South movies this week: Meeku Maathrame Cheptha, Ranganayaki, and Aayushman Bhava

Even though the euphoria around Diwali will mellow down by the time Firday rolls in, it seems that no South biggie wants to go up against the dual might of Thalapathy Vijay's Bigil and Karthi's Kaithi, which paves the way for some smaller films to cash in as an alternative cinematic experience for moviegoers. Two Kannada movies, Ranganayaki and Aayushmanbhava, will be vying for audience attention over the next few days while Tollywood star Vijay Deverakonda opines it's a perfect time for his debut production, Meeku Maathrame Cheptha, to hit screens. However, not even small or medium-budgeted Tamil filmmakers are confident of releasing their projects, probably fearing Bigil's mass hysteria more than anything else.

Meeku Maathrame Cheptha (Telugu)

Director: Shammeer Sultan

Cast: Tharun Bhascker, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Abhinav Gomatam, Avantika Mishra, Pavani Gangireddy

Synopsis: Meeku Maathrame Cheptha is a risque comedy, revolving around two friends seeking a hacker who uploaded a sex clip of one of them on a porn site, days before him nuptials. With his marriage, career, and reputation on the line, the unwitting victim and his friend must get the clip removed before it goes viral.

Reasons to watch: Anasuya Bharadwaj is the only name in the cast who's relatively well known, though it would be a stretch to credit her as a box-office draw. The premise sounds wacky and the trailer looks interesting, but honestly, the only things going for this film as of now is Vijay Deverakonda's name as producer and the great lengths he's gone to promote the film.

Ranganayaki

Director: Dayal Padmanabhan

Cast: Aditi Prabhudeva, M.G. Srinivas, Lasya Nagaraj, Chakravarthy Chandrachud

Synopsis: Ranganayaki deals with the the rape of a young woman on the doorstep of marriage, how it affects her impending nuptials with her orthodox colleague and his extremely traditional family, and how she's compelled to rise above the trials and tribulations to battle the physical, psychological, and social trauma of her plight.

Reasons to watch: While this is quite small-budget movie, the promos have caught on well, and Aditi Prabhudeva, who pays the central character, has impressed us previously with her talent in films like Operation Nakshatra and Dhairyam. Plus, it's always a delight to watch M.G. Srinivas (even if it's in a supporting role), who's shown what a marvelous actor he can be in movies such as Birbal and Srinivasa Kalyana (both of which he directed, too). Ultimately though, it all boils down which side of Director Dayal Padmanabhan (who can be contrastingly hit or miss) shows up? Will it be the creator of gems like Aa Karaala Ratri and Haggada Kone or his poorly assembled clone behind middling fare like Circus and Puta 109.

Aayushman Bhava

Director: P. Vasu

Cast: Dr. Shiva Rajkumar, Anant Nag, Rachita Ram

Synopsis: A man in disguise gains the confidence of an affluent joint family only to abscond after kidnapping the titleholder of the family's assets. Who is this man, what made him commit this criminal act, and how it fosters tension and misunderstandings withing the family, unearthing several buried secrets, forms the crux of the plot.

Reasons to watch: Shiva Rajkumar may be entering his twilight years as a leading man, but he still commands a strong enough fan-following to drive audience interest in his films. Plus, if given a meaty role, backed by a good script, we all know how he can sink his teeth into it. Anant Nag, too, more often than not, doesn't disappoint. Furthermore, Vasu has done enough over a 3-decade long career to instill promise in any film that he's helmed.

So, which will be your South pick this week? Tweet us @bollywood_life

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