Kick (2023 film)

Kick is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Prashant Raj. It is produced by Naveen Raj under the production banner Fortune Films. A remake of the director's Kannada film Zoom (2016) which itself is a remake of Lover Come Back (1961),^[1] the film stars Santhanam and Tanya Hope in the lead roles, Ragini Dwivedi, Brahmanandam, Mansoor Ali Khan, Senthil, Thambi Ramaiah, Kovai Sarala, and Manobala in supporting roles.

Kick
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Prashant Raj
Written by	Prashant Raj
Produced by	Naveen Raj
Starring	Santhanam Tanya Hope
Cinematography	Sudhakar S. Raj
Edited by	Nagooran Ramachandran
Music by	Arjun Janya
Production company	Fortune Films
Release date	1 September 2023 (2023-09-01)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

The film was announced in January 2022 under the tentative title Santa15,^[2] while the official title Kick was revealed in August.^[3] Principal photography commenced in April 2022,^[4] and wrapped in July.^[5] The music is composed by Arjun Janya, while the cinematography and editing are handled by Sudhakar S. Raj and Nagooran Ramachandran, respectively.^[6] The film was released theatrically on 1 September 2023 and received negative reviews from critics.

Cast

• Santhanam as Santhosh
• Tanya Hope as Shivani
• Thambi Ramaiah as Michael Jackson "MJ"
• Brahmanandam as Scientist Vaali
• Senthil as Man in bar
• Kovai Sarala as Pushpa, Shivani's boss's sister
• Mansoor Ali Khan as Ganesh
• Manobala as Shivani's boss
• Sadhu Kokila as Judge
• Y. G. Mahendran as MJ's father
• Shakeela as Ad Council member
• Vaiyapuri as Ad Council member
• Crane Manohar as Ad Council member
• King Kong as Shooting spot crew member
• Muthukaalai as Ganesh's PA
• Cool Suresh as Shooting spot crew member
• Madhan Bob as Litterer
• Anthony
• Ragini Dwivedi as Sheela (special appearance)
• Prashant Raj in a cameo appearance
• Siddharth Abhimanyu in a cameo appearance

Production

Development

On 20 January 2022, Sandalwood director Prashant Raj, via Twitter, said that he was doing a Tamil film for the first time starring Santhanam in the lead role. He further said that the film was produced by Naveen Raj under Fortune Films.^[7] Tanya Hope, in March, announced her commitments to the film as the lead female role.^[8] A muhurat puja was held on 22 April in Chennai.^[4] On 31 August, coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi, the official title Kick was revealed.^[3]

Filming

Principal photography commenced on 22 April 2022,^[4] with the first schedule in Bangalore.^[9] A song sequence was shot at the start of the schedule.^[4] The film was shot in Chennai, Bangkok and London before the principal photography wrapped in July.^[9][5]

Music

Kick
Soundtrack album by Arjun Janya
Released	2022–2023
Recorded	2022–2023
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	10:21
Language	Tamil
Label	Saregama Music
Producer	Arjun Janya
Arjun Janya chronology
Love Birds (2022) Kick (2023) Rajamarthanda (2023)

The music is composed by Arjun Janya, in his Tamil debut. The film marks his first collaboration with both Prashant and Santhanam.^[10]

Release

Theatrical

Kick was released on 1 September 2023,^[11] clashing with Amitash's Paramporul, Samantha's Kushi and Hamaresh's Rangoli.^[12]

Reception

A Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu stated that "Santhanam’s film is yawn-inducing and terrible"^[13].Avinash Ramachandran of Cinema Express gave 1 star out of 5 and noted that "we see the cast and crew laughing their hearts out while filming Kick, one can’t help but think why didn’t these laughs translate onscreen, only to realise the actual joke was on us."^[14]