shreyaas Krishna was revealed to handle the cinematography on 29 May, in his third collaboration with Karthik after Jagame Thandhiram (2021) and Mahaan (2022). In addition to Shreyaas Krishna, the technical crew of art directors Jacki and Mayapandi, editor Shafique Mohamed Ali, stunt choreographer Kecha Khamphakdee and costume designer Praveen Raja were announced the same day.
      In May 2024, the team shot the promotional video for the film for nearly three days. A casting call was announced by the makers in late April 2024. Prior to starting the first shooting schedule, the team had constructed a set at Port Blair located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for filming an action sequence.


      = Casting

      =

      Suriya would sport two different looks for the film. One with Fu Manchu moustache and mullet hair, and the other in trimmed beard and mustache, with a shorter hairdo. In mid-May, Pooja Hegde was reported to have been cast for the lead actress role, pairing opposite Suriya, in her first film with the latter and Karthik. Her inclusion was confirmed on 1 June by the production house. It is her third Tamil film after Mugamoodi (2012) and Beast (2022). Hegde would reportedly receive ₹4 crore (US$470,000)–₹5 crore (US$590,000) as remuneration.
      Vijay Kumar, Jayaram and Nassar were reported being part of the cast, with the former reportedly playing the main antagonist. Jayaram was confirmed being part of the cast during his arrival for the film's shooting, and the latter while joining the Ooty schedule. Karunakaran and Joju George were also cast to play prominent roles, with the former marking his fourth collaboration with Karthik after Pizza (2012), Jigarthanda (2014) and Iraivi (2016), and latter marking his second collaboration with director after Jagame Thandhiram. Later it was reported that Prashanth and Prakash Raj would play important roles in the film, with latter in his fourth collaboration with Suriya after Nerukku Ner (1997), Singam (2010) and Jai Bhim (2021). Kalidas Jayaram was reportedly cast in for a role that would mark his second on-screen collaboration with father Jayaram after 12 years, after Ente Veedu Appuvinteyum (2003). However Rajsekar Pandian, the co-producer of the film denied Prashanth and Kalidas' inclusion, stating "Kalidas came on the last day shoot of Jayaram sir when the team cut a cake that has been misinterpreted." Nandita Das would return to Tamil cinema after a gap of twelve years with this film.
      Although the makers approached Kannada actor Dhananjaya for a role, he could not sign the project due to scheduling conflicts. Malayalam actor Sujith Shankar joined the cast on 22 June 2024. Director Thamizh, Ramachandran Durairaj, Prem Kumar, Sandeep Raj of Vikram and RDX fame and Remya Suresh joined cast for supporting roles. Shriya Saran joined the production in August 2024. She shot for a song alongside Suriya and others.


      = Filming

      =

      Principal photography began with the first schedule on 2 June 2024 at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Suriya, Hegde and Jayaram arrived at the location the previous day. The team shot at first action sequences, choreographed by Kecha Khamphakdee, at a specially erected set. A song shoot featuring Suriya and Hegde also happened in early June 2024. Sujith Shankar joined the first schedule on 22 June 2024, while filming happening at Cellular Jail. A dance number featuring Suriya and Hegde, choreographed by Sherif Master was completed in late-June 2024. On 28 June, Joju George shared a video of himself on a boat in Andaman Island, revealing he joined the sets. The first schedule ended on 4 July 2024 at Andaman.
      The second schedule began on 26 July at Ooty. In this 15–20 days schedule the team will shoot in scenic backdrop of Nilgiris. A dance number featuring the lead cast with numerous dancers was shot in late-July 2024 at Ooty. Later it was reported that after ending the Ooty schedule, the team moved to Kanyakumari on 31 July, which turned to be false. On 7 August, Suriya got a head injury on the sets, while filming an action sequence at Nawanagar Palace, Ooty. Later, Rajsekar Pandian, the head of 2D Entertainment tweeted that it was a minor injury and Suriya is perfectly fine. The shooting of the film was halted for few days, as the doctors asked him to take rest. The second schedule was supposed to end on 15 August, but was delayed as the filming halted for few days. A few days later, Suriya returned to the sets for the shoot. Several Russians and Afghans also participated in this schedule. Shooting reportedly happened at three hotels in this Ooty-schedule. A song featuring Shriya Saran was also shot in this schedule. The second schedule ended on 17 August 2024. Jayaram's portion was completed by this schedule. Reportedly, 70% of the film's shooting has been completed with this schedule.
      After a day, on 19 August 2024, the next schedule was intended to begin at Idukki in Kerala for the two-day shoot; but was delayed. The schedule began with filming in Kaliyar area, Thodupuzha, at Idukki on 8 September 2024. The Kerala schedule, which went on for two days, ended on 9 September with a night shoot.
      The team erected a jail set in Chennai in mid-September for the Chennai schedule. Rehearsals for a song shoot, choreographed by Sherif was done in later days. The final schedule began in late–September in Chennai. Hegde had completed shooting for her portions by 24 September. Suriya shaved his beard and moustache for this schedule. Filming wrapped on 6 October 2024. A 15-minutes long single shot sequence involving action, song and drama scenes were also shot while filming. 80% of the film was reportedly shot on sets.


      = Post-production

      =
      After filming was completed, the film entered into an extensive post-production phase. Karthik revealed that he will spend more time for post-production and music works. Editing was handled by Shafique Mohamed Ali. Suresh Ravi did the colouring for the film. The VFX work of the film is done by Lorven Studios. S. Alagiakoothan worked on sound design and Suren G. handled final sound editing and mixing of the film. Santhosh worked on the film's background score in November 2024.


      Music


      The music and background score are composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his first collaboration with Suriya and eighth with Subbaraj.


      Marketing


      The film's announcement poster released on 28 March 2024 became the most viewed announcement poster for an Indian film in 24 hours on Twitter. On 2 June 2024, the makers unveiled the film's "first shot" video, but the title was not revealed. It received a positive response and increased expectations for the film's title reveal. Subsequently, the video was attached for theatrical screenings. Later, after ten days of its original release, the video was released on YouTube. Akhila Menon of OTTPlay noted "The one-of-a-kind video, which is a first-time attempt in Tamil cinema, featured leading man Suriya in a never-seen-before avatar."
      The film's title was to be unveiled on 23 July, Suriya's birthday; however, a special promo was released on the aforementioned date, with no title revealed, but revealed that the title teaser is coming soon. It became the most viewed promo in less than 20 hours of its release. After a receiving wider recognition, the glimpse was attached for theatrical screenings. On 22 November 2024, at the 55th International Film Festival of India, Karthik announced that promotions for the film would begin from the following month. The title of the film was revealed on 25 December, Christmas day, along with a teaser. It became the most watched Tamil title teaser in 24 hours with over 10 million views.


      Release




      = Theatrical

      =
      The film is scheduled to release in mid-2025. Apart from the original Tamil language, it is also scheduled to be released in the Telugu and Hindi languages.


      = Distribution

      =
      Sakthi Film Factory acquired the distribution rights of the film in Tamil Nadu.


      = Home media

      =
      The film's streaming rights were acquired by Netflix for a record price of ₹80 crore (US$9.4 million).


      Notes




      References




      External links


      Retro at IMDb

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