Trailer for Dhanush, Mammootty and Sai Pallavi starrer OM released after delay

The trailer for Rajkumar Periasamy's new movie OM starring Dhanush, Mammootty, and Sai Pallavi dropped late on Friday evening following a considerable delay. The three-minute preview runs through themes of red sanders smuggling, espionage, politics, and personal loss, drawing early comparisons to Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar and Sukumar's Pushpa.

Plot and Characters

The clip opens with the Suprabhatam playing over loudspeakers in Tirumala, accompanied by a disclaimer stating that some of the events actually happened. The narrative unfolds between two temple towns where illegal red sanders smuggling thrives. A special Organised Crime Intelligence Unit is formed to tackle the issue, with Dhanush appearing as operative D-402. Sreeleela plays his wife, who feels frustrated that their family must remain a secret due to his dangerous profession. Mammootty enters the story as the smuggler-politician Red Hills Karthikeyan, also known as Burma Karthikeyan Siya, while Naseeruddin Shah takes on another key role. Sai Pallavi stars as ASP Nithya Reddy. Dhanush goes undercover to infiltrate Siya's gang, and the trailer concludes with Nithya launching Operation Mole as the situation spirals out of control, though critics noted the preview gives away a large portion of the plot.

Production and Background

Director Rajkumar Periasamy is a National Award winner who made his debut with the 2017 film Rangoon and later directed Amaran, making OM his third feature. Wunderbar Films and RTake Studios are producing the project, which also features Indrans, Sanjay Swaroop, and Renu Desai in important roles. The film hits theatres on November 20. Previously, teaser comparisons to Pushpa prompted Rajkumar to clarify at a June event that the glimpse only showed an introductory part and shared no connection with that film. Furthermore, the movie's release was postponed twice to avoid box office clashes with Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 and Suriya's Scene.

Context

Red sanders smuggling is an illegal trade involving a rare timber found mainly in the rocky hills of the Seshachalam mountain range in Andhra Pradesh, often drawing heavy attention from law enforcement and filmmakers alike. Major south Indian action films frequently face intense box office scheduling pressures, leading producers to shift release dates to protect their theatrical revenues from overlapping with rival star vehicles.