Popular south Indian actress Priyamani is teaming up with National award-winning filmmaker Rajesh Touchriver for his upcoming movie Cyanide and its shooting will start in January 2021.

Cyanide based on the life of the notorious criminal Cyanide Mohan, the physical education teacher in Karnataka who killed 20 young women by giving them cyanide. Casting for the movie has been completed.

Priyamani and Rajesh Touchriver
Priyamani and Rajesh TouchriverTwitter

NRI businessman Pradeep Narayanan is producing 'Cyanide' under the banner Middle East Cinema Pvt Ltd. "National award winner Rajesh Touchriver would direct this Crime thriller. National award winner Priyamani would essay the role of the special investigation officer with an IG rank, who probes this crucial case," producer Pradeep Narayanan conveyed.

Rohini, Chittaranjan Giri, Tanikella Bharani, Ram Gopal Bajaj, Shiju, Shaju, Sriman, Mukundan, Sameer and Sanju Sivram, Riju Bajaj, Rimju would play the main characters. The movie is being made in five languages, and in its Hindi version, Bollywood actor Yashpal Sharma would don Priyamani's police officer role.

Cyanid Mohan's crime story - observed by the court as "rarest of rare" - is being brought to the silver screen by Rajesh Touchriver as Cyanide, in the crime genre. Getting young women to hotel rooms across Karnataka in the guise of love, giving them emergency contraceptive pills - laced with cyanide - after a night with them, and subsequent fleeing with their gold ornaments was Mohan's modus operandi.

About 20 young women were murdered by Mohan in this manner - and the court awarded him 6 death penalties and 14 life sentences for the same. This true incident is what Rajesh Touchriver is making into a feature film.

Priyamani
Priyamani.PR Handout

The movie will be shot in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada at the same time, and actors from these five languages will be part of this grand project. Come January, shooting will commence in Manguluru, and locations will include Hyderabad, Goa, Madikeri, Kodagu and Kasargode.

Rajesh Touchriver has written the story and screenplay for the movie, while Ravi Punnam and Raajaa Chandrasekhar penned dialogues for its Telugu and Tamil versions respectively. Rajesh Touchriver has written dialogues for its Malayalam version with Lennon Babu. Sadat Sainudeen who worked with Kamal Haasan on Vishwaroopam and Uttama Villain is the cinematographer. 

International award winner George Joseph is the music director, background score and songs by Dr. Gopal Sankar, while award winning editor Sasi Kumar with experience across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada movies would handle the editing. State award winner Gokuldas is in charge of the art direction. State award winner N G Roshan as make up designer.