In a very interesting development this evening, the rights for the Ajith starrer Mankatha have been bought by Studio Green. This comes as a surprise as there was no indication that such a move was being planned. The deal between Cloud Nine, the original producers of Mankatha, and Studio green seems to have happened within the span of a few hours. The reason behind this sudden decision by Cloud Nine Movies to sell the overall rights of their magnum opus to another production house is not yet clear.

What makes things more interesting however is that Studio Green, managed by Gnanavel Raja , is widely seen as the home production company of Suriya and Karthi. All the films produced and distributed by the firm till now have been either Suriya or Karthi starrers. Their decision to leave home turf and get into a big venture as Mankatha also comes as a big surprise.

One thing is certain; with the release of Mankatha under the Studio Green banner, the general impression of it being a Suriya-Karthi run enterprise will take a backseat and it might start to be seen as a production house which promotes quality entertainers. Latest news from the Mankatha camp is that all hands are on deck to ensure an August 31 release.

With such excitement and surprises being generated in the run up to the release, one cannot wait for the actual film to hit screens

The makers of Mankatha want to cash in on the long weekend on September 1st and release the film around that time. With just a few days left and the re-recording work still incomplete, three musicians have jumped the bandwagon to help Yuvan Shankar Raja, sources report.

Karthik Raja, Bhavatharani and Premji Amaren are all working together with Yuvan Shankar Raja to help him with the re-recording. This is perhaps the first time a film’s re-recording work is being handled by a team of four people and all of them belonging to the same family! Interestingly, the director of Mankatha, Venkat Prabhu also happens to be their cousin.

Mankatha, directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by Dhayanidhi Alagiri and Cloud Nine, is all set for release soon.

When shooting for Mankatha started in mid-2010 - as Ajith's 50th film - it was scheduled to release on his birthday, May 1, 2011. But it never happened.

Now, the latest we hear is that Venkat Prabhu and the others behind the project are going all out to get the film released on September 1.

This will enable them to cash in on the big Vinayaka Chathurthi-Ramzan weekend, which will ensure a fantastic opening for the film.

Let us hope that Venkat’s 'Mission Mankatha' succeeds.