Suriya 44

Suriya 44 is the working title of an upcoming Indian Tamil-language film written, directed, and co-produced by Karthik Subbaraj. The film stars Suriya and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles, alongside Jayaram, Joju George, Karunakaran, Sujith Shankar, Thamizh, Ramachandran Durairaj, Prem Kumar, Sandeep Raj and Remya Suresh.

The film was officially announced in March 2023 under the tentative title Suriya 44, as it is the actor's 44th film as the lead actor, along with the tagline Love, Laughter and War. Principal photography commenced in June 2024 in Port Blair. The film will have music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography handled by Shreyaas Krishna and editing by Shafique Mohamed Ali.

Cast

 * Suriya
 * Pooja Hegde
 * Jayaram
 * Joju George
 * Karunakaran
 * Sujith Shankar
 * Thamizh
 * Ramachandran Durairaj
 * Prem Kumar
 * Sandeep Raj
 * Remya Suresh

Development
In late 2021, director Karthik Subbaraj and actor Suriya began having a discussion for a potential collaboration between the two in the future. Although they had finalised to collaborate back then, both's respective prior commitments delayed the beginning of the project's production process. Following two-and-a-half years later, on 28 March 2024, Karthik announced through his social media accounts that he would join hands with Suriya for his directorial venture after Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023). The project would be jointly funded by Karthik, Karthekeyan Santhanam, Kalyan, Subramaniam and Jyothika under their respective headed production houses, Stone Bench Creations and 2D Entertainment. The makers kept the project secret until its announcement. Announced under the working title Suriya 44 with the tagline Love, Laughter and War, the production process was set to begin after the actor completes his commitments to his film with Sudha Kongara, also known as Suriya 43 and Puranaanooru. A few days later, it was reported that since the start of Kongara's film would take a few more months, they were planning to complete the shooting of the project by then.

Pre-production
Karthik had met Suriya prior to the shooting of Jigarthanda DoubleX and narrated a one-liner, which the latter requested to develop. It took him several months for the writing and pre-production. After Jigarthanda DoubleX release, Karthik narrated the entire script to the actor.

On the occasion of his birthday (15 May), Santhosh Narayanan was announced as the film's composer by the production house, in his eighth collaboration with the director. Shreyaas Krishna was revealed to handle the cinematographer on 29 May, in his third collaboration with Karthik after Jagame Thandhiram (2021) and Mahaan (2022). In addition to Shreyaas Krishna, the technical crew of art director Jacki, editor Shafique Mohamed Ali, stunt choreographer Kecha Khamphakdee, and costume designer Praveen Raja were announced the same day.

In May 2024, the team shot the promotional video for the film for nearly three days. A casting call was announced by the makers in late April 2024. Prior to starting the first shooting schedule, the team had constructed a set at Port Blair located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for filming an action sequence.

Casting
Suriya would sport a Fu Manchu moustache and mullet look for his role in the film. In mid-May, Pooja Hegde was reported to have been cast for the lead actress role, pairing opposite Suriya, in her first film with the latter and Karthik. Her inclusion was confirmed on 1 June by the production house. It is her third Tamil film after Mugamoodi (2012) and Beast (2022). Hegde would reportedly receive inr 40000000 as remuneration.

Vijay Kumar and Jayaram were reported being part of the cast, with the former reportedly playing the main antagonist. The latter was confirmed being part of the cast during his arrival for the film's shooting. Karunakaran and Joju George were also cast to play prominent roles, with the former marking his fourth collaboration with Karthik after Pizza (2012), Jigarthanda (2014) and Iraivi (2016), and latter marking his second collaboration with director after Jagame Thandhiram. Malayalam actor Sujith Shankar joined the cast on 22 June 2024. Director Thamizh, Ramachandran Durairaj, Prem Kumar, Sandeep Raj of Vikram and RDX fame and Remya Suresh joined cast for supporting roles.

Filming
Suriya, Hegde and Jayaram headed to Andaman for the film's shooting schedule on 1 June 2024. Principal photography began on 2 June at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The team started shooting action sequences at a specially erected set, which were choreographed by Kecha Khamphakdee. Shreyaas Krishna brought Alexa Super 35 camera and anamorphic lenses for the better output of the film. A song shoot also happened in early June 2024. Sujith Shankar joined the first schedule on 22 June 2024, while filming happening at Cellular Jail. A dance number featuring Suriya and Hegde, choreographed by Sherif Master was completed in late-June 2024. On 28 June, Joju George shared a video of himself on a boat in Andaman Island, revealing he joined the sets. The first schedule wrapped on 4 July 2024 at Andaman. The next schedule would begin in late-July in Kerala. The production would next move to Ooty and Chennai for the film shoot. 80% of the film would be shot in sets.

Music
The music and background score is composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his first collaboration with Suriya; eighth with Karthik.

Marketing
On 2 June 2024, the makers unveiled the film's "first shot" video, but the title was not revealed. It received positive response and increased expectations for the film's title reveal. Subsequently, the video was attached for theatrical screenings. Later, after ten days of its original release, the video was released on YouTube. Akhila Menon of OTTPlay noted "The one-of-a-kind video, which is a first-time attempt in Tamil cinema, featured leading man Suriya in a never-seen-before avatar." The film's title will be unveiled on 23 July, Suriya's birthday.

Release
The UK distribution rights were reportedly acquired by Ahimsa Entertainment.