Why Shankar says Enthiran is not Jugiba of Arur ?

The writer Arur Tamilnandan who leveled a copyright violation case against Director Shankar is a recipient of the Tamil Nadu State Government ‘s Kalaimamani award. The story that has been `plagiarized’ by Shankar is available in a book form titled as “Thik Thik Deepika”.and it has been bought by the State Government and circulated through its libraries. The Supreme Court dismissing the plea by Shankar to dismiss the Madras High Court to proceed with the trial in lower court found the charge of 29 similarities between Arur’s story Jugiba and the motion picture Enthiran to be prima facie true. It however said that this should not be seen as acceptance of Arur’s charge. The main contention of Shankar that his story is different from that of Arur is as follows as per the affidavit given in the court- (ii)The concept of humanoid robots may be same, but, in fact, there are several movies in the past, which had described humanoid robots. The Director of the film being a Diploma Engineer had developed the story of Enthiran for several years. (iii)The story of film Enthiran and Jugiba are entirely different. The Robot in the movie Enthiran does not commit suicide; it resembles its creator; it was created for serving in Army; it does not have any feelings initially and with great difficulty, the scientist brought the feelings in it; it has been loaded with destruction software chip by a rival scientist, subsequently the same was removed and finally, the robot did not commit suicide, but was dismantled and kept in a Museum. Whereas, as per the story Jugiba, the scientist had not created the Robot for any military purpose and in the end of the story, the Robot committed suicide. Therefore, there is no similarity between his film Enthiran and the story Jugiba. Read relevant part of Jugiba - Robin introduces Joshephin to Jugiba ( Robot) as his sweetheart and love. Jugiba extended its metal hand to shake, but Joshepin afraid of it and went back. Robin convinced her that it is more or less a human and it will not harm her. Joshepin extended her hand, after shaking hands Jugiba admired her hand as so soft. Jugiba ogled at Joshepin and started talking to her. It describes Joshepin in poetic form. It also expresses its love to Jospehin and insisted her to live with it.Robin lost his temper and shouted at Jugiba explaining that Jugiba is only a metal and machine; Joshephin is flesh and blood and they cannot live together.Hearing this, Jugiba cries by saying it cannot live without Joshephin. It sheds tears and commits suicide by jumping from the building.” http://www.judis.nic.in Jugiba commits suicide and Robot in Enthiran dismantles itself – is this not similar ? Difference is that Robot was made for military purpose but not Jugiba, it does not rsemble the creator and a self destruction chip was put inside the Robot by a rival scientist. Are these differences alone enough to make Enthiran a original and different from Arur’s. ?

Exhibitors announce Thalapathy Master ticket for Rs 50

 

Master ends run in theaters. Theater owners insult Thalapathy by selling tickets for Rs 50-Producers swing to OTT.  Thala fans  against Thalapathy on Twitter. Exhibitors and distributors decide to hereafter screen films only after the Producer gives in writing that the OTT screening will happen only 30 days after theater release. The most awaited film that trade looked forward after Master to keep cash registers ringing was Dhanush Jagame Thanthiram(JT) scheduled to come on February mid-week. After the Exhibitor- Distributor- Master Producer fracas over sharing of collections, Producer S. Sashikanth, and Chakravarthy Ramachandra decided to accept the offer from Netflix to screen the film straight on OTT.

Master Producer decided not to  return 10% share of two week collection to theaters and distributors and instead told them to take entire 3^rd week collections. Producer renewed the KDM ( digital key given by Qube to screen films in movie halls) for three days and Amazon began streaming from Jan 29^th. Theaters grouse is that they had paid for 30 days run but Producer took extra cash from Amazon for an early streaming within 16 days. They wanted to be compensated but it did not happen.

Single screen  theaters mostly in towns and tier 2- 3 tier cities say that from Monday onwards, there will be no patrons. They put up posters announcing that tickets were available for Rs 50 till Monday, last day of show. Many theaters have already announced that they are taking bookings till Monday. Multiplexes have taken the stance that if the service provider  inform that they received no VPF fee, there will be no shows.

JT Producer Sashikant , hero Dhanush with director Karthik Subburaj were happy that it will release in theaters. But seeing the reaction of exhibitors who unconditionally screened Master, now turning volte face and demanding extra money has got a second thinking on theater release. Distributors say that as 100% occupancy will be allowed from Feb 1, there would be no uncertainty over collection share. They point  out that the 50% occupancy limit had led to theaters making money and they left in the lurch. It has to be seen whether the JT team would relent.

A scene in Master has infuriated Thala Ajith fans. A poster of a magazine which  mentions about Ajith’s accident on the set figures in a fight scene that Vijay takes part. The tea vending cart has two posters and one of them is the one Thala fans say was deliberately kept to malign their idol. In fact the poster can be seen only if one uses the remote to zoom on it. Sulthan starring Karthi teaser is out and an announcement is due on Monday. Will it be release date for theater or OTT ?

Third week Jan 2021 has Sun TV dominate top 3 TRP ranks.

 

 Third week of 2021 shows changes in TRP. As we said last time, te TRP of Pullikutti Pandi, a less talked about movie garnerning high TRP for Pongal and coming number one was something that we had to inform you. Like all week, Sun's two movies Viswasam and Kanchana 3 topped the TRP for 1 and 2. Keeping the movies apart and sticking to serials alone, Roja continues to be number one. The pace at it moves is what keeps it going and that too on a thin wafer like `secret'. For quite some time the second spot was for Vijay TV. This time it has changed. Vanathapola comes second. It has all the melodrama that goes with a family dra,a. A sure fire formula that is winning  urban and rural viewers for Sun.

Going by past weeks track record, it should be Bharathi Kannama or Pandian Stores of Vijay at No 3. Surprise !!! The mahasangamam of Anbe vaa and kannaleney Kanna. is at 3rd spot. Both the serials have two on screen couples that re telly viewers favs. A nice blending has worked wonders.

Four and Five are Vijay TV's Bharathi Kannamma and Pandian stores. Zee Tamil continues its bad run. Some readers say that there is rigging as Zee tTmil Chembaruthi should have figured in top 5. one new entry is that Raja rani 2 season has entered top 20.

Surya backing OTT a wise decision as Vijay is God who failed theaters

 

Finally  Suriya has the last laugh . The events that are unfolding in past few days show that he was right in all ways by selling off his films to OTT.  Tamil Nadu theaters and multiplex association is asking co-producer Lalith Kumar to pay back 10% of the first two weeks collections of Master. Reason being that Lalith took extra money from Amazon to advance the OTT release date. If Lalith does not pay ?. Issue Red Card to him. This is what the exhibitors said when Suriya’s 2D gave Ponmaghal Vandhaal and SP to OTT.

Three weeks back, Vijay and Lalith were Gods who came to rescue theaters in Tamil Nadu. Videos on YouTube showed exhibitor conducting aarti in front of  Vijay – Lalith photo before each show of Master. On Day 5, exhibitors were supposed to have made their profits. Film crossed Rs 100 cr gross Worldwide on third day of Master run. If exhibitors made profits and that too on 50% occupancy, then why bother about share in collections ?. When trade figures showed that it was not so rosy, those who reported it were dubbed as inaccurate news and only the producer knew the truth.

Distributors say that they hoped to fill in full house and continue to earn profits but Lalith Kumar spoiled it. They say theater guys profited it but not them. So they say that there is a shortfall of Rs 20 crores. Theater guys who bought the rights for two weeks say that they were banking on successive weeks too. If Lalith got extra money from OTT then split it with us, is the demand. Now the savior of cinemas has become a Shylock.

In contrast, Suriya strikes a deal with OTT and sells his movie. Gets his money with profits. Theater owners curse him and his family and say that he and his clan will be begging on the streets. The fact is that Vijay had always been the whipping boy of the producer’s council. After Mersal, T Siva a vocal member of Producer Council said that except the producer, everybody made money on a Vijay film. After 24, Suriya too faced a threat of a red card. Both actors were described as creation of hyped up trade figures fed by vested interests to trade analysts and industry trackers putting out data on Twitter. Now why should an actor risk his money  for a group of people who in normal times was braying for his blood ?. Vijay- lalith- Britto did and today they are fallen Gods.

Lalith Kumar has a string of big ticket films lined up. He is in the camp led by Bharathiraaja who leads an ACTIVE producers lobby. The push for a red card will split the exhibitor- distributors bodies is very much evident. A flood of pan South movies from across the Tamil Nadu borders is  waiting to flood the theaters and at  the time to put together a united front to give Tamil films a fair playing field, a divided house will only spell doom warned a trade analyst.

KGF: Chapter 2 will be releasing in theatres worldwide on July 16, 2021.

 

KGF: Chapter 2 will be releasing in theatres worldwide on July 16, 2021. . Kollywood is a mad rush to acquire content from South. KGF 2’s Hindi distribution rights has been bought for Rs 90 crores by Farhan Akhtar. All were amazed that Master’s Hindi remake rights were sold for Rs 6 cr even before the release and that too after the OTT and digital rights were given. The reason for KGF 2 getting a high price has a reason behind it. KGF Chapter 1 was a massive hit amongst the masses. The film saw a major box office success. The Prashanth Neel starrer made 43.9 crores in the Hindi belt. Then Excel bought it for peanuts as the producers were interested in only promoting the brand in North Indian areas.

 “When KGF was made we were not even thinking of a Hindi version. It was done at the last minute and sold to Excel for peanuts. Now things are very different. The investment for the sequel is at least 7 times more than the original. Of course, Excel has had to pay a lot more this time. Isn’t that fair?” explained a source in the production house. Malayalam actor Prithiviraj bought the Kerala area and he said that makers of KGF were the first to congratulate him after seeing Lucifer.

Talking about the reason for huge response to KGF Chapter 2 teaser received, the source added, “This is bigger than anything he had ever anticipated. Yash and his director Prashanth Neel are stunned by the response. Fans of KGF want more. Yash and Prashanth are now planning to release another teaser in the next few weeks. Also, the release plans for KGF 2 Chapter just got bigger.” In Andhra /TS, the bidding price is Rs 80 crores upwards. The production house of KGF:2 also kept one condition that they will sell only distribution rights, no other proprietary rights.  

  Talking about Master remake rights , a source revealed  that a whopping amount was quoted from Cine 1 Studios. "Murad is keen on making several remakes in the next few years. There's Tamil Thadam, then there's old Hindi classic Namak Halal and now, Master. He paid over Rs. 6 crore just for the rights. He had earlier paid around Rs. 4-5 crore for Arjun Reddy's official rights, but the moment he heard Karan Johar is also at the other end, he raised his amount and got it. The team is now putting it all together and reworking the script for the Hindi audience. Casting will happen only once the scripting is done."

 

Yet another grandson of Sivaji enters - Dhruv Vikram next - Why Rashmika out of Suriya film ? Keerthy Suresh on papa's film

 

Jan 29, 2021 : Chiyaan Vikram’s son Dhruv has finally decided to tie-up with director Maari Selvaraj for his next to be produced by iconic director Pa Ranjith. After Vikram Prabhu , it is Darshan from the Sivaji clan that will don the greasepaint. He has zeroed in on director Seenu Ramasamy for his next. Keerthy Suresh’s father, a veteran producer, comes back after 2017 to make a film with his daughter and Tovino Thomas as hero. Rashmika Mandanna who was tipped to be heroine of Suriya has been dropped for  Priyanka Arul Mohan as the former  was demanding a fee that is equal to Lady Superstar .

After Arjun Reddy remake and that too with two versions , both flops, Dhruv Vikram was said to be hearing out stories that suited him. His next has to be right on the mark and this time the producer and director needed to be on the same page. Finally director Maari Selvaraj who finished his film Karnan with Dhanush ( An April mid release) and Dhruv have locked a script. The producer is none other director Paa Ranjith whose Neelam Productions produced Pariyerum Perumal with Selvaraj. The film was critically acclaimed and a box office hit.

After Prabhu, many actors from Sivaji clan have taken a shot at acting. Vikram Prabhu has managed to hold on despite many flops .. Ramkumar’s ( Sivaji’s eldest son) son Dushyanth took a shot at acting but backed off. Then Shivaji Dev, yet another son of Ramkumar entered filmdom. He has acted in three films and is still in the running. Ramkumar has two other sons who are twins- Darshan and Rishyan. Now Darshan has accepted to do a film with director Seenu  Ramasamy. Seenu who introduced Vijay Sethupathi, after Dharma Durai did Kanne kalaimaane with Udhaynidhi Stalin  (also producer). It bombed. Sethupathi  and Seenu together have two films awaiting release. Both bogged in production issues. Hope Sennu magic rubs on Darshan.

Keerthy Suresh’s father Suresh Kumar is a veteran Malayalam film producer who has produced blockbusters ( Aaram Thampuran) and is a prominent person involved in Kerala film trade issues. After 2017 production  Matchbox with Roshan Mathew as lead, Suresh now comes back with ` Vaashi’. Keerthy  says about the film – “ Though it may sound easy that I am acting in a film produced by my father, it is not so. The film is directed by my childhood friend Vishnu G Ragav and hero ( Tovino), I like.”. Title was launched by Mohan Lal. Last seen in Miss India, Keerthy has begun shooting for her upcoming Telugu project, Sarkaru Vaari Paata opposite Mahesh Babu.  Her upcoming releases include Good Luck Sakhi and Rajinikanth’s Annaatthe. In Tamil, it was recently announced that Keerthy has signed a project titled Saani Kaayidham, which also stars filmmaker Selvaraghavan in a crucial role.

Suriya –Pandiraj in their next had planned to cast Rashmika Mandanna as heroine. Rashmika is making her debut in Sultan directed by Kakiyaraj with Karti as hero. As she plays a village girl in Sultan, Pandiraj had Rashmika in mind. The price that she quoted was mind boggling and was little less than Nayanthara, said a source close to production house, Sun Pictures. Reason was that `Pushpa’ with Allu Arjun was releasing in August and it was sure hit and that too a pan South hit. So the amount she asks is justifiable was her reason. Pandiraj felt that Suriya does not need the support of a pan South actress and cast Priyanka Mohan instead. Priyanka  makes  her Tamil debut in upcoming Sivakarthikeyan’s film Doctor with director Nelson. . Priyanka speaks fluent Tamil and this impressed Pandiraj and Suriya. Priyanka has done a Telugu film Gang Leader with Nani and has upcoming film with Sharwanand.

 

 

 

Adani Group to enter showbiz through Karan Johar's Dharma Productions

 

After Reliance,  Adani Group is to enter film production through Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. Adani will acquire a 30% share in Karan Johar’s company. Lyca which launched `Don’ starring Sivakarthikeyan has a five film deal with Karan Johar .Johar had announced the Dharma Cornerstone Agency (DCA).  Cornerstone agency   represents sportsmen exclusively; it manages Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and Umesh Yadav, all of whom are in the current Indian Test team, as well as Ishant Sharma. The magnum opus Brahmastra, Shershaah, Dostana 2, Jug Jugg Jeeyo, Fighter( Vijay Devarakonda’s Hindi launch), Shakun Batra’s next all from Dharma Productions are in different stages of production. The deal with Adani will bring in the much needed cash flow. Johan’s protégé Shashank Khaitan’s four of his films – Rannbhoomi, spy thriller with Varun Dhawan, Mr. Lele and now Yoddha have been shelved.  The money invested to prepare the projects has gone waste.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and part of the Adani Group,is constructing  the first berth at India’s premier and ambitious international transhipment project in Vizhinjam, Kerala. Apart from the transhipment hub in Vizinjham, it is also currently setting up a container terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. Adani's expansion at Kattupalli Port near Chennai.is under attack by DMK and allies. it has won a Rs 1,838-crore highway project from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Kerala. Adani Group will build a hyperscale data centre (DC) in Chennai with an investment of Rs 2,500 crore which will be named Adani Chennai-1.. Adani operate South Indian airports-Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram

 

 

OTT Release of MASTER on Jan 29 hits theaters

The news that Amazon Prime Video is to release Master in all languages on Jan 29th has made exhibitors in Tamil Nadu- Kerala - Andhra to ask the Producers to defer it to mid February. The most affected is the distributors in Andhra /TS who are now increasing the screens for Master after the word of mouth publicity has given the boost. In Tamil Nadu, the theaters that were screening Easwaran have now started showing Master. 

Though the theaters have made a killing by way of black marketing and over pricing of car parking - eatables sold in the premises, distributors have given a figure that is for the tickets sold at 50% occupancy. The weekly collection report from theaters after the deduction of taxes and theater commission, the total falls short of Rs 20 cr that would make it no loss- no profit.  Sources say that Vijay has agreed to pay Rs 10 cr and his uncle  Britto who is a co-producer to pay Rs 10 cr. by this way there would be no claim of repaying deficit .

Usually the OTT release takes place after  30 days in Tamil while in Hindi, the cut off date is 50 days. Due to Covid situation, the producers agreed to go in  for a 15 day gap of theater release. Though in normal times, a film's release on satellite TV can be done if there is no claim from any exhibitor or distributor on the film, here the distributors and theater owners say that they were told only after release, Citing the postponement  of Telugu film Krack by AHA the OTT platform, they too want Producers to ask Amazon to push the release to feb 15th. Theaters feel that in case of non Star films, the 15 day gap for OTT would affect theater collections as public would prefer to wait.

will Amazon relent like Aha ?

Thala Ajith Valimai producer upset over Rajamouli's film release date

 

Producer Boney Kapoor who is producing Ajith's Valimai in Tamil is upset with Bahubali director S S Rajamouli unilaterally announcing the release date of Telugu- Hindi  film RRR with NTR Jr and Ram Charan.. RRR is officially to release on October 13th and it was the same day that Kapoor had planned to  release Maidan in Hindi with Ajay Devgan. Ajay plays an antagonist in RRR. Kapoor had made the announcement of the release date at the time of Maidan puja.

Kapoor is currently remaking Hindi film PINK with Pawan Kalyan as Vakkeel Saab. Kapoor camp says that when Ajay Devgn was booked for RRR, he was told that he should put a clause in the agreement that the release date would not be fixed without the consent of the actor. Ajay told Kapoor that there was no legal agreement but only a oral one. Kapoor had also spoken to Rajamouli about the release date. The announcement came as a surprise. “Ajay is aware that his prestigious bio-pic Maidaan on football legend Syed Abdul Rahim was due in the Dussehra week this year. He very specifically told Rajamouli to speak to Boney Kapoor before announcing his release date. But Rajamouli went ahead without consulting Boney.” And now Boney is very very upset.  A source quoting Kapoor said “Of course I am upset! This is most unethical. I announced my release date for Maidaan six months ago. At a time when we should all be coming together to save the movie industry, he (Rajamouli) has gone and done this,” .

On the Valimai front ,the producer has planned a May 1 st release,  It is a birthday gift for Thala fans. Director H Vinoth  shot in Sikkim to match the scenes of bike chase shot abroad. However he wants four days shoot with the foreign action master and his crew - equipment to give a finishing touch. This trip is the major headache for Boney.. Produced by Boney Kapoor, Valimai has been directed by H Vinoth  Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi appears as the female leads opposite Ajith along with senior actress Sumitra, VJ Bani, Karthikeya Gummakonda,.Ajith had to halt the shooting after he got injured on the sets. Valimai was originally scheduled for a November 2020 release. 

After 26 years , a Rajini film for Diwali and Bahubali team RRR on Dusheera

After 26 years, fans of Rajinikanth will get a Diwali treat from Thalaivar -Annaatthe will be releasing on Nov 4th this year as per producers Sun Pictures and Bahubal team of S S Rajamouli  next RRR  with NTR, Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, in the lead will hit the screens on Oct 13th as per producer DVV.

Rajinikanth's last Deepavali release was ‘Muthu’ in 1995 and we know that the film went on to become one of the blockbusters that made him the undefeated superstar of the South Film Industry. ‘Annaatthe’ coming for another Deepavali after 26 years gives a reason for fans to celebrate the festival with more fervor. This family action drama is directed by Shiva featuring Kushboo, Meena, Keerthy Suresh and Prakash Raj reprising crucial roles in the movie. Meena also acted in Muthu as Rajini's heroine.
Sources said that in Feb eight  days of shoot of Annaatthe will be held and following this post production work will begin. By May, Rajini along with family will leave for USA for second round of treatment.  As to whether the Superstar will leave after voting for State poll, the sources said that the actor will definitely vote. He revealed that even if the Thalaivar were to go before voting day, he would come back with family to vote.

Dusheera festival all over India for Indian film industry will be RRR celebrations. S S Rajamouli who gave two blockbusters Bhahubali and Bahubali 2 has created a craze in trade circles. The expectations are riding high on this film. Last week, Hollywood actress Alison Doody who will play a key role in 'RRR' leaked the release date of the film. Following this official release date was announced. The tweet described RRR as -he biggest collaboration in Indian cinema is set to deliver a memorable experience!!! THE RIDE BEGINS... #RRRMovie #RRRFestivalOnOct13th #RRR

Big Budget films of all languages are in a hurry to release their films before September as later theaters will not be available.  KGF-2 starring Yash is scheduled for a Juky 16th  release. The Andhra/TS area price for KGF 2 has touched Rs 80 cr.- highest for a dubbing film..

Power Star Pawan Kalyan's Vakeel Saab will release on 9th April 2021.Meanwhile Ajith's Valimai is all set to release in May. Megastar Chiranjeevi and Mega Power Star Ram Charan Acharya will release on May 13th. Rebel star Prabhas has finished his work on the film 'Radhe Shyam'. It is one of the biggest releases of the year, it has Pooja Hegde in the film. Now July 12th is likely to be the release date .  Allu Arjun 's Pushpa will release in 5 languages including Hindi on August !3th. Mohanal- Priyadarshan Marakkar produced on a Rs 100 cr budget is set for March 26th release. In April 16th, Naga Chaitnaya and sai Pallavi is to release, March 26th Nithin- Keerthy Suresh film Rang De will release,Viraata Parvam of Rana - Sai Pallavi on  April 30, Gopichand- Tamanaah Seetimaar on April 2nd,

The latest release date announcement coming from Telugu cinemas is Mahasamudram. It is the second directorial venture of director Ajay Bhupati of RX100 fame. Mahasamudram is a Tamil- Telugu bilingual with Sharwanand and Siddharth in the lead roles. Aditi Rao Hydari and Anu Emmanuel are the female leads. The makers have locked August 19th as the release date of Mahasamudram. The release date is bang in between two big movies Pushpa and  Victory Venkatesh F3 which arrive on August 13th and August 27th respectively.
Audience expectation will be high as director Ajay had given a blockbuster RX100.

Meet the real life character that VELLAM was based on and LAL connect

 

The stunning movie Vellam released in Kerala is actually based on a real life character who was an alcoholic and a Mohanlal fan. Murali kunnunupurathu from Kannur narrates a memorable meeting with Lal at airport in Dubai on the way from New Zealand to home. Murali recollects that in the days when he was always drunk, he made it a point to see Lal movie. He got hold of Lal's number (BPL mobile) and spoke to him after seeing a movie. He says that he was scared as incoming calls were charged.

After some time Lal's number changed and Murali lost contact.

By this time, Murali was down in the dumps. He then started a business and slowly found his way back. He apoligized to many he hurt in his drunken days but could not get to meet lal or get his no.

He saw lal sitting alone in the corner seat at the airport. He picked up his guts and went to Lal and told abt himself. Lal heard him out and then as a parting shot, he said - I changed only my mobile no but you have changed your life .

After that Murali saw Lal at RAM location. Lal took Murali's phone and himself fed the number into the phone. Says Murali - I used to get messages during Vishu and Corona times from him. A man whom I tortured gives me his no, A man who means no harm to a man who troubled you- May u live for 1000 yrs.

Wondering locale of RAM - it was to be the 2nd Jithu- Lal after Drishyam. caught in Corona.

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Pongal lessons : -Pullikuthi Pandi is a game changer- Rajini is still at the top

 

Pullikuthi Pandi with Vikram Prabhu – Lakshmi Menon in the lead and directed by Muthiah is the most talked about film in social media and trade circles of Kodambakkam. With Suriya, Jeyam Ravi,Vijay Sethupathi coming with premiere films on TV, a much repeated Darbar too comes and guess what ?, It is third in TRP rating. Superstar is no pushover.

The film Pullikuthi Pandi when announced by Sun as premiere on Nxt app and Sun TV for Pongal, nobody batted an eyelid. Theater lobby did not threaten to ban Sivaji clan from films. No critic was in a hurry to  review  it on YouTube. A Vikram Prabhu with a long history of flops, a heroine who showed promise but seen nowhere and a director who is as archaic as cinema is what Pandi offered. Film had a quiet release. After the TRP meters reading comes in, it turns out that entire rural regions and parts of city was hooked to this movie. Other channels showed a huge drop in these timings.

Critics saw it on Nxt and wrote about it a polished way saying, things could have been better. Other said that last one hour made all the difference. They began to see Vikram in a new light and Lakshmi as cute. This rustic village drama is yet another typical Muthiah film with a ruffian who is a do gooder and so on. The success of Pandi on TV ,  shows  that these kind of movies still have an audience that is in the homes and not coming to the multiplexes. It is just that they have given way to the new age hamburger- coke swigging crowd.

Like OTT has opened up for films with subjects that were not considered worth screening by exhibitors, Pandi shows that the rustic subjects are still a draw and that they can still draw eyeballs. When Kadaikutty Singham ran it was said that the draw of Karthi and a huge star cast was responsible to get audience to theaters. Now the Sun TV -Sun NXt route could pave for other channels to tap it. Just like OTT gave the city centric and working couples a new outlet to see films of different genre, Pandi could signal a new avenue to reach rural folk. The basic fact for Pandi being a hit is that Sun TV is the only one that has the most reach in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu. Often when a reality show of a channel hits a high TRP  it’s daily soaps are  not able to maintain a steady TRP ould like Sun . Sometimes, a daily soap is a hit in urban pockets for a channel but a combined TRP of urban and rural of Sun pushes it out of top 5.

Pongal movies on TV list

·         Adithya Varma (KTV)

·         11:00 AM - Pattas (Sun TV)

·         1:00 PM - Mersal (Zee Thirai)

·         1:30 PM - Seeru (Zee Tamil)

·         3:00 PM - Poojai (Sun TV)

·         4:00 PM - Ka Pae Ranasingam (Zee Tamil)

·         6:00 PM - Soorarai Pottru (Sun TV)

 

When talk is about Rajini fans deserting him and going away and the scenario looked like that when Annaatthe would be  released, there would be nobody to even tie a festoon. Take the list of films that came on Pongal. Forget the OTT release and Master theater release. Much acclaimed Soorarai Pottru of Suriya and which got rave reviews after release only on OTT gets second spot after Pandi. See the irony. Director of Pandi is  Muthiah and Soorarai  Pottru director is Sudha Kongara, the most celebrated in thing happening director . Now beaten to death by Sun itself ,Darbar too comes. TRP says that boy only three movies was seen the most and guess what you have Darbar in the third spot.  Mind you, Darbar is on Amazon, Netflix too.Thalaivar is no pushover.

Kamal - DMK- Cong combo in Puducherry - Karti Chidambaram formula

 

Like New Delhi became the spring board of Kejriwal, Puducherry is likely to be that of Kamal Haasan and his  Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) , if Karti Chidambaram succeeds in his game plan, said a senior Congress leader in the Chidambaram camp. If the Puducherry formula comes through, it would be replicated in Tamil Nadu in the long run , hinted the leader.

The small Union Territory run by  Congress trusted aide Narayanaswamy has been facing trouble from his ally DMK, They are staking a claim for CM  post on a rotational basis and enough seats to keep it voice heard in the coming State poll. Karti who has done a study of electoral prospects in TN and Puducherry has found that the Union territory could be the first place to sow the seeds of a new political combo and thereby extend it to TN.

Karti appointed team has told him that the  DMK is on a weaker wicket than before. The Dravidian major is not getting the response it was expecting from a battle where there is no Jayalalithaa to lead the AIADMK  . Stalin who was the campaign leader even when his father was alive, finds that the expected kind of anti ADMK reaction was not seen in the public. Anti incumbency wave is not something that DMK can bank on alone, is the reading.

In what was a fight between two Dravidian parties has now come out to be a play of caste and communal leaders calling the shots. With ADMK minus Jayalalithaa, EPS has been   openly playing upto the caste divides and the sect leaders. It has made DMK left with no option but to bow down to pressure groups. Karti who got the Konar caste to votes  for him in Sivaganga knows that in caste politics, Congress oldies have still a clout..

Karti report says that Congress on its own might not win many but to the public, the posturing of DMK as anti Centre  and protector of Tamils synchs only if it is in the company of Congress. For a start, Karti now plans to induct Kamal into the DMK- Cong fold in the Union territory. The  hitch here is that the DMK is not willing to let go any seats that it  has won and asked Congress to share its quota with MNM. Also sensing that Cong- MNM together in Puducherry could prove detrimental, it has put old warhorse Arakkonam MP S Jagathrakshagan into action mode.

Karti is in talks with VCK Thol and MDMK Vaiko to impress upon Stalin to agree to a induction of MNM, if the latter agrees. If the alliance bears fruit in Puducherry, it could be replicated in TN is what Karti feels. The ABP C +Voter shows that the DMK leading position in the survey is having only a 1.75 % lead over ADMK.

Vikram Prabhu's Pulikuthi Pandi tops Pongal TV TRP - Star Vijay after Bigg Boss launches Star Singer

Usually we don't bring in movies especially the weekend ones to decided the ranking of the serials of top 3 channels. This time the three channels for Pongal had premiere. The TRP ratings were so high that we had to bring in the movies. Three movies aired on Sun TV took the 3 out of 5 top programes of Pongal festive season. Pulikuthi  Pandi top the TRP with No 1 slot followed Suriya"s Soorarao potti and Rajinikanth's Darbar at 5th place. The first tw fk o were premierein show Darbar us not so and still manged to be in top 5 shows Rajinikanth public support. Sun TV's Vanatha Pola at 3rd slot and Roja in third are from Sun.

Star Vijay’s flagship show Super Singer is back. With its past seasons, the reality show touched and changed many lives and brought limelight to hundreds of budding talents who are now renowned singers worldwide.The popular reality show will be back with its season 8. Super Singer season 8 will premiere on January 24. ng the show has confirmed the same on their official handles. Super Singer Season 8's premiere episode will air at 11AM for a duration of 9 hrs.

alwarts like Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Vijay Prakash, Vijay Yesudas, SPB Charan, Karthik, Sid Sriram, Saindhavi, Shashah Tripathy, Grace Karunas, Chinnaponnu, Antony Dasan, Gana Bala, Sakthi Sree Gopal and many others will participate in the premiere episode.

Anuradha Sriram, Unnikrishnan, Benny Dayal and Kalpana will judge the season which will be hosted by Priyanka Deshpande and Ma Ka Pa Anand.alwarts like Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Vijay Prakash, Vijay Yesudas, SPB Charan, Karthik, Sid Sriram, Saindhavi, Shashah Tripathy, Grace Karunas, Chinnaponnu, Antony Dasan, Gana Bala, Sakthi Sree Gopal and many others will participate in the premiere episode.

Anuradha Sriram, Unnikrishnan, Benny Dayal and Kalpana will judge the season which will be hosted by Priyanka Deshpande and Ma Ka Pa Anand.alwarts like Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Vijay Prakash, Vijay Yesudas, SPB Charan, Karthik, Sid Sriram, Saindhavi, Shashah Tripathy, Grace Karunas, Chinnaponnu, Antony Dasan, Gana Bala, Sakthi Sree Gopal and many others will participate in the premiere episode.

Anuradha Sriram, Unnikrishnan, Benny Dayal and Kalpana will judge the season which will be hosted by Priyanka Deshpande and Ma Ka Pa Anand.