Karthi 30: Karthi joins Mad director Kalyan Shankar

Karthi 30, the actor's 30th film, has rolled into production under Mad director Kalyan Shankar, with Meenakshi Chaudhary leading and a title due soon.

Karthi has begun his 30th film, and he is making it with a director who built his name on Telugu comedy. The actor has teamed with Kalyan Shankar, who made the Mad films, for a bilingual Tamil-Telugu project produced by Sithara Entertainments. The shoot is already under way, launched with a pooja on Monday, which doubled as Karthi’s birthday.

Meenakshi Chaudhary plays the female lead, her first film opposite Karthi. She was last seen in Telugu in Anaganaga Oka Raju, and her last Tamil outing was GOAT. The makers are holding back the title, the rest of the cast, the crew and a release date, with a first look promised soon.

Karthi with Meenakshi Chaudhary, paired on screen for the first time, at the film's launch.

The pairing is the part worth watching. Kalyan Shankar comes off Mad (2023) and Mad Square (2025), both broad, high-energy comedies, and before that wrote for Tillu Square and the Navarasa anthology. Karthi’s screen presence tends to run warmer and more grounded. How those two registers meet is the question the film is being built around.

Karthi and the team at the launch pooja, where the project was formally set rolling.

This is a crowded stretch for Karthi. He was last seen in Vaa Vaathiyaar and is currently shooting Marshal, a 1960s-set film with Tamizh of Taanakkaran, opposite Kalyani Priyadarshan. The Kalyan Shankar film is the one with momentum right now, cameras already turning, title and first look on the way.

Karthi's 30th film pairs him with Mad director Kalyan Shankar