Ravi Mohan introduces Keneesha Francis as music composer of his directorial debut months after announcing separation

Actor Ravi Mohan is donning the director's hat soon with a film starring Yogi Babu. The actor had spoken about his directorial dreams with HT earlier.

Actor Ravi Mohan’s contentious divorce with estranged wife Aarti Ravi often makes headlines, as did his relationship with healer-singer Keneeshaa Francis. Almost three months after she seemingly broke up with Ravi, leaving Chennai and social media, Ravi has now announced that Keneeshaa will be the music composer of his directorial debut, An Ordinary Man.

Keneeshaa as music composer

Ravi Mohan and Keneeshaa Francis grabbed attention with their fallout earlier this year.

On Monday, Ravi Mohan Studios announced Keneeshaa’s association with the film on Instagram. The official account shared a post featuring the musician's name. The words read, “Introducing… A Keneeshaa musical.” The production house wrote, “A new sound has entered the wild. A new chapter. The same soul. An artist you know in a way you've never heard before. 'An Ordinary Man' - One New Sound. One Heaven of a debut. CINEMA welcomes @keneeshaa1.”

However, at the recently held JFW Achievers Awards, the actor spoke about his future in cinema on stage and said, “I am turning 46 this year. 23 divided by 2, half of my life has been spent in cinema. It’s a pity that a small mistake of mine has hurt you all so much. Personal life and professional life are both 50-50 for me, but the emotions in personal life became a bit more.”

He then clarified about his announced break and revealed why he is coming back to cinema. “I was a bit emotional, but everyone in the industry came up to me and said, we’ll accept anything you say. But you must never say you’re not part of cinema again. I apologise to all of them,” he said, adding, “I also won’t betray my fans anymore. I’ll definitely come back. Your happiness, your kindness, your generosity, I plan to return as Ponniyin Selvan or Karathey Babu. To all those who gave me this confidence, I bow my head in gratitude.”

When Ravi Mohan announced break from films

Ravi married Aarti, the daughter of producer Sujatha Vijayakumar, in 2009. He announced his separation in 2024 after 15 years of marriage. While singer-healer Keneeshaa’s name was linked to him at the time, the two initially maintained they were friends. In 2025, they attended a wedding together in matching gold outfits, making their relationship official.

In May this year, Keneeshaa was called out for allegedly making an objectionable comment against Aarti. She later quit social media and hinted at a breakup with Ravi. Post that, the actor held a press meet and said, “I entered into marriage against my parents' will. I am paying the price now for doing that,” announcing a break.

Ravi Mohan on turning director

In an interview with Hindustan Times in September 2024, Ravi Mohan, who was earlier known as Jayam Ravi, had spoken about wanting to produce and direct films, “I want to produce a film with my son Aarav and introduce him to cinema at the right time. That’s the dream I have. When I acted with him in Tik Tik Tik six years ago, I had stated on stage at the success meet that that had been the happiest day of my life. I am waiting for that day again.”