Star hero Karthi is gearing up for the worldwide theatrical release of Annagaru Vostaru on December 12, produced by K.E. Gnanavel Raja under the Studio Green banner and directed by Nalan Kumaraswamy. Described as a new-age action-comedy with a strong mass pulse, the film features Krithi Shetty as the female lead and is set in a fictional, larger-than-life world that blends nostalgia with contemporary storytelling.
Karthi says he signed the film primarily because of Nalan Kumaraswamy, whose cult hit Soodhu Kavvum has long inspired both audiences and filmmakers. After an eight-year gap, Nalan returns with this project, and Karthi notes that unlike most directors who fade during long breaks, Nalan has remained someone viewers eagerly awaited. The director imagines superheroes through an Indian lens, drawing from legends like NTR and MGR, who changed both cinema and politics, and uses that idea to revisit 80s-style mass-commercial cinema in a fresh format.
For Karthi, Annagaru Vostaru is a “risky attempt” compared to relatively safer films like Oopiri, but that challenge is exactly what excites him. He believes genuinely new cinema emerges only when writers enjoy full creative freedom instead of repeating tried-and-tested formulas. According to him, Nalan has mounted the film with grand visuals and music on the scale of a big superhero spectacle, making it a thrilling experience to shoot and perform.
Karthi points out that the classic structure of “hero, songs, villain, fights” is unique to our commercial cinema, with the 80s and 90s delivering the purest form of that template. He loves how Indian films insert songs even in serious narratives to ease the audience before pulling them back into the story, and says Annagaru Vostaru follows that rhythm while using a modern presentation. Though the movie is not a period film, it pays homage to the era when stars became household deities, with their photos still adorning homes today.
Talking about his career, Karthi stresses that his identity comes from choosing fresh subjects, mentioning the long history of crossovers between NTR and MGR films in Telugu and Tamil. He reveals that the film contains subtle references to those parallels. Unlike Nalan’s earlier multi-character stories with darker endings, this one is a hero-centric narrative. As seen in the trailer, Karthi plays a police officer in a safari uniform in a parallel-world superhero story, including a quirky courtroom scene where he explains his attire to a judge. He says that although he has done intense cop roles before, this character’s tone, dialogue rhythm, and even the way the background score is used are very different.
Karthi also highlights the musical team, recalling that Nalan originally considered another composer, but Santhosh Narayanan—whom Nalan introduced to cinema—personally expressed his desire to do the film and came on board. On the performance front, he praises Krithi Shetty, who plays a spirit reader, for preparing deeply and delivering strong acting right from her first scene. He appreciates that she aspires to be recognized for her performance rather than just glamour or dance, and feels she has done justice to a layered role.
Emphasizing teamwork, Karthi says he frequently discusses scenes with Nalan right before filming, offering suggestions once he fully inhabits the character and understands how he should speak or behave. He credits producer Gnanavel Raja for providing unwavering support and the resources needed to build the unique world of Annagaru Vostaru. Karthi concludes that audiences must back such bold, experimental films, otherwise filmmakers will hesitate to take creative risks, adding that appreciation for projects like Satyam Sundaram is what encourages him to keep bringing new kinds of cinema to the audience.
