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Mani Ratnam's next film, a romantic drama, features Vijay Sethupathi and Sai Pallavi in the lead. The makers unveiled the first poster and the release date of the film on Thursday.
Master storyteller Mani Ratnam is back with a romance. The veteran director is known for iconic films like Roja, Geethanjali, Alai Payuthey and O Kadhal Kanmani. Now, he will be directing another romance drama. Ratnam’s next is a Tamil film titled Inji Vellam. The film marks the first on-screen pairing of Vijay Sethupathi and Sai Pallavi.
The makers unveiled a new poster of the film featuring the leads and even revealed the film’s release date. Inji Vellam will arrive in theatres next year and release on January 29.
In Tamil, Inji Vellam translates to ginger and jaggery, which is often used as a metaphor to describe a sweet-and-spicy combination, akin to contrasting personalities coming together in a relationship.
Mani Ratnam collaborates with music composer AR Rahman for this one. The filmmaker and the composer have worked on several films together.
While the film’s story has not been revealed by the makers so far, the short motion poster released hints at Vijay and Sai playing a married couple in the film. In the poster the pair are seen carrying a set of twins, who presumably play their daughters in the film.
A major portion of the film has been shot in Kolkata.
In 2025, photos of Sai and Vijay shooting in key locations in and around Kolkata were widely circulated on social media.
While some pictures seem to have been taken as the actors were prepping for the scene, with Mani instructing them, others show them mid-scene.
Ratnam has previously shot Yuva in the city. There is no word yet on when the film’s trailer wil come out.
Vijay Sethupathi's last released film in a lead role is the Tamil action-comedy drama Baththa (released in theatres on October 1, 2026). Following that, he also made a surprise cameo appearance in Rajinikanth's blockbuster Jailer 2. Sai Pallavi's film Ramayana: Part 1 released on November 5. Pallavi plays Sita in the film.