Update : Zee Tamil announces Survivor show -Zee Tamil readies World Famous Survivor reality show - Vikatan enters Star Vijay- Director Thirumurugan new soap for Sun

 Zee Tamil officially announced through a poster that the International reality show SURVIVOR would be coming soon. On March 27, We had given a detailed story on this. Sun TV started promos of Master Chef the International cookery reality show with actor Vijay Sethupathi as host

.Earlier story below

As Tamil Bigg Boss 5 selection process is on, Zee Tamil is said to introduce the World Famous reality show `Survivor' . Vikatan Televista  , producers of many hit mega soaps for Sun is now readying a serial for Star Vijay with director Kumaran at the helm. Sun TV's blockbuster serial director Thirumurugan is readying a new serial for the Channel.

Zee is to launch the reality show `Survivor' in India. The show features a group of contestants deliberately marooned in an isolated location, where they must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants compete in challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow-contestants until only one remains to be awarded the grand prize and named the "Sole Survivor".

The British television producer Charlie Parsons developed the format for Survivor in 1992 for a United Kingdom television production company, Planet 24; ( source Wikipedia). 

Sources say that the show will kick start in the South channels of Zee. Intially the show will have contestants from all four South States competing for the title. Banijay the production house that is behind Bigg Boss show are the producers of Survivor.

Vikatan Televista, whose contract with Sun ended has signed up with Star Vijay for a new serial. Star Vijay recently gave Sun a jlot by getting the top 4 slots in TRP rankings and even dethroned Sun from the king of Soaps. The position has changed in last two weeks with Sun capturing the top positions. Directpr Kumaran who gave hit soaps like Thirumathi Selvam , Thendral  and Deiva Magal for Sun. (At one time , he was directing two hit serials aired on Prime Time).

His next with Star Vijay is said to also  on middle class family issues. He is said to bring back Rekha Krishnappa back to Tamil Telly. She debuted in his first serial.

Thirumurugan of Metti Oli fame after Kalyana Veedu is coming after a gap to Sun TV as director- producer.

Zee Tamil which is way behind Sun and Vijay in TRP of soaps and reality shows hopes to make a push. Star Vijay's reality show Cook with Comali is a top favourite and is soon to come with Bigg Boss 5. Sun with high TRP soaps and the Sunday movie is preparing to break reality show hold of Star Vijay with Master Chef to be hosted by Vijay Sethupathi.

Joshiy's son Abhilash debut directorial with Mammooty's son Dulquer is King of Kotha

Director Joshiy's son Abhilash debut direction has Dulquer Salman as the protagonist and also the producer. The official announcement was made by Dulquer on his birthday. To Malayalam film goers who rooted for the Mammooty - Joshy combo, this news is something brings a lump in the throat. 

The Mammooty- Joshy combination has always been a talking point in the Kerala industry. The ups and downs that these duo went through together is something that never before has any Star- actor and director shared before.

An intergral part of the sucess of this combo was script writer Dennis Joseph. The interview of Dennis Joseph serialised in Safari TV will give those who are not aware of the great bonding that the actor- director had. As time flew by Joshy brand of films like New Delhi started losing out.  From Joshy to Joshiy did not help . Mammooty on the other hand kept him fine tuned with selection of subjects- directors and technology.  

The announcement of the next gen coming together is one  of the finest news that Mammooty- Dulquer- Joshiy fans has got in recent times. A few details -Abilash N Chandran of ‘Porinju Mariam Jose’ fame is scripting ‘King of Kotha. Dulquer’s own production house Wayfarer Films is producing the film.

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No South celebs in top 10 list of celebrity endorsed advertisements on TV

No South celebs figured in the most visible top 10  celeberties who endorsed brands , according to TAM index for first 6 months of 2021. Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani topped the list among film stars whose advts came on TV, Virat Kohli and M S Dhoni from Sports category topped the list.

Kiara Advani who had made her Telugu debut with director Koratala in Bharat Ane Nenu opposite Mahesh Babu and acted in Vinaya Vidheya Rama starring Ram Charan. On Aug 12th, Sherashaah, the biopic on Capt Vikram Batra is releasing on Amazon Prime. Kiara plays Dimple the fiancee of Vikram in the film. The director Vishnuvardhaan of Sherashaah has directed 9 Tamil films and hits were Billa and Arambaam, both starring Ajith.

The visibility factor increased as Akshay and Kiara added 10 more brands than last year and the visibility time on TV was more. Whereas Hrithik Roshan and Dhoni had cut down on brands. Film couples were the favorite and Akshay Kumar-Twinkle Khanna with 39 brands and Saif-Kareena with 19 brands. Virat-Anushka and Deepika-Ranveer were next in line with a total of 30 and 32 brands respectively

In the sports celebrities category  there were 45 celebs who appeared whereas only 8 female Sports celebrities were seen during Jan-Jun '21. Out of 8 female sports celebrities, Mithali Raj topped the list followed by Saina Nehwal. Celebrity endorsements were mainly for food and beverage and followed by personal hygiene care products.

UPDATE; Performers list at Malayalam Bigg Boss 3 Finale -Manikuttan ls Winner - Sai Vishnu (2nd) and Dimpal Bhal (3rd)

The popular film stars Suraj Venjaramoodu, Anu Sithara, Durga Krishnan, Sania Ayyappan, Tini Tom, Pashanam Shaji, Prajod Kalabhavan, Dharmajan, Grace Antony, Arya and Veena Nair also performed at the finale that was shot in Chennai.

Manikuttan landed in the airport with Malayalam Bigg Boss 3 winner trophy. Photos and videos of his airport reception given by friends is circulating on social media. Meanwhile Dimpal Bhal tweeted  that she is third and reports say that Sai Vishnu is second. The finale shoot was in Chennai and will be telecast on August 1st  7 PM  on Asianet. Mohanlal is the host.

We had reported on May 27-   Underdog Sai Vishnu v/s Lalettan fans backed Manikuttan ( link : https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/05/bigg-boss-malayalam-3-trends-underdog.html)

 Contrary to expectations, arch rivals Kidilan Feroz and Poli Firoz hugged each other and posted that they were friends, disappointing fans of both these men. They had bitter fights in Bigg Boss House and finally Poli Firoz and wife was evicted for breaking rules.

Social media had predicted that Manikuttan - Sai Vishnu- Dimple Bhal would be contenders for the title that carries a Rs 1 crore prize money sponsored by  Apartment builders Confident Group. Last year TV anchor Sabumon won the trophy and Pearly Manny ( actress) was runner up.

The show on 90 th day was stopped by Health officials in Chennai due to break of Covid rules. The voting continued even after the show was halted. The friction in the house was carried over to social media. The show had it's share of break up with the winner Manikuttan  rejecting  Soorya Menon's love overtures.

Manikuttan aka MK is a known actor in the Malayalam film industry. His birth name is Thomas James who was born on 2 March 1986 in Trivandrum, Kerala. He completed his education at St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School and Mahatama Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram. He started his acting career in 2005 and first appeared in a movie titled “Boy Friend” which is directed by Vinayan.

Manikuttan’s first show was “Kayamkulam Kochunni” in which he essays the main lead role. He got huge popularity and fame through this serial. After that, He also appeared in many movies including Mamangam, Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea, and many others

Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam.: After Saras , another look on motherhood

Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam (Malayalam). is an interesting angle to parenthood for first time couples. Though the shot does not shift from the car front window screen and has two actors talking to each other for close to 85 minutes, the film does not bore those who are interested in the topic that these two youngsters talk. Keeping aside that the couple are not married and in a secret live in relationship, the problems they discuss is also applicable to those who are married.

Jithin and Rima Kalingal are the actors who have the conversation. They are on the way to a lab to get result of a pregnancy test. Rima raises many questions that a middle class working woman faces when she is pregnant. Hubby is a budding actor with no work due to Covid situation. Breaking the news to parents and it's after effects. The hubby not appearing to be much concerned about the problems that they would face if the wife was pregnant.

Conversations veer forth and back with wife blaming the hubby and he being helpless in coming out with any answers that are comforting. Through the entire conversation they address  a whole gamut of issues related to parenthood for a young couple and the society that they live in.

The woman is a film journalist and her interview with an art house film director is also an answer to those who see the film as just two people talking to each other for 85 minutes and in a frame that does not change. The voice is of film's director Don Palthara. The credits say that it is written by the actors Jithin and Rima. I remember reading that the actors had rehearsed thoroughly before the shoot.

Saras which came on OTT talked about a girl who is not too fond of bringing up babies and changing diapers and finding herself in a spot where the in laws are against aborting the baby soon after marriage. Here the problem is about a nuclear couple who would have to grapple with day to day survival and the changes that they have to make. Add to this the stigma that the woman got pregnant before marriage. Finally , all it takes is understanding of each other's outlook.

Interestingly, the English title is  The Joyful Mysteries , verses from the Bible. The Mystery is " The feast of the Annunciation marks the visit of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he told her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is celebrated on 25 March each year" . A message to Roman Catholics ?

Update : Prithviraj's Kuruthi on Amazon for Onam-Marakkar - Mohanlal film not to release on August 12 th

 

With Marakkar not for Onam theater release, Prithviraj's Kuruthi is the first biggie to come for Onam . To be premiered on August 11th in Amazon Prime platform, ‘Kuruthi’ is directed by debutant Manu Warrier and scripted by Anish Pallyal. Murali Gopy had said that ‘Kuruthi’ would be one of the most important mainstream movies in today’s times. Will more follow ?

Release of  Marakkar  , the Rs 100 cr budget Mohanlal – Priyadarshan directed period film, will not release on August 12^th. This was confirmed by director Priyadarshan. He said that the Covid situation in Kerala was bad . The theater association has promised that theaters will not screen any film for three weeks from the date of release of Marakkar, whenever released, he revealed. It means that Kerala theaters will have no Onam release.  Priyadarshan confirmed that Marakkar would release only in movie halls. This would have a rippling effect  on other films that are waiting for release in Kerala. Dulquar Salman's Kurup and Prithviraj film Kuruthi  are next on the list. Whether this would trigger a rush towards OTT platforms has to be seen ?.

Priyadarshan revealed that he was planning a sports drama based on boxing with Mohanlal. He said that it was like `Raging Bull’ and Lal has to shed 15 kgs and then add it later. While he is to direct films with Superstars like Mohanlal and Akshay Kumar , he was quoted as saying – “The industry has changed. I think this is the last era of superstars. Whoever is enjoying today, Shah Rukh to Salman to Akshay… they should be thankful to God. Tomorrow, the superstar will be the content.”. He remade Katha Parayumbol (Malayalam) as Billu with Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo and Irfan Khan in the lead. The film bombed badly. Priyadarshan remade his own film Thalavattom in Hindi as Kyon Ki with Salman Khan. Inspired by One Flew over the Cuckoos Night, the film was termed one among the worst remakes in Bollywood. Only with Akshay, he has given hits.

Priyadarshan’s latest release Hungama 2 ( remake of Malayalam film Minnaram) released on Disney Hotstar was called `distressing dated’ by Hindustan Times, `Creates a ruckus but for nothing’- Times of India and `A sloppy Comedy’ by NDTV. He is to do a cop thriller film without songs for Ratan Jain of Venus . This will be a quickie before he moves to Akshay Kumar.

 

Kriti Sanon to romance Simbhu in Gautham Menon film

 

Kriti Sanon will be romancing Simbhu in Gautham Menon’s Nadhigalilae Neeradum Suriyan'(NNS),revealed a source. The actress was suggested by A R Rahman who scored the music for Mimi ( in which she plays the lead  released on Netflix) . Rahman is composer for Gautham- Simbhu’s NNS film. The film which is the third collaboration between the director and actor has raised high expectations in the fan circles of the director and the actor. The Tamil film viewers who are lovers of romantic film genre still consider Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa released in 2010 in which Simbhu romanced Trisha and directed by Gautham with music by Rahman as the benchmark.

The combo set off speculation when Gautam released a short film  Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn which featured a phone conversation between Karthik ( Simbhu) and Jessie ( Trisha), two characters in VTV. Fans expected that it was a teaser  of part 2 of VTV. However Gautham scotched rumors that he was making a sequel.

The film NNS is all set to start shoot. Simbhu had finished work on Maanaadu directed by Venkat Prabhu and an extended cameo in Maya with Hansika in central role too ready for release. Simbhu is paired with Kalyani Priyadarshan in Maanaadu. On the floors he has Krishna’s Pathu Thala with Priya Bhavani Shankar as heroine.

Kriti Sanon had started her career in  Telugu with Nenokkadine opposite Mahesh Babu in 2014. After that she has not acted in any South films. Now she has signed the Hindi- Telugu film Adipurush with Prabhas and directed by Om Raut. She plays Sita in the film based on Ramayana .the epic. In Bollywood , she has  Bachchan Pandey with Akshay Kumar , Bhedhiya with Varun Dhawan ,  Hum do Hamare do with Rajkummar Rao. 

The film NNS title has an interesting tale. Simbhu had asked Gautham to name it Superstar but the producer Ishari Ganesh - director Gautham felt it might not go down well with Rajinikanth fans. They put a star symbol instead of alphabet A in word Suriyan on the poster( cover photo). Simbhu played character Rajinikanth in Gautham’s film  Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada'. Simbhu aks STR is also known to fans as Little Superstar and Young Superstar.

 

Chennai lad with Kollywood link heads Netflix's First Asia Pacific Music Production team

 

Ramprasad Sundar  , Chennai  lad with Kollywood links  ,  will head the streaming giant Netflix ‘s first Asia Pacific region’s Music Creative and Production team in Mumbai. Ramprasad Sundar, who has been appointed as the Netflix, Music Creative and Production manager  studied at  Anna University ( Chennai) and had composed music for Tamil film Thoppi directed by Yourekha . He was involved in the soundtracks and promotions of Jagame Thandhiram ( Dhanush- Karthik Subburaj) and Sacred Games. He has worked on several sound design and surround sound mixing projects for Santosh Sivan, Mandolin U. Srinivas, Shankar Mahadevan, Ilaiyaraja to name a few in the South.

Chennai Connect

Sundar was born and brought up in Chennai. Later he moved to the U.S. permanently in 2007. But Chennai and Tamil movies had to get closer to the performer Ramprasad Sundar someday. And it did recently when the creators of Thoppi contacted him to create the harmonies for the picture. He had his hands occupied with many parts back in the high state. He is a sound administrator, a rhythm inventor, and a music engineer there but this was a chance that he didn’t want to neglect. He didn’t know if it would materialize as far as he remembers. He was in Chennai, and the creators desired to meet up with him. They listened to his songs and enjoyed it. They gave him an idea of the story, and the musician was picturing how it would work out. Then, when he was on his trip back to the U.S., he wrote down some songs that came to his head on his mobile.

For the music of Thoppi, he had actually produced a new variety called automated filmic dub-step. He has functioned with award-winning Managers such as John Sands, Andy Ross and world-renowned corporations and personalities such as Cutting-Edge Group, Anisa Quresh , Facebook, Instagram ( Source https://nettv4u.com/)

 

In a press note from Ramprasad Sundar Manager Music Creative and Production, he says – “As we grow in India, we are committed to making a universe of exciting and authentic stories from all corners of the country and in all languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and more. To provide exceptional production support to our creators in India and connect them with  local music talent, we have set up our first Music Creative and Production team in Mumbai”.

In 2020, NetFlix  launched NetFX, a cloud-based platform that enables multiple Indian artists to handle VFX work for global titles and followed it up with first wholly-owned, full-service, post-production facility which will have  40 offline editing suites that will be fully operational by June 2022 

 

Director Pa Ranjith shifts back to romance genre - Kalidas Jayram and Ashok Selvan in the lead

After Sarpatta Parambarai, Director Pa Ranjith next deals with romance. The film titled Natchathiram Nagarkirathu. will have Kalidas Jayram and  Ashok Selvan in the lead. This is the second  time after his debut film Attakathi that that Ranjith is handing romance as all other three films were about underworld Dons. 

Pa Ranjith believes that his films reflects his ideology .He works on screen and off screen for the Dalits welfare and to break the stereotypical image of them being a rebellious group. Right from Madras to Rajinikanth starrer Kabali and Kala, the Dalit voice has been put across subtly, Even the latest release Sarpatta too gives this message across, This time the 1975 Emergency Days linger in the backdrop. He was quoted as saying that he chose boxing as the subject since Dalits consider Late Muhammad Ali as "a great inspiration for many from the working class because they always felt connected with his macho looks, warrior spirit and also because of his skin colour,”

Ranjith's mature love tracks in Kabali and Kala was liked by many. Sarpatta Parambarai is heading to be the most liked movie among Tamil movie goers and positive responses and congratulations from other language film Industries are pouring in as the film is released on Amazon Prime with subtitles. Main protagonist Arya who recently married Sayeesha (daughter of actors Sumeet Saigal and Shaheen Banu and is the grandniece of Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar. She made her Bollywood entry in Ajay Devgn Shivaay and acted in Telugu- Tamil films) was blessed with their first child, a baby girl on July 23rd. The film was released on July 22nd.

Sarpatta Paramparai review- Time to celebrate for movie lovers

 

The perfect casting has won the battle for Pa Ranjith sports drama Sarpatta Paramparai. Next is the dialogues, cinematography and especially the music ( Santosh Narayanan) that acts as a vehicle to take the story forward. The presence of Pa Ranjith ideology lingers in the film but it is visible only to those who are aware of it. It is not thrust upon you. Art Director Ramalingam does a fine job along with costumer as the film is set in 70's.

One cannot say that the story plot is novel. The clash of two sporting clubs ( here called the paramparai) and their heroes with hangers on and know all coaches has come before on screen. The under dog wins and then goes off the radar to make a comeback is also not new. The chinks are  the one sided slant in character  glorification of the protagonist and the antagonist being just painted a bad guy happens here too. When there is a mother- wife and friend to travel with  the hero in all times, the antagonist has only a manager  and friends who come only in bits and pieces. A bit more fleshing of the antagonist  Vembuli ( Kokken) and his inner circle could have elevated the movie to another level.

The bulging midriff  and out of shape Arya ( protagonist) being brought back to shape by a Beedi Rayappan , a fisherman and described as a Guru to many boxers is another character that is sprung on you with no background at all. At the same time the Dancing Rose character that is shown as an ex boxer and a hanger on taking an avatar that was kept under wraps is a well played twist in the flow of events.

The women characters in the film are no silent spectators and have their voice of their own. The actors who played these roles look (very important) and their body language, slang added makes them real. A far cry from the women characters seen in recent films that was on life in North Madras. It is a cakewalk for Pasupathy to play the no nonsense coach, Even John Vijay as Daddy the Anglo- Indian charachter lingers on . 

Arya has slogged hard for the role and it shows in his work. Physically looking and behaving like a boxer apart, the emotional scenes have him give the right amount of acting that is needed. His skin colour that would have stood  out like a sore thumb but his costumes  and the lighting – camera angles cover it up efficiently.

After Soorarai Pottru, Tamil film lovers got to see a good film and made them happy that they had got their money worth by subscribing to OTT platform. Also the second time, theater goers missed the Big Screen experience. It is a movie that is to be celebrated with an audience in a movie hall.

Sun's Kannana kanna is No 1 from No 5 in week 28 Tamil TV TRP

 

In a dramatic swing, Sun TV serial Kannana Kanne ( KK)which was in a tie with Raja Rani of Star Vijay at No 5 last week has shot upward to get the No 1 slot in the week 28 TRP ( ending July 16). Bharathi Kannamma of Star Vijay which overtook Sun's Roja, the eternal No 1 to get to the top slot has slipped to No 3. The second position is with Roja serial. Zee Tamil among the Tamil pay channels still is at third position and has managed to keep Sun TV movie channel KTV in the fourth.

The KK serial had for the first time last week started figuring in the top 5  and that too sharing the spot with Star Vijay Raja Rani. The serial was never ever shown any signs of becoming a contender for top slot since the start in November 2020. A remake of the Telugu serial  Pournami aired on Gemini TV, has Rahul Ravi and Nimeshika Radhaktishna as Yuva and Meera . Malayalam actress Nithya Das plays step mom.

The  know the reason for the jump in TRP, one has to get the nutshell of the story so far. Meera's mother dies during pregnancy and her father hates her for it. Her father remarries and Meera lives with her step mom , step sister and grandma. All of them are trying to unite the father  and daughter. Last week was a tension ridden week as to whether Yuva would marry fiancée Meera. This pushed the serial to dizzying top No 1.

Nimeshika Radhakrishnan who plays Meera had acted in Star Vijay Kadaikutty Singam. She has appeared in TV advts ( Udhayakrishna Ghee). Rahul Ravi is popular after he acted as Arun Rajshekar in Tamil serial Nandhini  on Sun TV and later in  Abhiyum Naanum. He was popular in Malayalam through his serial Ponambili telecast on Mazahavil Manorama.

Star Vijay Bharathi Kannamma beats Sun TV Roja - Zee Tamil beats KTV in Week 27 TRP Rating

Star Vijay's Bharathi Kannamma has pipped Sun TV's Roja in the week 27 rating to get the No 1 slot. As there was not much changes in TRP with Sun TV dominating the top 5 positions, we did not report it. Now that there is a change, we are reporting this. The rest of top 5 serials are No 3- Bhagyalakshmi ( Star Vijay) No 4- Poove Unakahe ( Sun) and No 5 is jointly held by Sun TV's Kanna Kanne amd Raja Rani ( Star Vijay).

The next 5 slots has only Pandian Stores from Star Vijay while all others are Sun TV serials. The ratings show that the second half of the prime time is dominated by Star Vijay serials and the first half by Sun TV. Zee Tamil serials are yet to come into reckoning. Sathya was the only hope  for Zee but it has slipped to No 22 slot and Oru oorla Rajakumari is in No 21. Yaradi Nee Mohini at bottom No 26 has wound up the show.

 In the rating for top Tamil TV channels, the No 1 position is with Sun as usual and second by Star Vijay. The surprise is that KTV the Sun TV movie channel has slipped from third position and Zee Tamil has come to the fore.  

We told U on June 27th 2021 - Now official - Nayanthara to be heroine of Shah Rukh Khan

Our post on June 27 th - Nayanthara is to play the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan and it is certain says sources in director Atlee's camp. If this happens, then Nayanthara will be the second actress from Mollywood who would be starring  opposite a Superstar Bollywood hero. The only heroine to do so was Late Padmini who acted as heroine opposite the  then Bollywood top draw- Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Ashok Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar.  See link below. 

https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/06/after-padmini-will-it-be-nayanthara-who.html

Vijay Sethupathi films for Sun TV- Netflix ?

 Vijay Sethupathi films that have been completed are to come straight on Sun TV channel and later on Netflix. This news comes soon after Sun Pictures is said to have signed a three film deal with Sivakarthikeyan, the other young draw of Tamul cinema. The next film of Vijay Sethupathi to come on OTT ia the sci-fi comedy film Annabele Subramniam in which he plays a double role and directed by Deepak Sunderajan. Tapsee Pannu has the major chunk of the film says sources. The fact that Tapsee Pannu is also a big draw on OTT is a major contributor to the film getting lucrative offers from OTT. Her Hassen Dilruba recently released is a hit on OTT.

Vijay Sethupathi's Ranasingam came on Zee5 as pay per view and despite this it did reasonably well.  The film content was however seen as not suited for OTT viewers. Next in line is Thuglak Durbar in Sun - Netflix and followed by the Deepak Sunderajan film. After that the next OTT release is Kadaisi Vivasayi of Sethupathi.  According to trade, Vijay Sethupathi is the MEGASTAR of OTT like Fahadh Faasil from Malayalam films. There could be atbleast 16 films that are already completed and two more that shooting is in progressing.

Sethupathi also has a Malayalam film in which he plays the hero and was made for OTT release.Similarly in Teugu, he has been approached to do the sequel to Rakshadu ( Telugu remake of Tamil film Ratchasan ) Bellam Konda Srinivas acted in the first part. Director Ramesh Varma is waiting for Sethupathi's dates. After Telugu hit Uppena, Sethupathi has become a big hit with Tollywood viewers. Recently he was in Bengaluru for shooting of Sun TV reality show Master Chef. In an interactin with media he narratted the Kannada dialogue said three years ago in his debut  Kannada film  Akahaada starring Vasanth Vishnu and him as the baddie. 

Tapsee Pannu last South outing was Game Over ( Tamil- Telegu). She has signed Mishan Impossible a Telugu film directed by Swaroop.   Looop Lapeta, an official remake of the 1998 German film Run Lola Run, Anurag Kashyap's thriller Dobaaraa produced by Ekta Kapoor and sports dramas Rashmi Rocket and Shabaash Mitthu are her other films. She launched her own production banner and started work  on Blurr. An official remake of 2010 Spanish film Julia’s Eyes, directed by Guillem Morales and written by him and Oriol Paulo. Oriol Paulo, interestingly, later directed The Invisible Guest (2016), that was remade in Hindi as Badla (2019), also starring Taapsee Pannu. The same Julia Eyes  is being remade in Marathi ( Ritesh Deshmukj- Manjari) , Bengali with Rituparna Sengupta, Esha Chawla in Telugu and Gayathrie Shankar in Tamil. All these versions are directed by cinematographer Kabir Lal.

Director Shankar -Ram Charan film in plagiarism row - Lingusamy Telugu film too in same boat

Director Shankar project with Telugu Star Ram Charan has run into a plagiarism charge even before the launch. Shankar is already fighting a decade long court case over plagiarism charge filed by a short story writer for the Robot 2.0 story. Meanwhile Lingusamy from Kollywood who started his Telugu film with Ram Potheneni is facing fresh charges of the subject being a copy of the story written by actor- director turned politician Seeman. Though a compromise letter was given by all parties in favour of Lingusamy, a new complaint has been filed with the Writers Association.

Chinnaswamy, an Assistant director has filed a complaint with the Writers Association that he had narrated the subject to producer Dil Raju. Raju has given this subject to Shankar to make the Telugu film. The manuscript of the story is already in the file and registered with the Association.

The details of the story are not available, Sources say that the subject is about a farmer and his son who gets cheated of their lands in the name of development. The fight against the CM who spearheaded this development scheme but is trapped in a web of land sharks forms the subject.

The film was said to be another Gentleman with political overtones. Ram Charan was said to play father and son. The plagiarism charge usually crops up after the teaser is released. The AD claims that he had gathered from the Shankar team about the outline of the subject.

In another related development, Director Karthik Subburaj ( Petta, Jagame Thanthiram and Chiyan 50) is said to have told a subject to Shankar and that is the story that will be made into a screenplay, said sources.

Seeman had claimed that Lingusamy was making his story into a Telugu film with Ram Pothneni. Lingusamy claimed that Seeman had years back agreed to allow him to use the subject and that too in writing. Finally with Bhagyaraj and others intervention a letter was drafted by which Lingusamy was free to use the story. Now an AD has filed a complaint that he had filed a similar story with the Writer Association.

Shankar’s move to remake Anniyan sequel in Hindi with Ranveer has been disputed by the Tamil producer Aascar Ravichandran who claimed IP rights over the subject.

 

Malik- I V Sasi- T Damodaran remix - Vaazhi- See it when you are blown

Malik ( Malayalam) is nothing but a rehash of the the I V sasi- T  Ddamodaran films on the  Calicut backdrop with smuggling- Muslim community - scheming politicians and cops. It used to have almost entire stars in the film . It used to come right when the newspapers were hot about these topics. Now those of my Tamil friends say that it bears resemblance to Nayakan. The old man character is the reason for this I guess.  Fahad Faasil himself has said that Nayakan does hang like a cloud over the subject. I would disagree . There are shades of Tharadas to the role. By just Fahad's acting or the technical prowess at play by director Mahesh Narayanan , does not make it an engaging viewing to those who watched  I V Sasi film and to those who take Nayakan as the benchmark for a gangster film. Nimisha gets a meaty role and she delivers it.

Vaazhi comes from Arun Prabhu who directed Aruvi, a well appreciated film. Add to it that it is produced by Sivakarthikeyan ( not known to do any films of substance), it turns out to be a film for viewers who are on a trip and not to those who look for some sort of a sanity in the proceedings.  The film is said to be the misadventures of an IT guy. The film is one big bore that you keep looking at the running time ( on Sony Liv). To all credit the last 15- 20 minutes of the film is visually a treat with excellent sound design- BGM and superb editing. On the TV screen itself, it looks great and on big screen it would be mind blowing. As I said before it is for the full blown.

Allu Arjun aka Bunny daughter debuts in Shaakuntalam

Icon Star Allu Arjun's daughter, Allu Arha is all set to make her debut in the role of Prince Bharata in Gunasekhar's upcoming mythological drama titled Shaakuntalam. The superstar's little one earlier charmed viewers with her debut feature in the recreation of the popular Illayaraja song Anjali Anjali and now she's prepared to take her adorable acting skills to the big screen. Her debut marks the entry of the fourth generation of the Allu family in Indian cinema, which is a huge cause for celebration.

Arha will be directed by Gunasekhar, a celebrated filmmaker who has collaborated with the Icon Staar. The four-year-old will be seen sharing screen with leading actors Samantha Akkineni, who is cast in the titular role of Shakuntala and Dev Mohan as Dushyanta, the king of Puru Dynasty along with Aditi Balan and Mohan Babu in supporting roles. Arha's debut is based on a popular Indian play Shakuntala written by Kalidasa.

Allu Arjun tweeted that
A proud moment for the Allu family to announce that the fourth generation, Allu Arha will be making her debut with Shakuntalam movie. I want to thank  Gunasekhar & Neelima Guna for giving my daughter this beautiful movie as her debut . I had an altogether different journey with Samantha and am happy to watch Arha debut with her movie. My best wishes to the entire Cast & Crew of Shakuntalam.

Not A R Rahman the Oscar Winner but Maestro Illaiyaraja in Global Top 25

 

 Sad News for A R Rahman fans and good news for Isaignani Fanatics- The Taste of Cinema web site has positioned Ilayaraja no. 9 in the global ranking of top 25 Film Composers ever. Rahman does not figure in it.  Now put this news in perspective and  to ARR fans rolling with laughter about a website they have not heard about - I too never heard about it. This is what the website About us says - Taste of Cinema is not just another movie list website, our focus on World Cinema and Classics make us different. We make essential film lists introducing the best films from different filmmakers, countries, genres and eras, these in-depth lists not only serve as guides to good movies, but also give you a bigger picture and thorough understanding of the film culture about a certain country, genre or cinema movement. If you dig all the lists on the site, you will find yourself unable to finish watching all the TOC film recommendations in your lifetime.

Now cut back to the news - ” Following is the global ranking of musicians in ‘The 25 Greatest Film Composers in Cinema History’:

 Ennio Morricone ITALY

2 Max Steiner USA

3 John Williams USA

4 Bernard Herrmann USA

5 Nino Rota ITALY

6 Tōru Takemitsu JAPAN

7 Michel Legrand FRANCE

8 Alan Menken USA

9 Ilayaraja INDIA

10 Jerry Goldsmith USA

11 Maurice Jarre FRANCE

12 John Barry USA

13 Hans Zimmer GERMANY

14 Joe Hisaishi JAPAN

15 James Horner USA

16 Georges Delerue USA

17 Dimitri Tiomkin UK

18 Elmer Bernstein USA

19 Howard Shore CANADA

20 Thomas Newman USA

21 Danny Elfman USA

22 Philip Glass USA

23 James Newton-Howard USA

24 Vangelis GREECE

25 Alan Silvestri USA

Now this is how Taste of Cinema says about Illaiyaraja - “Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer who works in the Indian film Industry. His body of work has spanned across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English language films.

Regarded as one of the finest music composers in India, Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, singer, and a songwriter. To date, he has composed over 4500 songs and provided film scores for more than 950 Indian films in various languages, particularly being acclaimed for his background scoring. His songs and background score played a very crucial role in the success of many films.

For readers ; For any kind of questions and inquiries, you can get in touch with David at davidattoc@hotmail.com.

Thalapathy Vijay's Master and South Movies top All India hits - No Bollywood film

 

Tamil film ` Master’ of Thalapathy Vijay  is  the All India King of Box Office as per the 2021 Box office half yearly report. No Bollywood movie including Salman Khan’s Radhe figures in the top ten Box office All India list. Second top most grosser is Telegu film Pawan Kalyan’s Vakeel Saab. Majority of the top grosser are from Telegu film industry and followed by Tamil ( Dhanush Karnan ) , Malayalam’s The Priest (Mammooty) and an average Hindi hit Roohi ( Jhanvi Kapoor) .Kannada has one super hit  and two average grosser  Darshan Robert is a superhit while  Dhruv Sarja’s Pogaru-  Puneeth Rajkumar’s Yuvarathna are average hits.

260 movies in all languages were released in first months. Net Collection was Rs 969 cr. 186 movies were washouts, Only 6 movies were blockbusters and four termed hits.  The  much celebrated Bollywood had no blockbuster. Salman Khan’s Radhe with Rs 100 cr budget collected worldwide gross of Rs 18.23 cr. It had no theater release in India and was premiered on Zee 5. The overseas collection was mainly from GCC countries .

Top blockbusters – (First column shows  profit figure and last one shows budget of film)

1.	Master		223		153.93			178.75		44.25		135	Blockbuster
Uppena		84.1		70		81.6	2.5		22		Blockbuster
Krack		60.15		50.55		58.75	1.4		40		Blockbuster
Jathi Ratnalu		68		49.76		57	11		15		Blockbuster
The Priest		28.5		15.57		18.4	10.1		15		Blockbuster
Naandhi		8.5		7.14		8.3	0.2		4		Blockbuster

 

Vakeel Saab and Karnan comes in the super hit category -

Vakeel Saab	137.5	109.55	127.3	10.2	70
Karnan 52 41 48 4 40 SuperHit

Blockbusters are decided on the budget of the production and the total gross (  amount got after paying all commissions and taxes) got by Producer. Though there are hits in Tamil- Kannada- Malayalam  that gave profits, they cannot be termed blockbusters as the percentage of the profit in ratio to  the cost does not qualify for it.

As Bollywood films need a global – pan- Indian audience, no big Star films with exception of Salman Khan was released. The Navratri puja – Diwali is expected to bring back the sparkle to Bollywood.