Upala KBR (MID-DAY; February 8, 2018)

Close on the heels of reports of Prabhu Dheva featuring in a silent film comes news that he is to play an evil spirit in the Tamil horror project. The actor will slip into the role of the antagonist for the first time in the Karthik Subbaraj-directed venture.

A source from the creative team of Mercury tells mid-day, “Prabhu will play a spirit, a buri aatma, who haunts college kids. When he heard the script, he loved it and immediately agreed to come on board. It’s an experimental film without dialogues, and banks on its visual storytelling ability. It was tough for Prabhu to do it as he is playing a negative role for the first time.”

Subbaraj’s Mercury is a silent film, reminiscent of Kamal Haasan’s Pushpaka Vimana (1987). The film revolves around college students, played by Sananth Reddy, Deepak Paramesh, Anish Padman, Shashank and Remya Nambeesan. “Shooting has been completed and the film is set to release this year.” Producer Jayantilal Gada promises abundant thrills in the venture. “It has been made in a unique way. We are sure the audience will love it.”

Prabhu Dheva has taken a break from directing to sign on a series of horror films recently. Following his 2016 Tamil horror comedy, Devi, he will be seen in Sam Akash’s family drama, a trilingual — Tamil, Telugu and Hindi — set against the backdrop of a hill station. He will play a botanist in it.