Tamil star Arya is gearing up for a special milestone in his career with Ananthan Kaadu, a Malayalam-Tamil bilingual action thriller written by acclaimed screenwriter Murali Gopy and directed by Jiyen Krishnakumar . This will be his first full-length lead role in Malayalam cinema, 20-odd years after his Tamil debut .
A long-awaited lead role
While Malayali audiences have seen Arya in films such as Urumi and Double Barrel, the upcoming film marks his first full-fledged lead role in the industry . Arya, who began his career in the Tamil film Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005), has acted in Malayalam films before, but his appearances were often limited to shorter schedules of five to eight days . Now, he finally has a project that allows him to take center stage.
“For years, I wanted to do a full-length lead role in Malayalam cinema. But it is not enough to simply be the hero. The script, the character and the timing all have to be right,” Arya told ETV Bharat . He noted that Ananthan Kaadu arrived after years of waiting and felt like a perfect fit .
A natural fit: Playing a Tamil character
Set in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari border region, the film explores the lives, struggles and politics of people living in the area . One of the biggest attractions for Arya was that his character has Tamil connections .
“This is a Tamil guy, living in the city. It was a ‘natural fit’ for me,” he told The Hindu . Arya explained that playing a Tamil-speaking character makes the transition more organic for Malayali audiences who have watched his Tamil films for years . The decision also meant no dubbing issues, as he is fluent in the language .
Despite being born into a Malayali family, Arya grew up in Chennai and built his career in Tamil cinema. He hopes language labels will eventually fade away . “I would like to be known as an Indian actor,” he said .
Murali Gopy’s layered script
Arya came on board when one of the producers told him about an ‘interesting’ story by Murali Gopy . A meeting with the writer and director sealed the deal, and “everything just fell into place” .
The actor described the film as one of the most significant projects of his career . He praised Murali Gopy’s multi-layered screenplay, saying it gives actors something new to explore and that every character in the film has depth .
Murali Gopy’s writing style is one of the film’s biggest strengths. Fresh off the success of L2: Empuraan, the writer once again brings his distinctive style to the screenplay .
Organic action and emotional drama
Director Jiyen Krishnakumar said, “Ananthan Kaadu is not merely an action film. It is a layered story that explores human emotions, lives, and relationships” . Arya echoed this, emphasizing that the action is not forced.
“There is plenty of action. But it is organic; there are no scenes for the sake of it or to ‘dramatically’ introduce a character or an actor. Everything just happens naturally, going with the flow of the narrative,” he explained .
Arya highlighted that this is not a regular action film following a familiar formula, but one where the action emerges naturally from the story and is emotionally driven .
A grand theatrical release
Produced on a grand budget exceeding ₹60 crore, Ananthan Kaadu is set for a worldwide theatrical release on June 25 in both Tamil and Malayalam . The film features an impressive ensemble cast including Indrans, Sunil, Nikhila Vimal, Regina Cassandra, and Vijayaraghavan .
Composer B. Ajaneesh Loknath, known for his work on Kantara, makes his Malayalam debut with this film . With a powerful creative team and a premise that explores justice, resistance and belonging, Ananthan Kaadu has already generated considerable curiosity .
