Bigg Boss Malayalam 3 trends; Underdog Sai Vishnu V/S Lalettan fans backed Manikuttan

 

Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 3 voting for the winner heads for a finish with latest trends showing that Actor Manikuttan is leading the voting and closely followed by Sai Vishnu. Dimple Bhal,the Queen of Bigg Boss is surprisingly only fourth in the voting results so far and an unexpected contestant who is in third place is the no nonsense silent Anoop.

Insiders say that many TV - film celebrities' have been asked by Manikuttan's well wishers to push their fan clubs to vote online for their candidate. There is also a word of mouth talk that Mohanlal Fans clubs have  entered the fray by voting for Manikuttan. Manikuttan had openly declared that he is an unabashed fan of Mohanal, the host of BB. They had pointed out that when Lal apologized to dancer Sandhya on behalf of AMMA for a remark paased by Manikuttan and rebuked him on his memory loss had created a great blow to his mental energy. Laletan fans are rooting for Manikuttan's victory.

On the other hand, the long haired bearded Sai Vishnu has emerged as the lone rebel with no backing and fighting a battle with no weapons. He has become the symbol of the underdog youth of Kerala who according to own admission stays in a single room with no door and a sister to look after. He claimed that the dress that he wears on the show was bought by a friend to help take a shot at the title. It has to be seen whether a well oiled machinery backing Manikuttan wins or will the tag underdog  will see Sai through to the finals ?

Dimple Bhal who was seen as the most top rated contestant for the title is as per voting figures closing on Wednesday night is at 4 th position. The youngest contestant Ramsan who exceled in tasks and survived permanent nomination is only at 5th place. Rest are film comedian Novy, RJ Firoz and model Ritu ( least votes).

The third most popular contestant is Anoop. A TV actor, he had not made any drama in the BB House for viewers to remember nor was  part of any coteries inside the House. He ploughed his own way silently to the last 8,  He made it clear that his goal was to stay as long as  poissible to raise funds for his sister's marriage.

Manikuttan and Remya landed in Thiruvanthapiram airport.  Others landed in Nedumbaserri( Kochi). Contrary to reports in social media, there was no fans thronging the airport, For onem there is a lockdown ( triple) in place at Thiruvanthapiram and Kochi, Secondly, none of the contestants have generated fan following that the earlier BB contestants had. In the history of BB regional, the BB Malayalam 3 has the poorest rating. A virtual award ceremony is planned as total lockdown in Chennai and Kerala is to be further extended till June 7th.

Rajinikanth - Mohanlal relative- actor Y G Mahendran's daughter says sexual harassment case used by anti Brahmin forces for smear campaign

 

Y G Mahendran's daughter Madhuvanthi says the case of sexual harassment by a teacher in a school run by her has become a tool for `fringe outfits' to give it a caste colour. PSSB school known as Padma Seshadhri school with branches in Chennai is under fire after students posted screen shots of the commerce teacher giving online classes  bare chested and chatting with girls about sex and sending them link to porno sites.

Students say that they had complained to the school management about the out of syllabus portion that the master was teaching them but nothing happened. Many claimed to have send screenshots as evidence. Finally a student complained to the cops. They went to the school which was locked. Later the teacher was booked under POSCO and put in Puzhal jail. The school which is accredited to CBSE issued a public statement suspending the teacher.

Sociak media took to the issue by storm. Old video clips of YG with daughter surfaced. YG was shown saying that all those boys who went for CAA protest went  to ogle at the girls and nothing more. I dont care he added. Next he was seen starting his speech saying that before he commenced adressing, he ogled ( siteadi in Tamil) at girls and started. After the issue blew up, YG said that he was only a Trustee of PSSB and promptly forwarded the complaint to management ( daughter). An old video in which Madhuvanthi says that physical structure of Brahmins make then unfit to do scavening jobs  surfaced.

Madhuvathi is married to Arun, grandson of Gemini Ganesan- Savithiri and has a son. The couple has filed for a mutual divorce. She issued a clarification video and added fuel to the fire. She said that caste politics was brought in and told those who trolled her for saying my school that she is still proud to be the alumini and said that she would not allow the legacy left behind by her grandmom to be tarnished.

DMK MP's Kanimozhi, Thamizhchi Soundarapandian and Dhayanidhi Maran have asked Union Education Minister and CBSE to take action on PSSB. A FB post by YG during the murder of a girl in a suburban railway station popped up. He had said it was handiwork of a Muslim boy. The victim was a Brahmin.  The killer was a Dalit youth who died in mysterious circumstances inside the jail.Netizens asked whether a Muslim hacker would surface in this case.

Kushboo, new to BJP, tweeted asking for drastic action against the culprit. YG Mahendran is husband of RajiniKanth's wife's sister. He is son of Mohanlal's father in law K Balaji's sister Rajalakshmi. Music composer Anirudh's father Ravi is  Rajinikanth's wife Latha's brother. Rajanikanth's daughter Aishwarya is wife of actor Dhanush.

News Channels have become like Bigg Boss show - IPL a criminal activity in Covid times :Sashi Kumar media personality

 "People see news on Channels as a reality show , like Bigg Boss. Some are fighting, others crying some walk out. They see news channel shows in these way. They don't vote by this . If that was the case, then Pinrayi Vijayan would not have become a CM. All he had was a Deshabhimani and Kairali.  People know who has delivered. Who has suffered ? The credibility of the media. I am not saying that you have to sing paean of Pinrayi . Don't run it on an agenda. When the exit polls result came the media house did not known to say whether it was right or reject it and they were fumbling around. This is a subject for new feature " says  Sashi Kumar ,the veteran media personality about the state of Kerala media ( he says mainstream media means TV channels )

    On Breaking News in channels : Breaking News means giving news that has come in like in digital media, they give un update and correct themselves with a timeline. The channels should do that and not stand on prestige. You are not Moses with a Divine power receiving ten commandments. Usually what is trending on social media is breaking news on TV. Roles have been reversed.

The responsibility is with media people. They are like Media sales person. Like those who go around shouting about the protein qualities of peanuts, they are after TRP. Like in ISRO spy case, we withstood pressure from all quarters and as we had the evidence. Today it has become like the bus operators. They race with each other to lure passengers from each stop. If somebody says something then the others shout it loudly.

On International media reporting on Covid and mainstream Indian media overlooking the Covid mismanagement : Mainstream media is in a stage of fear. Will the advertisements stop ? Will we lose jobs ?. The International media has no such fears and so does digital media. When reputed International media like The Guardian, Washington Post and even a medical journal like Lancet writes editorial on mis-management of the Covid pandemic, there is no point in calling it colonialism- imperialism etc. As they are not Indian nationals, they have no problem. If we share this news then we are anti-national.

International media does not see it as a problem confined to India but as a global one. It can be tackled only globally.

Covid and Media : There was enough indications from the scientific community about the second wave. Some mention was made here and there . We were occupied with religious festivals and then elections and the debates. In between we had the IPL bubble-gum, a criminal activity in these times. Some media did not report it saying that their conscience did not allow it.

We ( media) were thinking that Covid is over and lets move on. I feel that media did not do its bit to create an awareness of the Covid protocol and the likely impact that the coming second wave would do. It did not give sufficient warning about the dangers.

Was it dictated due to reader/ viewer interest ?

If the media gives what the public wants then it is not journalism. If public wants drugs, you cannot give it. You have to educate them. You cannot go with a mob mentality. If a guy who killed a cow is stoned to death, you cannot join it.

( A few takeaways from the interview with The Cue. As the interview is in Malayalam, a rough translation. Those who ask Sashi Kumar ???. Hate to describe him as the man who launched the Asianet TV as he is much more than that )

Bigg Boss Malayalam to restart as EVP Film City linked to DMK minister ?

 Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 3 will start soon as the EVP Film city is owned by EV Perumal Swamy, whose daughter is married to State Minister KKSSR's son is the buzz. EVP Film city where the reality show was conducted has been sealed. Sources say that the sealing of the entire Film City instead of the Bigg Boss House set smacks of vindictiveness. EV Permual Swamy had sand e-mails to Producer Banijay to stop shooting as lock-down was enforced. The producer did not reply to the mail and continued shooting. KKSSR is minister for Disaster management.

Trade unions had triggered the closure of EVP as they had a long standinf feud with the management. The latest incident was the crane accident on the sets of Indian 2 erected in EVP. Before that their was spate of accidents in the Film City and each time the management washed their hands off and passed it on to the producer. not even a token help was given said a worker.

Bogg Boss Tamil Season 2 anchored by Kamal and shot in EVP claimed the life of an ac mechanic who fell from the second floor while attending to a fault. A similar incident happened on the sets of Thalapathy Vijay's Bigil. An electrician suffered serious injuries when a ;oght from the crane fell on him. He survived and Vijay bore all the medical bills.

On the sets of Indian 2, a crane unit collapsed on the crew and left 3 dead and ten maimed for life. Producers Lyca gave a hefty sum to the affected.Kamal Haasan announced Rs 1 crore to the affected,

EVP Film City took an avataar after EVP World, the amusement park was shut down following death of an air hostess who was thrown off a ride. A few officials if the park was booked.With Binny Mills not available, EVP Film City became the first choice to erect lavish sets. EVP Swamy and his son Reddy were booked and remanded to judicial custody in 2007 on a land cheating case filed by Appaswamy of Appaswamy Real Estate.

Film and TV producers are upset that FEFSI unilaterally announced closure and withdrawal of workers. It has affected many post production works.

Bigg Boss 3 Malayalam stopped by Police - Contestant Dimple- Manikutaan RT report not given

Bigg Boss Malayalam season 3 shoot at EVP Film city in Chennai was stopped by Police after Chennai Corporation directed it to do so. The remaining contestants wearing PPE suits were shifted to the city hotel, Dimple Bhal ,one of the contestant, had left for Delhi- Meerut to attend the cremation of her father and two weeks later reported back on the show sets. Corporation officials have asked producers to show the negative result of Dimple on the day of joining the set.

On the 94th day, Corporation officials got 17 positive results from the camera unit of the show. They were asked to stop shoot. The shoot continued at EVP film city citing that Govt had not informed them and that the affected were removed from the film city. Tamil Media reports pointed out the stance of Show must go on of the Producer despite the citing of positive cases in the unit. Producers said that the crew did not come into contact with contestants as per the show's rules and other than contestants no body were inside the Bigg Boss House and all equipment and cooking provisions were given after sanitised.

The police was asked to seal the EVP film city exit points and the Bigg Boss house. Crew members numbering 60 were taken away in vans from the spot and contestants shifted to a city hotel for quarantine.

Complaint has been raised about the exit of contestant  Manikuttan for a brief period and said to be in the secret room and coming back as he should have been tested  but no mention was made about it by the producer in the show. Similarly Dimple Bhal was in Delhi- Meerut during the peak of Covid 19 surge in these cities.

As she was attending the cremation of her father, her coming into contact with outsiders was possible. Her being in quarantine or her test result was not mentioned in the time of re-entry to the show. Every week the host Mohanlal undergoes a RT PCR test before the shoot starts. Corporation has filed charges against EVP on various sections of the Pandemic Act and levied a Rs 1 lakh penalty. The show that ends in 100 days extended for 14 days as the contestant were quarantined for that period before entering the Bigg Boss House.

Film- TV trade unions apex body FEFSI had publicly announced that they were withdrawing their members from TV shoots as many were dying or in serious condition. FEFSI had got TN CM Stalin to allow 16 TV shoots to continue despite lock down. As toll mounted, FEFSI withdrew the members. Bigg Boss crew has majority of crew members who come from Mumbai and not members of FEFSI. When Bigg Boss Tamil started , it was all Mumbai crew. FEFSI threatened to stop shoot and even barged into shooting spot. Host Kamalhassan struck a deal with FEFSI by which  40% members were from the Chennai union.There was a grouse that Mumbai technicians were paid as per rates for Hindi TV shows while local guys got paid one third of it.

Rekated link: https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/05/bigg-boss-malayalam-3-contestants-get.html

For once a Good News to cheer !!! Suriya -Sudha Kongara film Soorarai Pottru third best after The Godfather

Chennai,May19: Soorarai Pottru starring Suriya in leading role and directed by Sudha Kongara is third best film rated globally by IMDb, after Shawshank Redemption and Godfather. Reacting to this news, she told The federal that "  “It is the greatest pleasure. Being right next to my most favourite film, and the film that inspired me to get into cinema—The Godfather.”. IMDb the online date base for movies and streaming content has user rating done globally. Usually Indian movies compete for the worst rating, the recent addition to this list being Radhe of Salman Khan and directed by Prabhudeva.

Sudha, a former AD to Mani Ratnam came into prominence with Irudhi Suttru starring Madhavan as a boxing coach ( Saala Khasoos in Hindi) and her recent outing was in Netflix anthology Paava Kadhaigal, Sudha felt that the movie moved up the charts due to the present situation in the world. She said“These are heart-breaking times for people across the globe. The core of Soorarai Pottru is bravery and human triumph in the face of the greatest challenges and adversities. Perhaps that is why it is resonating with the viewers in these difficult times.”

She read several times Simply Fly the autobiography of Capt Gopinath who founded Air Deccan, the first low cost airline in India. On acquiring the rights, Sudha reveals - “I was reading everything about him, and after I had one success to my name, I met him to get the rights of his book,” she said. The reason why she felt that there was a common bond between her life and that of Capt Gopinath was that both of them wanted to be different. Generally woman directors have not been able to get the dates of top box office draws especially an actor like Suriya. She proudly says - “They want to work for me because of my stories,” she explained, pointing out that both Madhavan and Suriya fell in love with her scripts and were obsessed with giving their best.

Breaking News: 6 tested positive in Bigg Boss Malayalakm 3

 

Chennai, May 16:  Bigg Boss Malayalam season 3 is in trouble as six people on the sets tested positive, according to sources in the production house. Weekly tests conducted for the crew members and the participants showed that six people tested positive as they had fever and some symptoms of Covid 19 virus infection. The finale of the reality show was planned for June 1st week telecast and shoot winding up in last week of May.

Sources did not reveal that six of those who tested positive were participants or crew members. Unconfirmed reports say that to avoid bad publicity, the production house is planning a way to end the show without creating a scare in public.  There are many fan groups operating for the contestants in the social media.

Trade union leaders who scounted the various TV serial shoots found that though majority of the crew were Covid positive, shootings were going. This they felt would act as a spreader in the residential areas where they stayed. TV serial Producers President Sujatha Vijaykumar said that shootings continued even after lock down announcement as they did not get any specific direction from the State authorities and claimed that they have a buffer of two week footage.

Will Santosh Sivan Inam on OTT irk pro Eelam groups ?

 Chennai, May 16 : Santosh Sivan tweet that Inam the Tamil film ( Ceylon in English) he directed will be seen soon on an OTT and an opportunity to those who missed it would be bad news to the pro- Eelam groups across the globe. Sivan tweeted -"Inam will be soon on an Ott platform for folks who want to see it.pl see the film first#its a tax free film from TN govt". Madras Cafe - Hindi film directed by Sircar and whose release in Tamil Nadu was objected by Eelam groups is currently available on Amazon Prime.

Inam was given by CBFC a U certificate and screened in TN theatres in March 2014, The timing was wrong. At that week of release, UN Human Rights body had voted for an investigation into the assault on LTTE by Lankan Army and it was the time that State was holding the Lok Sabha polls. BJP ally MDMK of Vaiko, a pro Eelam supporter , opposed the screening of the film and protests erupted. Jayalalithaa  had given the film a tax free certificate as one of the producer was Lingusamy, director- producer who was close to AIADMK. Lingusamy pulled out the film and the shooting of his film Aanjaan directed by him with Suriya faced protests.

Later in 2017, Lingusamy is said to have deleted scenes that the pro- Eelam groups found objectionable. Scenes objected were -Prabhakaran, referred to only as “The Leader", is dead. Eelam propagandists hold that Prabhakaran is alive, A Buddhist monk—belonging to the majority Sinhala community—offers a pomegranate to Rajini and three other orphans as they flee for their lives. One of the characters, Nandan, finds a dead Sri Lankan soldier clutching a photograph of his daughter in his hand. In another sequence, LTTE soldiers disrupt a classroom lesson and screen propaganda videos for the students. A scroll at the end suggests a death toll far less than that claimed by Eelam supporters.

The film is a story seen through the eyes of a Lankan Tamil woman  who runs an orphanage in Jaffna during the time of the crucial war. Saritha , Karunas are in the cast and Aravind Swamy has given the voice over while actor Udhayaa's wife has given voice to actor Sugandha Ram. Critics had panned the movie with The New Indian Express saying - "Inam is a pretentious piece of work, one is not exactly sure what the director wishes to convey. The film is neither entertaining nor thought provoking. There is a total lack of clarity of purpose, focus and sensitivity" Times of India wrote - Yet, somehow, Inam stops short of being a hard-hitting film. It is very reluctant to spell things out, which...makes everything a little hazy, as the context isn't firmly established...there are times when we can see Sivan leaning a little too much on his visuals to create the desired impact"

 Noted critic Baradwaj Rangan review said - "Sivan is happiest when concocting near-surreal imagery that hints at mood rather than tells a story. The big scenes, on the other hand, don’t work as well. The slice-and-dice vignettes approach results in broad characters rather than complex people capable of holding together a sustained narrative. The effort to humanise them (at least cinematically) through songs doesn’t work"

FEFSI asks TV serials to stop work till May 31 - Mani Ratnam donates Rs 10 crores for film workers

 

Chennai, May15 : Film workers apex body FEFSI announced that 16 TV shoots that were going on after getting permission from TN CM , will no longer work as the spread of Covid 19 in the cine field was rapid. FEFSI President R K Selvamani announced that Director Mani Ratnam and co- producer Jayendra deposited Rs 10 crores in the ICICI bank and has made arrangements for 10,000 FEFSI workers to get six months an amount of Rs 1500 to buy provisions for cooking . This he said was got by the director putting together an anthology project in which Suriya  and many others worked free.. The money got sale to OTT  Netflix was used for the film workers welfare. Actor Ajith has donated Rs 10 lakh to the FEFSI.

Elaborating the present situation,, Selvamani said that he had got permission from TN CM to allow TV serials numbering 16 to continue shoot as they were in various stages of production. He said that a random check showed that 25 out of 36 unit members tested positive in a TV shoot. The aged father- mother staying with the unit hand also tested positive and was hospitalized. All three of them died and the wife is yet to know about it, he said.

As most of the film workers lived with families in one room houses, the spread was harming the society at large. He said that the producer's were washing their hands off and insurance companies were citing small print to deny death beniefits due to Covid 19. In the present  situation where hospital beds are scarce, it is better that shootings be stopped. " Most of the workers reported for work as they thought that even if they were infected, their family will be free from starvation. But now it is seen that it is spreading to society at large. In the first wave, there was few deaths in filmdom but now the toll is more. Only known faces death are coming in news but several others are dying ," said Selvamani.

He said that more than giving money to FEFSI, a project like Mani Ratnam did would in the long run be helpful to film workers as 99% of them were surviving on daily wages.

Sivakumar and sons Suriya- Karthi donated Rs 1 crore to CM fund in a first followed by Ajith who gave Rs 25 lakh. Rajanikanth's daughter Soundarya wrote, "My father-in-law Mr S.S.Vanangamudi, husband Vishagan, his sister and I visited the honorable Chief minister @mkstalin sir this morning to hand over our contribution of 1cr for the chief ministers #CoronaReliefFund from our pharma company Apex laboratories, Makers of #Zincovit (sic)."  Rs 25 lakhs was donated by director- producer A R Murgadoss.

The Navarasa nine part anthology is produced under the banner Justickets in association with AP International and Wide Angle Creations as executive producers. The films will be directed by actor Arvind Swamy (“Roja”), making his directorial debut, Bejoy Nambiar (“Shaitan”), Gautham Vasudev Menon (“Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa”), Karthik Subbaraj (“Petta”), Karthick Naren (“Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru”), K.V. Anand and Priyadarshan among others has Suriya (“Soorarai Pottru”), Parvathy Thiruvothu (“Halal Love Story”), Vijay Sethupathy (“96”), Nithya Menen (“Breathe: Into The Shadows”) and Siddharth (“Leila”) in the cast.

Radhe ; Most Wanted on OTT and not in theatres

 Chennai.May15 : Radhe release lessons : If you show crap on OTT and expect audience to come to theatres also, this does not work out, as far as overseas audience is concerned. You can no more boast that Salman Khan movies do not depend on reviews- the public reviewed it on their FB and twitter page after watching it on OTT. Radhe has revealed how mediocre - trash movies broke box office records as they manipulated the exhibition sector to keep STARDOM intact.

Take the first reports of Radhe that come in from countries where theatre releases were held and especially in the Gulf Countries where there is Eid celebrations on.

First day reports on overseas collections.- Film managed to collect $600k in overseas on day one which way below par considering trade was expecting 3 million plus numbers. Film scored poor 40k$ in USA and 50k$ in Australia. Film released in 12 Screens of  Singapore and compared to earlier release of Zero- Bharat and Dabbang 3 the response for Radhe was only 30% of what these movies got. Radhe does not beat Zero in Singapore market.

The Gulf market on which Salman Khan film sells is no longer the market that is as wide as it was in normal times. Kuwait is a no-no and other areas where it opened the response is average. Trade says that if last two days- Saturday and Sunday show phenomenal turnout only can Radhe be termed a hit in overseas. USA and Australia have thumbed down the movie. Going by first day response in Gulf, a $3-4 million collection would best expected. Dabbang 3 collected $5 million and Bharat $6million on opening weekends in Gulf.

Trade says that Radhe overseas figures will decide how Hindi films will be traded in future. Secondly, trade will have to weigh in on the option of whether it can go with OTT alone since it  can kill theatre collections if the content is crap or otherwise as pay per view is still cheaper than a movie ticket. In that case the film budgets will have to be pruned accordingly. If the old method of theatre first and OTT later is followed, gullible crowds will come to theatres and go out cursing bad content  and the box office moolah is already in the box. OTT is a bonus.

If a hybrid release takes place then theatres will have to sell tickets at low prices as more than the OTT release is the availability of the film on DTH platforms. Many DTH agents made money by enabling those who did not know to get the film on their TV set. This in turn would bring back the video parlour.

Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 ends due to Covid - BB Malayalam 3 says show will go on

Chennai/ Bengaluru, May 14 : Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 housemates exited the glasshouse yesterday after completing 71 days . Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 3 on the other hand gave a contestant re-entry and announced that the show that been extended for another two weeks. Lock Down in Chennai ( where BB3 is shot) and Bengaluru continues and yesterday TN CM Stalin announced more restrictions as daily infections are spreading and increasing.

Primary reason for Bigg Boss Kannada to shut down was that host Kicha Sudeep is unwell and not able to come on stage. Secondly, TRP is at the lowest. BB Malayalam 3 too has TRP which is less than a serial. With lockdown, the channels with exception of Asianet ( platform on which BB is aired) is expected to go in for re-runs and hence only fresh content will be BB3, is the calculation.

May 16^th will see  Colors Tamil premiere Nayanthara’s Nee Enga En Anba and Zee Telugu’s celebrations of 16^th anniversary

 Colors Tamil will is all set to bring the world television premiere of Nee Enge En Anba, a crime thriller that stars Nayanthara in the lead roles. The movie will be premiered in Colors Tamil as a part of its Movie of the Month segment on 16 May at 02.00 PM, and a repeat telecast at 05.00 Pm on the same day. Directed by Sekhar Kammula, Nee Enge En..is remake of Kaahani starring Vidya Balan and was remade in Telugu as Aanamika with Nayanthara..

 Zee Telugu has completed 16 years in the industry. The channel began its journey on 18 May 2005, and since its inception, it has been curating compelling content that matches the tastes and preferences of a varied palette of viewers and has carved a special place in the hearts of Telugu audiences. Zee Magaotsavam will be telecast on May 16^th at 5 PM. Anuradha Gudur Head of Zee Telugu thanked the viewers.

Tamil TV serials- Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 3 shoot stops

All Tamil TV serial shootings wound up on May 10 and along with it Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 3 shooting that was going on in EVP Chennai, South India Film trade bodies apex body FEFSI met Tamil Nadu CM to allow them permission to shoot but it was denied. TN CM Stalin said that after the present lockdown is over, he may consider the plea.

Sun TV to gain more time has started playing the entire credit list opening song of the serial to gain another three minutes. It also decided that from next week the serials will be only from Monday to Thursday The weekends will be for movies and repeat of shows. By saving this footage for weekend it will be able to sustain for the weekdays.

Star Vijay and Zee Tamil is shutting down serials and going in for repeats as it has no stock. The reason that Star Vijay gives is that it has to concentrate on weekend reality shows that are a major revenue earner. 

Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 3 shoot that was going on in EVP Film City at Poonamalee Chennai has stopped shoot. It had ten days shoot left to cover the daily episodes and for the finale. As we reported earlier, producer Banijay is working out a deal by which the contestants ( 9 ) get more than their participation money.  Most probably the details will be out in coming days. Producers have dropped the usual formula to give physically challenging tasks as it might result in participants being sent to hospital.

Mohanlal is to leave for Dubai and stay in his new high-rise apartment. No shooting at public places and allowing post production works is on the cards, if shoot resumes. The idea to shift to Ramoji Film City has come to an end after Telangana announced lock down from May 12th.

Related post : https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/05/bigg-boss-malayalam-3-contestants-get.html

Shruthi Haasan - To pay for my new Flat EMI bills I have to work in Pandemic times

Shruthi Haasan tells that she works durinf pandemic times because she just bought a new flat and has to pay the monthly loans. She also reveals that her celebrity father Kamal Haasan or mother Sarika does not pick up her bills and admits that it is scary to work during the pandemic times.

"I can’t hide out and wait for the pandemic to end.Being on set without a mask is very scary. I’m not going to lie. But we’ve to get back to work because I have financial constraints, just like anybody else. When they’re ready to shoot, I’ve to go out there as I also have shoots to complete and other professional commitments that I need to finish," said Shruthi

She further reveals ""We make different amounts of money, but we all have bills to pay, and that is why I’ll have to get back to work.I have my limitations. I don’t have my daddy or mommy helping me.I’ve made every decision — good or bad, for myself by myself. There were some really smart people who didn’t buy any big things like a car or a house before the pandemic, but I bought a house just before this all started, and I was like, ‘God damn it’. So, yes I have basic financial constraints."

She said, "It has made me very thankful for the fact that ‘Oh, I’m just trying to pay my EMI’ when I know that there are people who don’t have food and don’t have money for medicine. It just puts everything in perspective. It’s not like we have a choice, and we shouldn’t even have one. We should be staying at home," she said.

She worked for Tamil film Laabam during pandemic times with co star Vijay Sethupathy. She has Prabhas Salaar directed by KGF fame Prasanth Neel. Her last release was Vakeel Saab opposite Pawan Kalyan.

After Anniyan, Drishyam 2 Hindi remake in trouble

 

Chennai, May11,2021(southfilmy): Drishyam 2 remake in Hindi has gone to the court over copyright issues raised by production house Viacom 18. Tamil film Anniyan remake in Hindi had run into trouble after producer Aascar Films objected to director Shankar remaking it without his permission.

 Kumar Mangat acquired  the remake of  Malayalam film Drishyam2 sequel of first part remade in Hindi  from Ashwirwad Films, producers.  Viaxom 18 who distributed the Drishyam Hindi remake film claimed  that they had bought the rights to make any further sequel - adaptation to Drishyam and moved the court. Mangat said that he was going ahead with the work. Bombay High Court restrained Mangat from going ahead with any shooting till the case is decided.

Viacom 18 claims that the producers Wide Angle Creations and Raj Kumar Theatres Pvt Ltd by which it had the copyright to produce new films by adapting the movie Drishyam.as per a remake rights agreement.

The original film Drishyam  story- screenplay is by Jeethu Joseph who also created the sequel  and directed both versions. The producer of both the films is Ashirwaad owned by Antony Perumbavoor, aide of Mohanlal. Kumar Mangat floated Panorama Studios International with Ajay Devgn (who acted in Hindi remake) and acquired the sequel remake rights.

Legal circles say that Wide Angle might have acquired the remake rights including the copyright  over the title Drishyam and subsequent adaptations to the original from Ashirwad. In that case Kumar Mangat cannot use the word for the sequel or in any publicity material. Also he cannot go back to the point from where the previous film ended and start from there.

 Citing Hindi sequel to Singham, the producer and director have subsequently created their own content using the title. Here however there was no rights over the Tamil sequel to original Singham.Subsequent sequels in Tamil is remade under a different name and has no mention of Singham in Hindi remake. Director Jithu Joseph had remarked that Ajay was a wrong choice for the role reprised by Mohanlal. The Telugu sequel with Venkatesh is gearing up for an OTT release.

Nishikant who directed Drishyam remake passed away. Remake will be by Sujoy Ghosh, it is learnt. Tabu, Shriya Saran will also be part of the film.

Bigg Boss Malayalam 3 contestants get DEAL OR NO DEAL

 

Chennai, May10,2021: Bigg Boss Malayalam 3 contestants who are still in the fray will either fight for  the prize money of Rs 75 Lakhs or share it among themselves is the option given by show producer Banijay. A decision will be made public on May 17^th by host Mohanlal. The producers are trying to trash out an amicable decision as Kidlan Feroz, Anoop and Noby wanted the weekly participation amount as well as share of  the cash prize and a no eviction route to finals. Sources say that the organizers have agreed to this demand. Among those in the nomination list, Manikantan  who is the highest paid in the group is pushing for a scheduled contest by which the winner takes the Rs 75 lakh or just the weekly participation amount.  Unanimous decision is what the producer’s want.

Indication was given after Mohanal waived the eviction of a contestant on Sunday last. He also announced that the same set of people who were nominated will go on to next week. In total 6 of those nominated will move to next week and remaining 3 will also move to next step without facing nomination. 84 days have crossed and remaining is 16 days which will go towards winding up.

The show will be wound up as the State Govt has asked EVP film city to wind up the shoots as it employs people ( behind the scene) since all private institutions have been asked to go in for 100% closure. Only industries in manufacturing sector and their sales-admin related offices are to function after notifying the local police Station or civic authority. EVP has managed to get extra 5 days permission for winding up, said a source.

Sources say that Colors Kannada which hosts Bigg Boss and is on final stage has decided to shut down after total lockdown has been announced. Sources say that Colors will go through the finals and declare the winner and runner-up but will not be giving the announced prize. They have struck a deal by which only the weekly participation amount for remaining four weeks will be given. Sudeep the anchor who is not keeping well will be brought for finals.  Telugu Season will not take place in 2021, said a source.

Severe backlash has erupted in social media over the no eviction move on episode May 9^th. The contention is that Ramya Panicker who bagged the least votes in public  poll is protected by the producer and had falsely projected the loser as Sooriya and then letting her off the hook. The backdoor moves in an amicable winding up of the show is said to be the no eviction episode.

 

DMK spend Rs 21 crores, AIADMK - Rs 7.18 cr, CPM -Rs 17 lakh for two weeks on Google Ads

Chennai, May 7(2021);  DMK tops the list of political party that spend the most on political ads according to Google transparency Report for the period of one month starting from March- April 2021. The next biggest spender is BJP which was contesting State elections in all 5 States. It spent Rs 17,29 crores. CPM which was concentrating on Kerala spent Rs 17 lakh  for a two week period just before the polls. Congress which was pushing heavily for Assam and Kerala spent about Rs 2.93 crore. AIADMK which is competing with DMK in Tamil Nadu spent  Rs 7.18 crore. It became the third largest spender on Google Ads after DMK- BJP.

Tamil Nadu spent Rs 33 crores on political advertising. DMK on last week before campaign ended splurged Rs 8.13 crore  on Google close to Rs 1.7 crore on pages like Ondrinaivom Vaa and M. K. Stalin in FB. 

Kerala saw 65.23 lakh  been spent by political parties in the same period. BJP West Bengal in this period spent Rs 2,16 crore and Assam unit bill was Rs 32 lakhs on FB. Congress in this period spent Rs 2.93 crores.The political advertising goes to Google platforms that include YouTube. In contrast, FaceBook was more patronised by Mamata's TMC.   A total of Rs 68 crores was spent by political parties for State polls that ended.

On the Tamil Nadu political parties spending more than Maharashtra and Delhi , is because Google has concentrated on language wise products and this has made it attractive to the political parties.

In Tamil Nadu, both majors took to print media towards the last leg of the campaign and till then tapped the internet and TV channels. Much before the poll announcement, ruling party had the advantage to issue advts hailing various projects launched by them. Funded by public exchequer, this came in TV channels and pro AIADMK print and web media.

Yashika - Gabbi to heat up Star Vijay MURATTU SINGLES Finale- Bhagyalakshmi serial comes back to Top 5

Chennai, May 7 (2021): Yashika Anand - Gabbi - Abhirami of Bigg Boss fame will be among the judges for Star Vijay Murattu Singles Finale to be telecast on May 9 -1.30 PM.

The TRP 17th week has confusions since BARC report for Sun TV urban and rural has come but not for other channels. Only urban TRP is available. Going by a mix, Bharathi Kannamma, Pandian Stores and Bhagyalakshmi of Star Vijay has come into top 5. Bhagyalakshmi has managed to squeeze through. Roja of Sun is at top 1.

The Murattu Single show started off with ten most promising contestants out of which top five contestants are now entering into this grand finale. These top five contestants namely Kutty Gopi, VJ Vijay, Sam Vishal,Silmisam Shiva & Eniyan must face the panel of angels and go through many tasks to win the title. There will be IQ, EQ and LQ challenges for the finalists; Intelligent quotient, Entertainment quotient  Love quotient, in which each of them would have to exhibit their best love proposals, dance acts, emotional moments and so many other tasks.

The judges for the show are Yashika Anand, Abhirami, Gabriella,Sreenidhi &Jacquiline. The show is hosted by none other than Priyanka Deshpande and Ma Ka Pa Anand.

Astrologer Balaji Hassan predicted Kamal Hassan defeat much ahead

 Chennai, May 7(2021): All the polls said that Kamal Haasan would win in the star-studded constituency of Coimbatore South. But Balaji Hassan predicted that Vanathi Srinivasan would win.Balaji Hassan said that though there  was a wave of anti-Mamata Banerjee protests in West Bengal and that BJP will come to , he said that Mamata Banerjee would win .In the case of Pondicherry, polls suggest Rangasamy will win with a majority. According to them, Balaji Hassan had said that Rangasamy was the Chief Minister, but he was predicting that he would not get a majority and would rule by force of coalition.

Similarly, in Kerala, the Sabarimala affair and the gold smuggling scandal have plagued the Communist government, with opinion polls suggesting that the Communists will lose this election and that the Congress will win. But Balaji Hasano predicted that the Communist Party would return to power. The prediction has paid off.

Balaji Hassan had confirmed three years ago that MK Stalin would be the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Even in the pre-poll count, he did not deviate from the prediction he had already made. As he predicted, the DMK would win by a landslide and Stalin would be their next prime minister.

Balaji Hassan predicted that the candidates would win in 227 out of 234 constituencies. He also uploaded the video to YouTube in advance of the vote count. He predicts 180 people will win. Thus 80 percent of his predictions are successful..

Kanyakumari Lok Sabha - Assembly poll results analyzed

Chennai, May5 :  Voters of Kanyakumari vote out Suresh Rajan of DMK ,who would have minister in the State Cabinet if elected , and reject Lok Sabha  candidate of BJP who  would be a Cabinet minister once again in Modi ministry. Surprise does not stop here. They elect an AIADMK candidate in Kanyakumar Assembly and BJP man in Nagercoil constituency, which forms bulk of Lok Sabha voters but vote for a Congress man as MP who will sit in Opposition benches.

Usually, the belief is that voters think differently when voting for State and Lok Sabha polls. Also the  past voting patterns have shown that Tamil Nadu electorate plumps for  ruling party candidate in a by-poll. The first belief comes wrong. Nagercoil and Kanyakumari constituencies that form the biggest chunk of voters in the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency vote for AIADMK- BJP.  Suresh Rajan of DMK who won always bucked any wave against his party and   remained the `eternal’ favourite of the voters of the District Capital was bundled out. The humiliation was that he lost not to AIADMK man but to BJP’S lesser known Gandhi. In the same pattern, voters plumped for Thalaival Sundaram of AIADMK and booted out DMK’s Austin. No surprise as this seat is considered a two leaves bastion as it won seven times from here.

Going by the trend for voting for ruling party, Pon Radhakrishnan who is seeking re-election on a BJP ticket should have won hands down. In 2019 Lok Sabha poll, there was a belief that Congress and allies were coming back to power in Delhi. Tamil Nadu  voted for DMK- Congress in a massive way and Ponnar lost to Vasanthkumar . He cried foul and blamed it on the DMK Goebbels. As Union Minister, he used MP funds to help the constituency and the Highways ministry to build four lane expressway, flyovers  and started groundwork for an airport . All this was washed away as fishermen felt that the container port coming up at Kovalam ( not the beach in Kerala’s Thiruvanthapiram) would uproot them from the land that their forefather’s made their home. Kovalam International Container Transshipment Terminal (KICTT) has led to many protest groups to emerge and BJP is citing the fact that all these groups are led by Christians has not cut much ice with other castes.

The developmental works helped BJP to get Nagercoil but Ponnar lost his opportunity to be Union Minister again. Though Ponnar says that new site Kovalam has no villages in the 14 km radius of the proposed port, NGO’s show proof of  villages in the region and they being reclassified as only hamlets to get environmental clearance.  The 100 yr old St Ignatius church in Kovalam too falls in this 15 kn radius of the zone which has to have no residents., The KICTT project should have been given a  burial like AIADMK did  to Adani run Kattukapulli port expansion in North Chennai. This would have given a new birth to Ponnar and BJP.

 

Did the DMK-Left cross vote for BJP to defeat Kamal Haasan in Coimbatore ?

 Chennai, May4 : The defeat of Kamal Haasan in Coimbatore is said to be the cross voting by DMK- Left parties in favour of BJP. Sources say that on polling day and feedback from cadres, it was evident that the fight will ultimately be between BJP and Kamal Haasan. The INC backed by DMK- Left was in position to take on the AIADMK- BJP and even romp home but the entry of Kamal Haasan upset this calculations. The urban electorate that would have plumped for Congress and the blue collared for Left in Coimbatore seemed to be influenced by the actor and his party  

The Left cadres had a grouse as the actor had slammed CPM boss Yechury for not agreeing to a political alliance and dubbing him as a person not in tune with the present times. DMK cadres were fuming over the insensitive comment on wheelchair politics - reference to Late Karunanidhi,

The only time Coimbatore bucked the  trend of  being part of AIADMK fortress of West Tamil Nadu was in the 2019 LS poll when it elected a Left candidate,  Seeing the writing on the , DMK- Left cadres were asked to divert a sizeable/numbers in each booth to the BJP  said a source. On the polling day, DMK found that Kamal was garnering more than expected and BJP would lose if it's votes were not diverted in big numbers, revealed a party manager.

Predictably the counting trends moved on lines of Kamal v/s INC's Mayura and then moved to MNM v/s BJP. The actor kept  a slender lead till 14th round where he had 1148 votes lead. The coming booths too should keep this lead for the actor. The coming booths that went for counting reversed the trend as these areas were the ones where DMK- Left cross voted for BJP, pointed out the campaigner.

The outcome ended with Kamal losing to Vanathi by 1300 odd votes. This according to the source is lesser than the 3000 votes got under NOTA in 2016 State poll. The source pointed out that it was the DMK that had the numbers to swing the outcome and the CPM with a negligible number went along.

The  actor lost by a meagre 1300 votes against  93,000 votes  in the AIADMK+ BJP kitty ( as per 2016 poll results) and a cross voting by DMK whose ally INC in 2016 got  42,369 votes ,  has rattled the political camps .

Many advised Kamal to pitch for Mylapore or Velachery for many reasons. Primary both the seats are urban and have a good number of Brahmins and educated IT professional - first time voters. These areas also has many NGO and other groups that would whip up a campaign for Kamal. 

Kamal felt that the Brahmin tag will stick to him, if he wins from these areas and would affect his atheist  belief.  Secondly, the grass root organisational skill of both Dravidian parties in Chennai cannot be matched by MNM. It was  felt that Star charisma will not cut across  party lines in the Capital. Above all, the voter turnout in Chennai was very poor and for a fledgling party this meant trouble.

When everybody predicted DMK sweep we gave a different look ( April 21)

 The Western heartland of State seems to have gone a big way in pushing up the numbers for EPS and team ,said the report.

Those in the know of things revealed that EPS has been communicated about this and has brought cheer to the AIADMK top echelons. The report says that the Prasanth report that predicts a 180 seats for DMK combine is far too much of the actual numbers. The South Districts voting seems to have gone in favour of DMK combine and the AMMK- MNM- TMK- have created a divide of votes that would have gone to AIADMK.

The PMK is the weakest ally but still it is not that it will draw a blank as said by DMK circles and it has to a great extent got Vanniyar votes rallied behind them citing the consolidation of Thevars and other OBC against them.

The report however has made it clear that BJP need not draw any solace from this since in most of the seats it is in for a drubbing. Unlike the DMK in last State poll which made a mistake by giving 40 odd seats to Congress , the AIADMK has given many seats to BJP that it would not have won on two leaves symbol. The report might set off a revolt against BJP State President for accepting seats that it did not have any base.

full report; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/04/central-intelligence-report-says-eps.html

What we told you about Kamal Haasan poll chances in Coimbatore ( March 14)

 As LS poll voting reflects differently from  State Polls, in 2016 Assembly poll, the battle was with INC and ADMK. INC lost by 17419 votes. The INC candidate Mayura is fielded again and this time BJP's Vanathi stands again with ADMK support.

In 2016, a Third Front of DMDK- TMC- PWF was in the fray. The CPM from this front polled 7248 votes in South seat and BJP got 33113 votes. Now PMK-TMC is in ADMK , Left - MDMK is with DMK front. DMDK votes will not go to ADMK - BJP. Vanathi polled 33,113 votes and add to this the ADMK votes of 59,000 and you have a winner. INC with DMK got 42,369 votes and add a margin of 7000 votes and still you are behind.

Kamal has to  split vertically the ADMK- BJP - INC- DMK votes- close to 1.5 lakh votes to romp home. Assuming that 3.7% of votes in Coimbatore (South) got in Lok Sabha poll is intact and were anti BJP ( also means ADMK) , it does not measure up to a victory. Only by  adding to this the new first time voters not inclined to any political party, disorientation due to absence of Jayalalithaa to lead ADMK,  anti- incumbency factor  and the thrill of electing a cinema icon to Assembly can see Kamal walk up the State Assembly Hall.

excerpts from our post ; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/03/poll-chances-of-kushboo-from-thousand.html

Kadaisi Echarikkai short film bags 6 International Awards

 

Chennai, May 2 (2021): Kadaisi Echarikkai a 23 short film bagged a total of 6 awards at the 2020 Club Mini Movie Festival, including Best Picture, Best Comedian at the Seychelles National Film Festival, and Best Debut Director at the Golden Sparrow International Film Festival.Leading cinematographer Velraj released the first look poster of the film and leading  producer Kalaipuli S Thanu released the teaser. The trailer of the film was released by director and Naam Tamil Party chief coordinator Seeman. The songs were released by leading composers GV Prakash and Justin Prabhakaran. K Bhagyaraj congratulated the director for his achievement.

The film written and directed by Sukumar Ganesan is based on human eating habits, environmental disorders, etc.film stars Sun TV star Doubt Senthil. He is accompanied by Nellai Siva and Amirthalingam.

Cast - Artists Profile:

Cast: Dowd Senthil, Nellai Siva, Amirthalingam.
Production: Aravindan V Entertainment w. Srinivasan
Writing - Direction: Sukumar Ganesan
Songs: Sukumar Ganesan
Music: AIS Nawfal Raja
Cinematography: V Chandrasekhar
Editing: Deepak, Vijay Shankar, M. Millionaire
Studio: Knock Studio
Public Relations: S Shankar

Bigg Boss 3 Malayalam escapes curbs - South TV producers have enough footage to tide over Covid 19 lockdown

Chennai, May2, 3021: As  film- TV  shooting grind to a halt,  producers in South languages are not worried as they have enough footage to last till June end. The only ones hit are the reality shows of Kannada -Malayalam channels since  Karnataka and Kerala has banned shoots. Bigg Boss 3 Malayalam shot in Chennai is nearing finish and  likely to escape any restrictions, since the State Govt is not likely to ban indoor shoots, said a source.

The new elected TN ministry is expected to not enforce total lockdown in film - TV industry. Shoots within studios and shooting houses with SOP and no restriction on post production work is expected to be in force. Shooting in public places will be banned.

In Tamil, the TV channels taking lessons from past, had put in place a system of having not less than 20 episodes bank. As major Tamil film actors had decided to not take part in shooting especially as the figures are rising in Chennai, post production studios are busy.

Rajinikanth Annaatthe shoot in Ramoji Film City at Hyderabad is nearing close with Nayanthara joining the crew. As many Tollywood actors tested positive and shootings been cancelled, the shooting of Annaatthe going on has puzzled many.

OTT platforms are flooded with film producers offering their films. See related post ; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/05/now-bigg-boss-tamil-contestants-back-to.html

Now Bigg Boss Tamil contestants back to compete for BB Jodigal title On Star Vijay

 Chennai, May 1,2021; Good News for Bigg Boss Tamil Fans- Shivani – Som Shekar, Gabby – Aajeedh, Anitha – Shariq, Nisha – Dhadi Balaji, Vanitha – Suresh Chakravarthy,Samyuktha – Jiththan Ramesh, Julie – Sendrayan,Fathima Babu – Mohan Vaidhya are all set for proving themselves on the dancing arena. BB JODIGAL  launches on 02 May 2021,Sunday at 8 pm only on STAR VIJAY. 

Eminent judges for the show are actors Ramya Krishnan and Nakul. The show will be hosted by Erode Magesh & Dheena, There would be two most popular faces of the Tamil film industry to judge the show. The judges will score the performances based on the drama and emotion that the pairs bring out through their danceperformance. Each week there will elimination process based on the performances.Eventually top scorers i.e. four pairs will battle in the grand finale for the coveted title of BB Jodigal.

Gabby is not new to the dance reality show arena as she already participated in the 'Jodi Number One Season 6' on Vijay TV and won the title as well.