''Bison'' (also marketed as ''Bison: Kaalamaadan'') is an upcoming Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language

sports drama A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus o ...

film written and directed by

Mari Selvaraj Mariselvam Selvaraj is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in the Tamil film industry. He worked as an assistant director to Ram. He made his directorial debut with '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), which opened to highly positive re ...

. It is jointly produced by Sameer Nair, Deepak Seigal, Pa. Ranjith and Aditi Anand under

Applause Entertainment Applause Entertainment, a venture of the Aditya Birla Group, Aditya Birla Group of Companies, headed by Sameer Nair is a Production house, media, content and IP creation studio. Television shows Films References {{reflist External l ...

and Neelam Studios. The film stars

Dhruv Vikram Dhruv Vikram (born 23 September 1990) is an Indian actor, singer and lyricist who works in Tamil films. The son of actor Vikram, he made his acting debut with the 2019 film '' Adithya Varma'' and starred with his father in '' Mahaan'' (2022) ...

and Anupama Parameswaran in the lead roles, alongside Lal,

Pasupathy Pasupathy (born 18 May 1969) is an Indian actor. He appeared in critically acclaimed roles in many noted films in Tamil cinema, playing supporting, antagonistic, comedic as well as protagonistic roles. He has won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award ...

, Rajisha Vijayan, Hari Krishnan,

Azhagam Perumal Azhagam Perumal is an Indian film director and actor, who works in Tamil film Industry. Career Azhagam Perumal hails from the village of Kulasekharapuram in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. All his family members were working in the governme ...

and

Kalaiyarasan Kalaiyarasan Harikrishnan (born 20 February 1986) is an Indian actor, who works in the Tamil film industry along with few Malayalam films. He has collaborated with directors Mysskin and Pa. Ranjith, with whom he worked in ''Madras'' (2014) for ...

. The film was officially announced in December 2020 under the tentative title ''DV03'', as it is Dhruv's third film as the lead actor, and the official title was announced in May 2024.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

commenced the same month in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

and wrapped by mid February 2025. The film has music composed by Nivas K. Prasanna, cinematography handled by Ezhil Arasu K and editing by Sakthi Thiru. ''Bison'' is scheduled to release on 17 October 2025, coinciding with

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

Cast

Production

Development

In March 2020,

, who debuted as an actor with '' Adithya Varma'' (2019), was reported to star in the lead role of

's directorial venture after ''Karnan'' (2021). E4 Entertainment, which produced Dhruv's debut film, would reportedly fund the venture. On 31 December, the collaboration of Dhruv and Mari was publicly announced through their respective social media accounts,

tentatively titled A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

''DV03''. A few days later, Pa. Ranjith announced he would produce the project under his banner Neelam Studios. Ranjith also funded Mari's directorial debut ''

Pariyerum Perumal ''Pariyerum Perumal'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Mari Selvaraj, and produced by Pa. Ranjith. The film stars Kathir and Anandhi, while Yogi Babu and G. Marimuthu appear in supporting roles. It follows ...

'' (2018). In January 2021, Mari stated "The film is based on the life story of a sportsperson and this is going to showcase their lives in a raw and lively manner which has not been shown in Tamil cinema before". In April 2023, he said it was based on the life of the

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

player Manathi Ganesan, but a year later, said it was completely fictional. Production was set to begin after Dhruv completed filming for ''Mahaan'' (2022), as sports training was needed for his character. In the meantime, Mari began working on ''

Maamannan ''Maamannan'' () is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language political drama film written and directed by Mari Selvaraj, and produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies. The film stars Vadivelu as the title character, along with Fahadh Faasil, ...

'' (2023). Dhruv began training by late August 2021, as he had completed filming for ''Mahaan''. In 2023, reports claimed that the venture was shelved. However, Mari confirmed that works was still ongoing. On 12 March 2024,

were announced to jointly fund the venture, and Anupama Parameswaran was announced in the lead female role. Ezhil Arasu K himself announced through his X (formerly Twitter) page that he would handle the film's cinematography. The film's official title, ''Bison: Kaalamaadan'', was announced on 6 May. The technical crew, consisting of composer Nivas K. Prasanna, cinematographer Ezhil Arasu K, editor Sakthi Thiru, art director Kumar Gangappan, action director

Dhilip Subbarayan Dhilip Subbarayan is an Indian stunt choreographer who has worked Tamil cinema and a few Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. The son of stunt choreographer Super Subbarayan, Dhilip also made his debut as a film producer with '' Anjala'' (201 ...

, costume designer Aegan Ekambaram and publicity designer Kabilan Chelliah, were announced by the production house's on the same day along with the supporting cast, which includes Lal,

, Rajisha Vijayan, Hari Krishnan,

, Aruvi Madhanand and

Filming

began with the first schedule on 6 May 2024 with an inaugural puja at a film city in

. The first schedule concluded in late June. By September, filming was 75% complete, with the remaining shooting to take place either at the end of the year or early 2025. On 17 February 2025, it was announced that the entire filming process has been wrapped up.

Music

The music and background score are composed by Nivas K. Prasanna, in his first collaboration with both Dhruv and Mari.

Release

Theatrical

''Bison'' is scheduled to release on 17 October 2025, coinciding with

Home media

The post-theatrical streaming rights were bought by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

References

External links

* {{Mari Selvaraj 2020s Indian films 2020s Tamil-language films 2025 films 2025 sports drama films Films directed by Mari Selvaraj Films scored by Nivas K. Prasanna Indian sports drama films Kabaddi in popular culture Tamil-language drama films Tamil-language Indian films Tamil-language sports films Upcoming films Upcoming Tamil-language films