Mankatha Ajith 50th Movie Thala Games Never Ends

Mankatha is a forthcoming Indian Tamil action, comedy and thriller film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. It will feature Ajith Kumar in the lead role, making it his 50th film, along with an ensemble cast including Arjun, Trisha Krishnan, Sneha, Vaibhav Reddy, Lakshmi Rai and Premji Amaren. The film, to be produced and distributed by Dhayanidhi Alagiri's Cloud Nine Movies, was formally launched in August 2010 and is expected to release on 1 May 2011.

The film was formally launched on 2 August 2010 at the AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai in a simple manner, following which the film's shooting commenced with the principal photography. The first schedule of filming was supposed to begin by early September, but due to pre-production works and since the principal cast was not decided yet, the shooting got delayed further, finally commencing on 25 October in Chennai. Several days earlier, a test shoot was conducted with Premji Amaren, Mahat Raghavendra and Vaibhav Reddy taking part in it. Following shoots, involving Ajith Kumar, Trisha and Premji, along the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), and at Ajith's home, a duet song, picturized on Ajith Kumar and Trisha, featuring CGI special effects, was filmed in early November, in a Chennai studio nearby the East Coast Road. From 10 November onwards, the "introduction" song was shot for five days in Bangkok, Thailand, with Ajith Kumar, Lakshmi Rai and some foreigners participating.

The film's second schedule was planned to begin on 6 December 2010 in a studio in Chennai, which was delayed due to heavy rain, and started couple of days later. This led to speculation that the film had been shelved due to financial constraints, which was quickly denied by Venkat Prabhu. During the scedule, stunt sequences were canned at Binny Mills in Perambalur, while a grand set, resembling the Dharavi slum in Mumbai was errected in a studio.