Silambarasan TR has begun preparations for his journey to Sabarimala and is now leaving his fans with one more reason to cheer about before 2020 draws to a close with a pre-Christmas treat. Simbu is all set to revive Studio Green’s 20th venture alongside Gautham Karthik from February and under Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, Nedunchalai and Hippi fame N.Krishna's direction. A remake of the blockbuster Kannada neo-noir action thriller film Mufti, it has now been officially announced that the upcoming film, also STR's 45th in his career, has been titled Pathu Thala. 

Studio Green's Pathu Thala will see Simbu portraying the role of a gangster originally essayed by Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar, while Gautham Karthik is set to play Srimurali’s role as an undercover cop. Krishna stepped up to take charge after the Mufti's director Narthan left the project. The makers of Pathu Thala will be looking to make the film as relatable to Tamil audiences as possible, with filming mostly set to be carried out in the Kanyakumari district, where the plot is said to be set. Pathu Thala's story has been written by Narthan, but Krishna has stated that he has rewritten it in his own style, with the script and the screenplay getting changed to a good extent. 

In an interview to Times of India, director Krishna goes on to state that the title Pathu Thala was zeroed in as it will remind everyone of Raavanan from Ramayana. He further added that STR's character in the film is also on similar lines and will be highly influential, but is a man of few words. The conflict between Simbu and Gautham Karthik, also a quiet persona with a distinct take on life, arises when "both of them have to forcefully form a bond and be together. That pull-and-push between their characters will be quite interesting." He reveals that Pathu Thala is a "political mafia thriller". 

Krishna further asserts that he will most likely be retaining only a scene or two from what director Narthan had previously canned during their 10-day shoot and will be reshooting a majority of the portions again, while also revealing that Silambarasan will be sporting a new look for his role. Pathu Thala, which is incidentally Simbu's next gangster film after Mani Ratnam's Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, will see the flamboyant star not being paired opposite any heroine, with the makers currently finalizing on the remainder of the cast and crew in the hopes of roping in a few more additional big names. Notable Tamil cinema personalities have taken to their social media pages to reveal the Pathu Thala title announcement poster among whom Petta director Karthik Subbaraj has now done the honours. Check it out below: