Directed by: Arun Matheswaran
Screenplay by: Arun Matheswaran, Madhan Karky
Story by: Arun Matheswaran
Produced by: Sendhil Thyagarajan, Arjun Thyagarajan
Starring: Dhanush, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Shiva Rajkumar, Sundeep Kishan
Cinematography: Siddhartha Nuni
Edited by: Nagooran Ramachandran
Music by: G. V. Prakash Kumar
Production company: Sathya Jyothi Films
Release date: January 2024
Country: India
Language: Tamil
Captain Miller is a new action movie from India. It’s set in the past, and it’s full of adventure. Arun Matheswaran is the director, and Sathya Jyothi Films is making it. The leading actor is Dhanush, and there are other actors like Priyanka Arul Mohan, Shiva Rajkumar, Sundeep Kishan, John Kokken, and Edward Sonnenblick.
The director wrote the story in 2018, and the movie was supposed to be made by Sathya Jyothi Films. But it wasn’t confirmed until 2019. They started filming in September 2022 in places like Chennai, Tirunelveli, and Tenkasi. The music is by G. V. Prakash Kumar, the camera work is by Siddhartha Nuni, and the editing is by Nagooran Ramachandran.
Captain Miller is set to come out in January 2024, around the time of Pongal.
Cast
- Dhanush as Captain Miller / Eesa / Analeesan[1]
- Shiva Rajkumar
- Sundeep Kishan
- Priyanka Arul Mohan
- John Kokken
- Edward Sonnenblick
- Nivedhithaa Sathish
- Vinoth Kishan
- Nassar
- Alexx O’Nell
- Elango Kumaravel
- Viji Chandrasekhar
- “Merku Thodarchi Malai” Antony
- Bala Saravanan
- Swayam Siddha
- Sumesh Moor
Production
Development
In 2018, Arun Matheswaran wrote a story. He wanted Sathya Jyothi Films to make it into a movie. He even talked to Dhanush about it because he had written the story with Dhanush in mind. But they haven’t finalized anything until 2019. Then, in late October 2020, Matheswaran met with Dhanush again. Dhanush liked the story and wanted to work on it, but they had to wait until Matheswaran finished his other work.
In April 2021, it was said that Sathya Jyothi Films would produce the movie, which would be Dhanush’s 47th film. On December 24 of that year, Dhanush confirmed that he would be working with Matheswaran.
At first, the movie was called D47 because it was Dhanush’s 47th film as the leading actor. But in April 2022, it was revealed that the movie’s name would be Captain Miller, which is set in the 1930s. In an interview, Matheswaran said it wouldn’t be about the real Captain Miller from history. Instead, it’s an action-packed adventure with a big budget to entertain many people and won’t have any memorable dance songs.
The official announcement for Captain Miller came in July 2022. The director liked the name ‘Captain Miller’ inspired by a character from a movie called Saving Private Ryan. They spent a whole year planning everything before starting to make the movie.
G. V. Prakash Kumar was chosen for the music, and Shreyaas Krishna was supposed to handle the camera work, but later, Siddhartha Nuni took over. Nagooran Ramachandran, who had worked with the director on other movies, was picked for editing.
Casting
Matheswaran started writing the story without thinking of any particular actor. He made up the character Captain Miller because he wanted to make a big action movie. It was only halfway through that he thought Dhanush would fit that role perfectly. Dhanush will have three different looks in the film.
Around May 2022, Priyanka Arul Mohan was talked about as the leading actress. And by September of that year, Sundeep Kishan was said to have an important role. The production house confirmed their roles on September 19 and 17, respectively. After that, more actors like Nivedhithaa Sathish, John Kokken, Sumesh Moor, Nassar, Daniel Balaji, Elango Kumaravel, Viji Chandrasekhar, Swayam Siddha, “Merku Thodarchi Malai” Antony, and Bala Saravanan were announced as part of the cast.
In October 2022, Matheswaran met Shiva Rajkumar, a Kannada actor, in Bangalore and told him the whole story. Shiva liked it and wanted to be in the movie, which became his second Tamil film after Jailer (2023). The company officially said he joined on December 8.
Later on, there were reports about Kaali Venkat and Vijay Kumar being in the movie, but some were denied. Vinoth Kishan was announced in March. Edward Sonnenblick, an American actor, joined the cast in April for his Tamil debut. In June 2023, Daniel Balaji had to leave because of scheduling issues caused by delays in filming.
Filming
On September 21, 2022, they started taking pictures for the movie. They had a special ceremony in Chennai on the same day. Then they went to Tirunelveli for more shooting on the 27th. Dhanush, Sundeep Kishan, John Kokken, Nivedhithaa Sathish, and Sumesh Moor were all part of this.
From October 7, they did a lot of shooting in Tenkasi. They built a special place in the forest to film some important parts. This part finished quickly by the 10th. Then, on December 1, Shiva Rajkumar joined Dhanush for action scenes. They spent this part by mid-December and took a break for Christmas, New Year, and Pongal.
They started filming again on January 19, 2023, in Courtallam, Tenkasi. They used unique sets in the forest for filming. Sundeep Kishan came back for shooting in mid-March. By then, they had finished about 80% of the filming.
But on the 25th, a scene from the movie leaked where they showed explosions. This spread quickly on the internet but was taken down later. Some people thought they were filming in a protected area for tigers, but the director said they had permission to film on private land.
After the explosion scene, the people living in Tenkasi complained about the filming breaking some rules near a protected area. The local leader stopped the filming because of these complaints, but they sorted it out and started filming again.
Shiva finished his parts on June 19, 2023. Sundeep ended on July 4, and John Kokken and Priyanka completed by August 30.
Music
G. V. Prakash Kumar is making the music for the movie, and this is his seventh time working with Dhanush. They’ve worked together in films like Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Mayakkam Enna, Asuran, Maaran, and Vaathi. This is his first time working with Matheswaran. Saregama will release the music.
They released the first song, ‘Killer Killer,’ on November 22, 2023.
Controversies
In March 2023, a local politician accused the movie’s team of causing problems. They said the crew damaged a canal bank and built a bridge without permission. Also, they were filming near a tiger reserve and disturbing the animals. The team was using bright lights and fires at night, affecting the wildlife. They even damaged a canal that provides water to about 15 tanks.
When the politician spoke to the movie team, they said they knew the Chief Minister. The politician asked the forest department and public works department to take action.
The crew had been camping near the tiger reserve since January. They built an extensive set for filming on private land. Someone said an elephant, probably scared by all the noise, damaged coconut trees on a farmer’s land. But the wildlife officer said they didn’t know about filming in that area and hadn’t given permission. The movie company said they got permission, but it’s unclear if it included the set in the protected area.
The government said they would investigate this problem.
Release
Theatrical
Captain Miller was supposed to come out in theatres on December 15, 2023, but they moved the release date to January 2024, at the same time as Pongal.
Distribution
Lyca Productions will release the movie in other countries, and KRG Studios will do it in Karnataka.
