House Mates

House Mates
Theatrical release poster
Directed byT. Raja Vel
Written byT. Raja Vel
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMS Sathish
Edited byNishar Sharef
Music byRajesh Murugesan
Production
companies
Distributed byAGS Cinemas
Release date
  • 1 August 2025 (2025-08-01)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

House Mates is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language fantasy horror film directed by T. Raja Vel starring Darshan, Aarsha Chandini Baiju, Kaali Venkat and Vinodhini in the lead roles. The film is jointly produced by S. Vijayaprakash and S. P. Shakthivel under their Playsmith Studios and South Studios banners respectively and presented by Sivakarthikeyan under his SK Productions banner.[1]

House Mates released in theatres on 1 August 2025.

Plot

In 2022, newlyweds Karthik and Anu move into their own second-hand flat after the former strives hard to buy it. Eerie happenings take place, with Anu attempting to convey it to Karthik. When the couple finally witnesses paranormal activities, it is revealed to them that they are invisibly sharing their house with a couple Ramesh and Viji who lived at the very same place way back in 2012, with their son. But why and how are they connected?

Cast

Production

Darshan who was last seen in Thunivu (2023) and Mukundan Unni Associates (2022) fame Aarsha Chandini Baiju were announced to star in their next comedy fantasy film directed by T. Raja Vel.[2] Debutant director T. Raja Vel had earlier worked as a co-writer[3] in R. Ajay Gnanamuthu's Demonte Colony 2 (2024) and the film stars Kaali Venkat and Vinodhini in important roles.[4] Apart from the lead cast the film also features Dheena, Abdool Lee, and Master Henrik in significant roles.[5]

The technical team consists of MS Sathish as the cinematographer, Nishar Sharef as the editor, and Dinesh as the stunt choreographer.[6] The film is produced by S. Vijayaprakash under Playsmith Studios banner[7] and director S. P. Shakthivel has contributed as the creative producer under his South Studios banner.[8] The film is presented by Sivakarthikeyan's SK Productions banner,[9] marking his second collaboration with Darshan as a producer after Kanaa (2018).[10]

Production began on 4 May 2024 after an inaugural muhurat pooja.[11]

Music

House Mates
Soundtrack album by
Rajesh Murugesan
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageTamil
ProducerRajesh Murugesan
Rajesh Murugesan chronology
United Kingdom of Kerala
(2025) 		House Mates
(2025)
Singles from House Mates
  1. "Akkalu Bakkalu"
    Released: 22 July 2025
  2. "Minnali"
    Released: 26 July 2025

The film has music composed by Neram (2013) and Premam (2015) fame Rajesh Murugesan.[12] The first single "Akkalu Bakkalu" was released on 22 July 2025.[13] The second single "Minnali" was released on 26 July 2025.[14]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Akkalu Bakkalu"Mohan RajanSean Roldan, Rajesh Murugesan 
2."Minnali"Mohan RajanAdithya RK 

Release

Theatrical

House Mates released in theatres on 1 August 2025.[15]

Home media

The post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were bought by ZEE5 and the satellite rights of the film were bought by Zee Tamil and Zee Thirai.[16]

Reception

Akshay Kumar of Cinema Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Housemates, in a nutshell, is a brave and largely successful attempt by debut director Rajavel to tweak the horror genre to accommodate sci-fi elements while also giving it an emotional treatment, thereby not alienating the Tamil audience."[17] Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Director Rajavel treats his sci-fi premise like homework, dutifully ticking boxes without wondering if any of this makes sense. [...] Housemates feels like someone had one good idea at a party and nobody had the heart to tell them it wasn't enough for a whole movie."[18] Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "Nevertheless, House Mates is a modest win for Rajavel and producer Sivakarthikeyan, as it reasserts with conviction that sometimes the most unassuming of ideas, simple but elegantly told, can make for a good watch."[19]

References

  1. ^ B, Jayabhuvaneshwari (31 July 2025). "Darshan on Sivakarthikeyan presenting House Mates: 'He is like a brother to me…'". Cinema Express. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  2. ^ Features, C. E. (4 May 2024). "Darshan and Aarsha Chandini Baiju to star in debutant Rajavel's film". Cinema Express. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  3. ^ "தமிழுக்கு 'ஹவுஸ்மேட்ஸ்' புதிதாக இருக்கும்! - இயக்குநர் நம்பிக்கை". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 10 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Darshan & Kaali Venkat to headline debut filmmaker's horror fantasy". The Times of India. 11 February 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2 May 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Sivakarthikeyan's banner to present Darshan's horror comedy House Mates; 'We watched it. We loved every bit of it'". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  6. ^ Kumar, Akshay (17 July 2025). "Housemates Trailer: Darshan and Aarsha in a fix as their dreams come crashing down". Cinema Express. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  7. ^ "House Mates: Sivakarthikeyan Productions Backed Film Gets A Release Date". Times Now. 5 July 2025. Archived from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  8. ^ "House Mates first look out: Darshan stars in fantasy horror comedy; plot, cast REVEALED". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  9. ^ IANS (5 July 2025). "Darshan, Kaali Venkat-starrer 'House Mates' to hit screens on August 1". www.dtnext.in. Archived from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  10. ^ Features, C. E. (4 July 2025). "Sivakarthikeyan Productions backed House Mates gets a release date". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Dharshan to team up with debutant director Rajavel". The Times of India. 5 May 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  12. ^ Features, C. E. (12 February 2025). "Actor Darshan's next titled House Mates; first look out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  13. ^ TrendMusic (22 July 2025). Akkalu Bakkalu - Lyrical Video| House Mates | Darshan, Aarsha Baiju | Sean Roldan l Rajesh Murugesan. Retrieved 3 August 2025 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ IANS (27 July 2025). "First single 'Minnali' from Darshan, Kaali Venkat-starrer 'House Mates' released". www.dtnext.in. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  15. ^ Kumar, Akshay (17 July 2025). "Darshan Interview: Sivakarthikeyan was very excited about Housemates". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  16. ^ "House Mates On OTT And TV: Where To Watch Sivakarthikeyan And Darshan's Film After Its Theatrical Run". Times Now. 30 July 2025.
  17. ^ Kumar, Akshay (30 July 2025). "Housemates Movie Review: A zany horror that mostly delivers the goods". Cinema Express. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  18. ^ "House Mates Movie Review: Time-share comedy needs renovation". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  19. ^ Chandar, Bhuvanesh (30 July 2025). "'House Mates' movie review: Fun, breezy fantasy horror-comedy loses steam". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
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