Pranita Jonnalagedda (BOMBAY TIMES; November 10, 2015)

Technicians in nine studios across the world have been working on the computer graphics but have yet to incorporate them in the scenes sent to them five months ago
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 24, 2015)

Mirror (June 20, 2015) was the first one to tell you that Sridevi will return to the screen with a Tamil action-adventure, Puli (Tiger), co-starring Vijay, as the leader of a group, someone with unbelievable strength and powers. However, we have now learnt that the 51-year-old actress's magnum opus has been delayed by over a month.

Confirming the news filmmaker Shibu Thameens says, "We finished the first schedule in January and shot all those scenes which required computer graphics. These were then sent to nine studios across the globe in February. Technicians in countries like Denmark, Russia, Ireland, Ukraine and Armenia have been working on the VFX for the last five months. We wrapped up the film in May but they have yet to finish with the special effects. So now instead of July, the film will release towards the end of August."

Meanwhile, since the teaser came out, everyone's been raving about Sridevi's regal look. And though Shibu has earlier said that his fantasy action-adventure is along the lines of Russell Crowe's Gladiator, he insists that her gowns, jewellery and elaborate headgear, are completely original and very desi.

However, it wasn't an easy look to pull off. Sridevi had to spend four to five hours in make up before she faced the camera. "If the call time was 9 am, she would start getting ready from 4 am," informs director Chimbu Deven.

He adds that the outfit and the ornaments together weighed around 10-15 kgs but there were never any complaints from the actress who shot in hot and humid Chennai for 10-12 hours daily. "It was her idea to get Manish Malhotra to design her look," says Chimbu. "She even did her action sequences, which included a sword fight, wearing these cumbersome costumes."

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 20, 2015)

Sridevi made her successful Bollywood comeback in 2012 with Gauri Shinde's English Vinglish, then disappeared for three years. Now, she'll return with a Tamil action-adventure, Puli (Tiger), co-starring Vijay.

"Everyone in the South wants her back, she's really popular here. She heard the script and thought it was the right subject for her return. She's looking beautiful and younger than the other two actresses, Shruti Haasan and Hansika Motwane as you'll see in the teaser," raves filmmaker Shibu Thameens.

Buzz is, the 51-year-old-actress is playing a queen in the period drama. "No, and it's not a period drama or a contemporary film. It's an action-adventure on the lines of Russell Crowe's The Gladiator," says Shibu. "She is the head of a group, someone with unbelievable strength and powers and has a lot of action scenes."