Friendship (2021 film)

Friendship is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language sports comedy action film directed by John Paul Raj and Sham Surya. A remake of the 2018 Malayalam film Queen, the film stars Harbhajan Singh, Arjun, Losliya Mariyanesan and Sathish. The film marks the acting debuts of Harbajan Singh and Losliya Mariyanesan, after the latter's stint at Bigg Boss Tamil. The music was composed by D. M. Udhayakumar with cinematography by C. Santha Kumar and editing by Deepak S. Dwarakanth. The film was released on 17 September 2021.

Production
The principal photography of the film began in March 2020.

Casting
Harbhajan Singh was chosen to play the main lead role after becoming popular in the state of Tamil Nadu since playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League. He often interacted with Tamil spectators while playing for CSK and apparently was offered the role to portray a college student from Punjab in the film. It is also the first time that an Indian high-profile cricketer is set to play the main lead role in an Indian film.

Sri Lankan news anchor Losliya Mariyanesan who rose to prominence after taking part in the Bigg Boss Tamil 3 reality television show aired on Star Vijay was signed on as the female lead role opposite Singh. In February 2020, Arjun Sarja signed on to play a role in the film, while Sathish was chosen to play the supporting role of the friend of Singh's character.

Release
The film was released on 17 September 2021 in theatres.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by D. M. Udhayakumar. The first single of the film, titled Superstar Anthem was released 3 July 2020 on YouTube, coinciding with Harbhajan Singh's birthday. It was revealed that the single was crooned as a tribute to Rajnikanth.