Priya Bhavani Shankar begins shooting for Ajay Gnanamuthu's 'Demonte Colony 3'

Actress Priya Bhavani Shankar, who plays the female lead in the third instalment of director Ajay Gnanamuthu's popular horror franchise 'Demonte Colony', has now begun shooting for the film.

Taking to her social media timelines on Monday, Priya Bhavani Shankar posted a picture of herself on the sets of the film and wrote, "Lady with the braid is back... First day. Lights on. Shadows waiting. #DemonteColony3 #DayOne #TheEndIsTooFar Let's have some fun @ajaygnanamuthu @arulnithi_tamilarasu @samcsmusic @meenakshigovindharajan_ @iam_archanaravichandran."The 'Demonte Colony' franchise, which features Arulnithi in the lead, is immensely popular and fans are excited that the third instalment is on its way.

It may be recalled that the second instalment of the film, which emerged a huge superhit, featured Arulnithi and Priya Bhavani Shankar in the lead.Director Ajay Gnanamuthu began pre-production work for the film in April this year. In fact, he had also posted a picture of his team in Sliema in Malta and said, "Demonte Colony 3 work in progress."The significance of the franchise Demonte Colony is that there is a real place by the same name in Chennai and interestingly, is known for being haunted.

The franchise, which set a new benchmark in the horror genre in Tamil cinema, first came into existence in 2015, when the first part of Demonte Colony was made. The gripping thriller was an instant hit. Eight years after the first part was made, the makers released the second instalment, which too went on to emerge a superhit.The second instalment featured, apart from the lead actors, Arun Pandian, Muthu Kumar, Meenakshi Govindarajan and Archana Ravichandran in pivotal roles.Harish Kannan was the cinematographer for the second part of the film, which had music by Sam C S. Art direction was by Ravi Pandi and editing by D Kumaresh.The film was initially produced by Vijaya Subramaniyan on behalf of White Nights Entertainment along with RC Rajkumar of Gnanamuthu Pattarai.However, Cyber Forensics expert Bobby Balachandran procured all the rights of the film even before its completion and thereby turned its producer.The second instalment of the franchise, which released last year, had an impressive 85-day run in theatres, much to the delight of its makers. The second instalment's end made it evident that the makers were certain about making a third instalment of the franchise.