Mani Ratnam's production house Madras Talkies is funding a non-Mani Ratnam film after a very long time. We are talking about Vaanam Kottattum directed by Dhana Sekaran of Padaiveeran fame. The last time they produced a different director's film was Five Star which released 18 years ago. Vaanam Kottattum stars Vikram Prabhu, Aishwarya Rajesh and Madonna Sebastian in the lead roles, with Sarathkumar and Raadhika portraying supporting roles. Apart from funding the project, Mani Ratnam has also co-written the script. 

Apparently, the story of the film was conceived by Mani Ratnam during a recce during the pre-production stages of O Kadhal Kanmani which released in 2015. He had written a story based on the lives of real characters from Theni, which his assistant Dhana had recollected from his years growing up in the hill town. Mani Ratnam chose to eventually prioritize other directorial ventures but agreed to produce the script with Dhana as director, owing to his familiarity with the characters. The film is planned to release in this month or by next month. Meanwhile, the trailer of the film will be officially launched by Dhanush via Twitter tomorrow on the 8th of January. Stay tuned!