After Sivaji, the Next Big Tamil Release is Kireedam

The Sivaji mania has not yet abated in Tamil Nadu but it might well do so by the time Suresh Balaji releases his first film as producer (jointly with Adlabs).

Ajith's Kireedam is the next big release after Sivaji: The Boss. According to Suresh Balaji, the film may hit the screens on July 12, a month after Sivaji reached the theatres.

It was Ajith's desire to follow in the superstar's footsteps. In fact, he's been doing that for almost a month, ever since he started shooting for the new Billa, after taking Rajnikanth's blessings.

Kireedam is based on the landmark Malayalam film of the same name, directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Lohitadas. Though an offbeat subject, the film ran successfully at the box office, and Mohanlal won his first national recognition for his scintillating performance in it.

Equally great were the performances of Thilakan as his father and Kaviyoor Ponnamma as his mother.

Raj Kiran, one of the best character Tamil artistes, will play Thilakan and Saranya, his mother.

Mohanlal's love interest was a school teacher (played by Parvathi, now wife of actor Jayaram), but in the Tamil version, Trisha is a student.

The Tamil version of Kireedam was supposed to release on May 1, Ajith's birthday. The actor has always released his movies on his birthday. But because of the uncertainty regarding the release of Sivaji, the release of Kireedam got delayed.

Ajith needs a hit badly as his last film Aalwar didn't do so well at the box office. We have to wait and see whether Vijay, a one-time assistant of Priyadarshan, would be able to recreate the magic of the Malayalam version.

Interestingly, both of Ajith's upcoming movies are remakes -- so the actor will have to match Mohanlal's mesmerising performance in Kireedam, and Rajnikanth's style in Billa.