Haiku trailer: Aegan is the only boy in a women's college

Mano has a problem most college boys would only joke about: he is the only one in a women’s college. That is the setup of Haiku, the romantic comedy starring Aegan, Sridevi and Femina George, and its trailer runs with it. Over two and a half minutes it moves through a bright campus, plenty of awkward comedy and a romance at the centre, with hints of something heavier underneath. The film opens in theatres on October 23.

Aegan, who plays Mano, insists the film is more than its premise. “It’s a feel-good rom-com, but there is a deeper layer beneath it,” he said. He pointed to Karthik Subbaraj’s Dorothy, which filmmakers and the trans community have been celebrating for changing how people look at others’ choices and individuality. Haiku, he said, tries to do something similar for the way men see women and the respect they owe them. “However, the film is not going to preach anything. It is a fun-filled entertainer with a message woven into the narrative.”

Sridevi comes to the film after Court: State vs. A Nobody, the Telugu courtroom drama that drew wide praise and is now being remade in Tamil with Prashanth. The trailer gives her an easy, natural presence, while Femina George brings a more polished charm. Adirchi Arun, Subramaniya Sethu, Adhiyaman, Mime Gopi and Indhumathi Manigandan fill out the cast.

Yuvaraj Chinnaswamy writes and directs, with additional screenplay by Hariharan Ram. Siddhu Kumar’s music carries much of the trailer’s lightness. Priyesh Gurusamy shoots the campus in warm, sunlit colours, Sakthi Praneesh P edits, and Prem Karunthamalai handles art direction. Dr D. Arulanandhu and Mathewo Arulanandhu produce under Vision Cinema House. Trailers have also been released in Telugu and Malayalam ahead of the October 23 release.