Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food(2023)
| Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nilesh Krishnaa |
| Screenplay by | Nilesh Krishnaa Prasanth S. |
| Story by | Nilesh Krishnaa |
| Dialogues by | Nilesh Krishnaa Arul Sakthi Murugan |
| Produced by | Jatin Sethi R. Ravindran |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Sathyan Sooryan |
| Edited by | Praveen Anthony |
| Music by | Thaman S |
Production companies | Zee Studios Naad Sstudios Trident Arts |
Release date |
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| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language culinary drama film directed by Nilesh Krishnaa in his directorial debut and jointly produced by Jatin Sethi and R. Ravindran under Zee Studios, Naad Sstudios and Trident Arts. The film stars Nayanthara in the title role, alongside Jai and Sathyaraj. It follows Annapoorani, who dreams of being a chef, and the obstacles she comes across while trying to fullfill her dream.
The film was officially announced in July 2022, with the tentative title Nayanthara 75, as it is Nayanthara's 75th film in the lead role, while the title of the film was announced in October 2023. Principal photography commenced in April 2023 in Chennai along with a schedule held in Tiruchirappalli and wrapped by mid-September 2023. The film has music composed by Thaman S, cinematography handled by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Praveen Anthony.
Annapoorani was released in theatres on 1 December 2023 and received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.
Plot[edit]
Annapoorani is an aspiring chef. Though she wants to be well-versed in various kinds of non-vegetarian food, she is from a Brahmin family, where the members are compulsorily vegetarian. This proves an obstacle, as her father is the priest of the Srirangam temple, where he cooks the food offered as prasadam. He also believes that his daughter Annapoorani is a reincarnation of the Hindu goddess of food, Annapurna. Despite this, Annapoorani continues following her ambitions.
Cast[edit]
- Nayanthara as Annapoorani Rangarajan
- Ovi Bhandarkar as young Annapoorani
- Sathyaraj as Chef Anand Sundarajan
- Jai as Farhaan, Annapoorani's classmate and love interest
- Achyuth Kumar as Rangarajan, Annapoorani's father (Voice dubbed by Jayaprakash)
- K. S. Ravikumar as 'Arusuvai' Annamalai
- Karthik Kumar as Chef Ashwin Sundarrajan, Anand's son
- Renuka as Saradha, Annapoorani's mother
- Sachu as Subbulakshmi Paati, Annapoorani's grandmother
- Redin Kingsley as Chinto Chin
- Suresh Chakravarthy as Chef Suman
- Parvathi T as Farhaan’s mother
- Chef RK as Chef Raju Karthikeyan
- TSR as Chef Vadamaalai
- Poornima Ravi as Keerthi
- Baby Samyuktha as young Keerthi
- Som Shekhar as Santhosh
- Mohamed Irfan as Youtuber
- Priyadarshini Rajkumar as Keerthi’s houseowner
- Thidiyan
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
On 12 July 2022, Zee Studios, Naad SStudios and Trident Arts announced their jointly produced film, with Nilesh Krishnaa in his directorial debut, and Nayanthara in the lead role. It was tentatively titled as Nayanthara 75. Krishnaa previously was a co-writer for Shankar, co-writing films such as 2.0 (2018) and Indian 2.[1] The film marks Nayanthara's first film in the lead role after her wedding to Vignesh Shivan in June 2022. The same month, Jai, Sathyaraj and Redin Kingsley were cast for supporting roles, with the former reuniting with Nayanthara after Raja Rani (2013).[2]
On 8 April 2023, cinematographer Sathyan Sooryan, music composer Thaman S, editor Praveen Anthony and art director Durairaj were announced being part of the crew.[3] The same day, Redin Kingsley, Suresh Chakravarthy and Renuka were announced being part of the cast.[4] Krishnaa revealed that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he narrated the script of the film during a phone call to Nayanthara. He further revealed that he wrote the script with her in mind. He further announced that K. S. Ravikumar and Achyuth Kumar were part of the cast, with the latter playing the role of Nayanthara's character's father.[5] On 25 October, the title of the film was announced through a promotional video. It is a reference to the Hindu goddess of food, Annapurna.[6]
