Rajinikanth's Annaathe adopts Kerala model distribution

Sun Pictures Annaathe starring Rajinikanth- Nayanthara has  adopted the Kerala model of film distribution in Tamil Nadu. Ironically, Antony Perumbavoor is asking Kerala theaters  to adopt the MG system of Tamil Nadu for Marakkar. Similarly, Sun Pictures has directly entered overseas market and entrusted Real Image the company that operates Qube digital transmission in India to distribute worldwide. Instead of selling it outright and not knowing  collection figures and countries it was screened, Real Image would provide a full details and take a service charge on it. In fact this would be an eyeopener to the real business of Tamil cinema abroad.

Usually, a star film is sold to a single distributor and he in turn re-sells it to various distributors in districts. These distributors in turn take a MG ( minimum guarantee) from theaters and passed on to main distributor. If the film collections fall short of MG, the distributor has to pay back to theaters and if it exceeds, the outflow is shared as per mutual agreements.

 Sun Pictures entrusted Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant to call all theater owners to Chennai and ask them to deposit an advance amount as per their calculation. After a price was agreed among theater owners in districts and profit sharing percentage, the agreements were drawn up between them and Sun Pictures. Red Giant was only a facilitator and got a fee for it. This way theaters had no compulsion to pay as per distributor demand and amount was safe with a brand like Sun Pictures. Profit sharing rates were uniform  for all single screens and usually here it varied according to locations but it was not so this time. Multiplexes who are united and governed by corporates always had a unified sharing percentage. 

Theaters did not have to cough up heavy amounts to get the film and take it to a blind game of gambling. This way, Sun Pictures got the real picture of collections through Red Giant that monitored it.  In Kerala, Sun distributes the film through PVR theater  chain on just advance amount. Usually a non Malayalam film  is bought outright and no body knows what it collected. Same applies to Karnataka. Only in Andhra, it has been sold outright.

This system does away with district wise distributors and giving them commission. Distributors are not overtly worried as only big banners with Superstars can do business this way . Others would be cash starved and want to make a fast buck at the earliest. In USA alone, Annaathe has got 550 screens and for first time the names have been listed.

We called Antony Perumbavoor Bluff Master on Jan 6th'21 - Kerala Film trade echoes it now

 

Mohanlal's man Friday Antony Perumbavoor bluffs his way to justify Drishyam 2 on Amazon- Our report Dated January 6 2021. Now exhibitors and Malayalam trade unanimously term him ` Bluff Master’. Arabikadalinte Simham Marakkar for OTT .

Producer Antony told the Kerala Film Chamber that he was selling Drishyam 2 to enable Marakkar to be screened in theatres. Why ? He had taken Rs 20 crores as advance from theatres and wanted to keep them pacified.

Now theatres are open. Antony says give me Rs 30 crores more or take back your money. Reason? Amazon has offered me Rs 50 crores and with satellite rights, I will cover my investment.

As no OTT pays more than Rs 30-35 crores for a Star film direct OTT release from Malayalam language, he has put up three more films that have Mohanlal in it and fixed a total price. So in the long run , he stands to make close to Rs 20- 30 crores profit.

 Antony to exhibitors - If I walk out of the deal then I need distributors  to give me Rs 60 crores as  outright amount.  (Thus if the film collects or not, the producer is not bound to return it) Exhibitors :  In Kerala, no film is bought outright, We can give Rs 15 crores for 500 screens and only as advance . Antony : Fine. Then I am not taking any risks and going to Amazon.

Next bluff by Antony is that – “ My film cost Rs 65 crores. I am selling it to Amazon Prime and Asianet and still lose Rs 7 crores”. Why ? All for the love of Lal eattan fans.

Antony has sold three more films that have Mohanlal and pocketed a profit of Rs 20 crores from Amazon. TV rights and digital- dubbing- remake rights are still with him.

Poor exhibitors who advanced Rs 20 crores to Antony are glad that after two years they have got the capital back without interest. They run to Lalettan  and he says – Who told you that I have any stake in Ashirwad productions ?. He is doing what any producer would do in this circumstances.

So finally after Thalapathy Vijay’s Master that saved Kerala theaters then , it is for Thalaivar SuperStar Annaatthe to come to the rescue again on Diwali Day ( November 4)

Our earlier report link ; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/01/mohanlals-man-friday-antony-perumbavoor.html

Family Drama and ENNANGA SIR UNGA SATTAM - One a Dud- other ok (on Sony LIV)

Family Drama is a Telugu film which claims to be a crime thriller. ENNANGA SIR UNGA SATTAM is a duplex film ( means a film with two halves and same set of actors and director) and though the making is not great , it does put forth a issue in quite a quirky way  Cant say it is a total time waste.

Family Drama is like the film Tabbar where a series of murders are committed by the family members to save one of them and the coverups and moral dilemmas that surround it. Here murders take place by two sons in a plot to usurp the property of their father whom they have paralyzed.  The murders takes place but there is not even one guy who comes in search of the dead victims and no neighbours are around. The whole absurd drama that takes place in an urban area and in a middle class family reaches a ridiculous climax

Only best part is actor Suhas who plays the psychopath . He is top class. For creating this character , director Meher Tej needs to be commended. The use of classical background music and the way Suhas dances to it and his smile and expressions are a treat to watch. 

ENNANGA SIR UNGA SATTAM has it's  own moments of comedy and satire. The first portion is about a guy who wants to bump around without working and  living off his father who boasts of his caste links.  The director says that like any jobless youth in Chennai , he too tries his hand at direction and gives up as he realizes that his USP of taking a film with a message - highlight the plight of farmers , would bring him social recognition, is an over used subject. There are four films on the same subject that is released every week !.

Second half has a jobseeker from the lower caste for the post of archakar ( priest) in a Govt aided temple as he had completed a course in it. A Brahmin boy with all qualifications applying for a Govt job.  

Though the priest aspirant is called Ranjith Dasan ( a jibe at film director Pa Ranjith) and technically fit , the believers 9 non- Brahmins) are not willing to have him. A Brahmin by birth and a aide already working in the temple will lose his job if the other guy gets the job. Decision is in hands of the senior Priest - a Brahmin. Here fair play and justice takes place and the lower caste guy gets the job. At the interview where a Brahmin boy is appearing before a woman who heads the selection board, he loses out as other board members are heavily influenced by the connections of the candidates. The boy later gets through  with the woman machinations hting for him.

The message that comes through is that a Brahmin who has the power to decide is very broad and overcomes caste prejudices of even the non Brahmin believers. Some comments are just superb-  Are u not the people who started learning Japanese as soon as you heard Japan is going to bomb Madras ? Two bulls died in the bombing and you all deserted Madras and came running to Kumbakonam. The film also shows the untouchability with Brahmins - the priests who do funeral rites being well in demand are shunned by the others inside the community.

The whole subject is part of a script narrated to a producer and we have another guy who claims that the script  is his. The producer at first dismisses it saying that there is no positive thinking and then a good ending comes through. It sort of says that for cinema, the ending was positive but in real life it is not so.

The film does make a pitch for reservation based on economic status and also stresses that such a job opening should be free from influences and open to only merit. In the end despite this rightful message, you get the feeling that Brahmins of toady's generation are being deprived of many things for the wrongs done decades ago by the ancestors. . Like the Chief temple trustee says as the priests jobs were made a domain of Brahmins then , the wrong is being set right now.

One thing I liked was the role of film Producer . He is not bothered about the overtones etc and is  clear that a good ending will only click .Produced by Passion Studios ENNANGA SIR UNGA SATTAM is written and directed by debutant Prabhu Jeyaram.

Is Udhyanidhi Stalin The BOSS of Kollywood ?

 A voice clip  between a theater owner and distributor tells about how the former is being compelled to give more screens to Rajinikanth's Annatthe . The clip gains traction as the distributor of Annatthe is Udhayanidhi Stalin and producers are Sun Pictures. Next we have maverick actor- producer TR telling the media that an unrecognized Film Federation of Tamil film bodies is using the name of Red Giant to pressurize his son STR to pay up for the loss incurred by a producer. TR adds that he and wife would sit in dhqrna before the house of  Udhayanidhi if justice is not given. These are two happenings that are on record. A third is that Bollywood Producer Boney Kapoor pays a visit to Udhaynidhi and releases the photo to the media. This could  should not seen in isolation as almost all active film folks in Kodambakkam turned up to greet TN CM Stalin is the defense.

Lets move to events that have no evidence to show that Udhaynidhi Stalin was involved in them . Lyca International Subashkaran - director Shankar- are locked in a dispute over budget of Indian 2 and movie is stalled. Lyca funded film with Vadivelu as hero is stalled due to producer Shankar and his sishya who is the director had a run in with the hero ( Vadivelu).  Vadivelu meets Stalin and says good times are back. Reports say that Lyca and Shankar smoked the peace pipe. Vadivelu project is scrapped.

Aranmanai 3 directed by Sundar C and with a not so great star cast - a failing franchise gets pretty good number of screens even when Sivakarthikeyan film Doctor released a week before runs to packed houses. In fact it got more screens than what film Enemy got for upcoming Diwali . Reason  -the film was distributed by Red Giant Movies. This Giant company is owned by Udhayanidhi.

Reports say that Udhayanidhi called the Enemy distributor ( don't know whether it is Anbu of Madurai or Kamadhenu Films) and told him that there is no pressure on his part and in fact he asked theaters to allot screens to his rival. Maanadu starring STR was to release on Diwali but this unrecognised Federation stopped the release as it does not want competition to Rajinikanth . What STR competition to Rajinikanth ? No to Red Giant the distributor of Anaatthe. STR father- mother indulges in theatrics. Mother talks about how her hubby then campaigned for DMK non stop and started spitting blood as his vocal chords were  bleeding and now some lackeys of Udhaynidhi are working against her son. After this we see Enemy film producer who said that he cannot fight Red Giant for pooja holidays cry about how he did not get even 250 screens for Diwali against a Rajinikanth - Udhayanidhi combo.

In defense of Udhaynidhi,  his circle says releasing of Aranmanai 3 with Doctor was a masterstroke. Those who did not get tickets for Doctor bought Aranmanai tickets. So theater owners hit a double whammy. Now again for Diwali, this will happen. Udhay by asking theaters to give 250 screeens is ensuring that Enemy gets the overflow. Once again Theater owners are going to be happy.

The Lyca - Shankar- Vadivelu issue is just putting dots together to make a line. Vadivelu  meets Stalin . Stalin attends Shankar daughter's wedding when other VIP's stayed away citing Covid restrictions. Assemble this and you get a story of Lyca- Shankar- Vadivelu case being solved. Red Card withdrawn by Tamil Film Producers on Vadivelu as the President is Mirali, a DMK man, is humbug. Council has not heard of any Red Card. A production company that has a title Naai Shekar , name made popular by Vadivelu says not willing to part with it for a Lyca Production who claims that as Vadivelu is the hero they are morally the owners and legal rights have no room. Council agrees. Lyca names the film Naai Shekar Returns.

Actor- politician - ex MP Sarath Kumar when quitting DMK said that first family of DMK was running Kollywood through their siblings production companies - distribution and TV network. Jayalalithaa made a caustic remark that the CM had lot of time to see special shows arranged for him. Not one day  passed without a photo of then CM Karunaindhi being clicked at a preview theater.

On January first week, Ajith starrer Valiamai is releasing and so far no biggie has planned to release at same time. The producer is Boney Kapoor. So he met Udhaynidhi and that was to exchange pleasantries as the young actor- politician was acting and producing  Hindi film Articke 15 Tamil remake . Hindi producer is Boney and he unlike other's wh

o just pocket the money pays a visit to the guy who paid for it and makes it a public. A rare gesture in these days.

Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam ; A Padmarajan kind of story telling

Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam (Malayalam) is a film that lingers on even after viewing. Something that you can revisit again and enjoy. A rainy afternoon, the film kind of made up for the wasted morning ( seeing Erida ). A film that reminds you of Padmarajan the director who gave us films with characters that were down to earth and spoke not dialogues but  language that a common man spoke. Speaking of the language, it is in a dialect that is quite typical to Payyanur region and despite having worked there for a month , I had to depend on the sub titles .

The story line is simple. Eve of an engagement ceremony in a low income family of ` Kuwait' Vijayan . His daughter who is in love with another guy does like the engagement but has not told so to her father whom she fears. Decorations are going on and relatives are coming in and so also those who loaned money to Vijayan. Among those helping the preparatory work is the guy whom the girl loves. The events that lead to elopement and after are one hell of fun. Finally after the climax comes a video post of the guy who was to marry the girl and that has you in splits.

All newcomers and what a performance !!!.  Senna Hegde the director and cameraman Sreeraj Raveendran are in perfect synch and keep the film template steady. Music too is just apt. Must watch - Streaming on Sony Liv.

Rajinikanth underwent Carotid Artery revascularisation. informs hospital

 After Rajinikanth admission in Kauvery Hospital at Alwarpet (Chennai) yesterday, in this regard, a statement has also been issued from the hospital management. Rajinikanth joined the hospital on October 28, after he complained of giddiness and a slight headache. Subsequently, he was rushed to the hospital where after a thorough examination, the actor was advised to undergo Carotid Artery revascularisation. Carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure that removes plaque from the inside of your carotid artery in order to restore normal blood flow to your brain. A surgeon will make an incision on your neck, access the affected artery, open it, and remove the plaque buildup.If an artery becomes completely blocked (which is called carotid occlusion) or if piece of the blockage breaks off and travels to a smaller vessel where it completely blocks blood flow, a part of the brain may be completely deprived of oxygen, leading to the destruction of brain tissue.

The surgery is the most safest for patients who are aged as it can be done under local anesthesia. After a few days of hospitalization, the patient can get back to work but with certain restrictions on physical activity. Rajinikanth along with his wife and grandchildren had seen Annaatthe in a special show. The film is releasing on November 4th globally. This film is the first to have maximum screens in USA and that three shows a day. Qube the digital service provider and arm of International chain for the first time enters distribution of films outside India., 

Bigg Boss 5 Pavani Reddy serial gets re- telecast - Abishek picks Niroop winner

 Star Vijay has announced the re-run of the serial Chinna Thambi after Pavani Reddy, it's lead heroine has become popular through the channel's Bigg Boss 5 Tamil reality show. Bharathi Kanamma serial faces a replacement of the actress who played the title role. 

The Bigg Boss 5 Tamil show has within two weeks created an interest with the unexpected eviction of Abishek in the second week, Abishek who was evicted sai in an interview said that given a chance to enter as wild card entry, he would go in and play ,but be himself. He stood by his stance that he had not seen Bigg Boss before and said that those who won were those who won for their character and not by the games that they played. He felt that two contestants were tipped to be winners but he felt that Niroop had the chance as he was himself and his battles were with Priyanka and mostly on issues that happened inside.

Chinna Thambi serial was popular and it brought Pavani to limelight. The popularity of Pavani in Bigg Boss has prompted channel to announce the re- telecast. There is speculation that it might replace Bharathi Kannamma. Roshni, the dusky heroine who played the title role has got a big film project and left. Vinusha Devi, a model is said to replace her.

Erida ; Talents wasted and our time too

 ERIDA means Goddess. It also a symbol of God of hate. Samyuktha Menon neither comes out as a Goddess nor does her character have so much of hate in it. It is here the film falls flat. The time that director V K Prakash spend on Kishore character 's look was devoted to Samyuktha's role , film would have done wonders. Even Nassar role of a rich guy caught in debts and a compulsive gambler does not have the elegance or style that goes with it.  Loganathan does try his best with lighting and movements to pep up a screenplay that keeps on dragging. Kishore has been given a makeover  that makes it difficult to identify him.  Sadly, his role is badly etched and does not give him the scenes that he can score with his new look.

The plot had all the trappings to be a good thriller.  The screenplay gets stuck in a point where the con man and a woman with greed are under one roof. The sparks that are to fly does not happen, the sensuousness' of the woman is absent and nothing pulsating happens.  When you think te film ends with  the lady who committed the murder tells us what took place. Fine. Next you see a a guy popping up and he takes the woman in her car. He too is shown possessive of her and we presume he too plays poker and thinks she is a lucky mascot.

I saw the Malayalam version and it gave me the feeling that I was seeing a Tamil film dubbed. I was told that the Tamil version is the dubbed one. Language is no barrier to know a film is good or bad.

Why the talk of Nayanthara out of SRK- Atlee Hindi film ?

 The buzz that Nayanthara's production house has signed a two film deal with an OTT platform and   said NO to a Tamil film to be produced by a leading Tamil production house has led to speculation that her role in Atlee- SRK film has been trimmed and that the plot will take a different twist with another heroine.

Nayanthara is already confirmed to give dates to Chiranjeevi's Lucifer. She was to do a heroine centric film with a Tamil production house who has a deal with an OTT platform. Sources say that an OTT platform has come forward to buy the film Koozhangal selected as Indian entry for Oscar and produced by the actress production house. The company also has agreed to buy the underproduction film from the same banner and  directed by the actress BF Vignesh and starring Vijay Sethupathi- Nayanthra- Samantha for a whooping price. To top it all a two film deal with the actress production company too has been inked.

Nayanthara has told the  Tamil film production house that she would not do the film as she stands to  gain more by producing and acting in her own banner. The director whose proximity with the actress was one of the reasons to get dates might end up doing it for the actress banner.

This activity has fueled stories of Nayanthara being dropped from the SRK film since she has expressed her inability to juggle and make up for the days lost  due to SRK's son's drug case and hence she is practically out of the film, is the buzz circulating. Sources in Atlee camp are stating that it is a laughable angle and she will complete her portions as scheduled in the script.

Abishek eviction: Bigg Boss 5 Tamil corrects a wrong choice

 

Abishek Raja elimination is a way of telling that if you a high funda movie reviewer – interviewer and your sensibilities do not allow you to  watch   Bigg Boss Tamil , then  you do not deserve to be competing for the title and prize money. To add salt to the wound. Abishek says to Kamal - “ I used to watch a bit of the promos. Just to catch a look at the dresses that you wear.”. _ “ Wondering if I was the stumbling block for you not watching a good show,” quipped Ulaga Nayagan. This opened the exit gate.

Who is Abishek Raja ?. He is a different version of Blue Sattai Maran the acid tongue film reviewer. A 2 minute review in Fully Filmy a You Tube (YT) channel got him noticed ( popular is review of Mota Siva Keta Siva). He moved to Open Panna another YT channel and he became a full-fledged cinema journalist doing  interviews with directors- actors and posed  questions which were loaded with sarcasm .  He made his on screen appearance in Imaikai Nodikal as brother of Raashi Khanna.

Abishek came to the house with a reputation that he has to live up to. So he did the unthinkable. Star Vijay and Kamal Haasan claims that the show has a 4 crore viewers. Here a film journo and that too in his thirties and happening guy  says- Sorry I have not watched this show. Maybe the promo to catch the costumes worn by you and honestly I have not even heard you speak “.

So grilling starts – How come you talked about previous housemate Losliya ? You seem to use terms that is related to this show. Abishek says that all he knew or heard was from the bits gathered in tea sessions with friends. Kamal quips – You seem to have had too many tea sessions.

The exit build up, Kamal snubs him saying that I did not ask you when Abhi starts to explain. Next he intervenes a and ask Abishek – So you are confident that you will win the public support ?.

Bigg Boss show directors made a goof up by putting a guy from Kollywood media who has not seen the show and appears that he missed nothing but not seeing the show or Kamal. It has been corrected.

Four seasons we have seen non -performers – ones who used swear words and used physical strength to subdue co- contestants. They continued on merrily. More the audience hated them, they were ` saved’ and ones inside took it as a license to get more brash.

Abishek either through his tea drinking pals or the clips on YT was thinking on these lines and put in action a groupism in play and started pitting each other. His calculation was that he would be `saved’ to last 5. What did him in was the gab. It was a gift which  earned him money but here it did him in or say out. read abishek take on it

Vels Film International and Master Chef producers join hands - A solo Rajinikanth Diwali feast

 Vels Film International, leading film production house of Tamil films  is said to invested big money in the Innovative Film Academy , who are producers of Master Chef in Tamil with Vijay Sethupathi and Tammannah in Telugu  ( both  on Sun TV channels) and are producers of Kannada magnum opus film  Vikrant Rona starring Kiccha  Sudeep. ,  The Academy located  in outskirts of Bengaluru. Dr Ishari   Ganesh is expected to add the Academy to his Vels Group of educational institutions. Apart from this the campus is to be developed into a Film City equipped with latest equipment's. An Australian team is to set up an amusement theme park that will attract film lovers.

Vels Film International owned by Dr Ishari Ganesh is currently producing a film with Silambarasan and directed by Gautham Menon and move on to the next film Corona Kumar again with same hero to be directed by Gokul. The production company is also said to be funding education of many children whose parents are working in film industry and members of trade body FEFSI.

The Academy,  according to many, can become an alternative location to film makers who have only Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Travelling time and connectivity to Bengaluru from Kerala - Tamil Nadu is excellent and climatic conditions very conducive as there is no extreme summer in the Garden city.

At the time of writing, Rajinikanth's Annatthe is likely to have a solo release for Diwali. STR's Maanaadu has pulled out citing lack of adequate screens and shifted to November end. Visha;'s Enemy the other release too has got only 160 screens/ This is not sufficient for a distributor to recover the investment. In all probability , it may be postponed. Tollywood’s leading distribution house- Asian Infra Estates LLP has obtained Telugu and Tamil rights of the movie for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Narayandas Narang and Suresh Babu are bringing the film to Telugu and Tamil audiences in Telugu states. Since the film is loaded with brother-sister sentiment, the makers have opted for title of Peddanna. 

Chemban Vinod joins Kamal Haasan- John Abraham produces Malayalam film

 

Actor Chemban Vinod is the latest addition to Kamal Haasan film Vikram. John Abraham production kick started his first Malayalam film. The Great Indian Kitchen director announces his next. Chemban Vinod is the latest from Kerala to join the Vikram  bandwagon directed by Lokesh Kanakaraj. Faahad Fazil and Kalidas Jayram from Kerala is already acting in the film. Chemban  makes his Tamil film debut.. 

When Prithiviraj joined Karan Johar as co producer of the Hindi remake of Driving License, John Abraham announced his maiden Malayalam film as producer .It has ‘Thanneermathan Dhinangal’ fame Anaswara Rajan and Ranjith Sajeev as the leads. Vishnu Sivaprasad is directing the film Mike. Shooting began in Mysore.  ‘Arjun Reddy’ fame Radhan as the music director makes  his Malayalam debut. National award-winner Vivek Harshan handling the edits and cinematography is by Renadive, who has worked  for films like ‘Comrade in America’, ‘Vijay Superum Pournamiyum’ and ‘Shylock’.\

The Great Indian Kitchen which won Kerala State award and got appreciation nationwide was directed by Jiyo Boby . Now the director announced his next- Swantharaya samaram ( Freedom Fight). The film is an  anthology with Boby directing one and four other directors joining him. Joju George, Rohini,and Rajisha Vijayan are those playing lead roles.

Abhishek - Abhinay and Chinna Ponnu in low marks _ Who will save them in BIgg Boss 5 this week ?

 

Abhishek , Abhinay and Chinna Ponnu are the ones who have scored lowest marks ( see table) among the those in the nomination list. Yesterday, five of the house mates were given special powers as they posses a disc. They can save a person from nomination , remove a Captain and post another one or even save themselves. All this can be done once and only for two episodes before the finale. If the disc is transferred to another, that person gets the same powers.

Voting figures gathered from various sources show that Priyanka tops with 19 % votes and second is Paavni Reddy. Third comes Akshara and fourth is Thamarai. Among the last three , Abhinay does not provide any content but he has locked horns with Paavani and this shows signs of escalating as he is on various groups. Abhishek calls himself  content creator and last episode had him say that he has yet to start his game and once he does , then all will be packed and send home. He is seen as master minding the moves of some house mates.

Abhinay going out will hardly be missed by anybody but Chinna Ponnu who comes from an audience ( non Metro) that Star Vijay is desperately trying to break in and upstage Sun TV might retain her.  Here again the voting shows that the core urban audience are the voters and they are not rooting for the local folk song singer.

 Chinna Ponnu seems to be out of sync and a bad content creator.  Lets wait and see. As with previous records, BB always patronizes the most hated housemate and keeps that person going . This also creates an interest among the haters and supporters and so also the TRP's.

Vishal- Jaara Jaara Dimple Hyayathi film Veerame Vagai Soodum completed

 Vishal's Veerame Vagai Soodum is in final stage of post production. The film marks the entry of Jaara Jaara item song actress Dimple Hayathi as solo heroine in a Tamil film. She acted in Devi 2 - Telugu- Tamil film. She is currently acting in Dhanush 's Hind film Aatangi Re. Her item song in Telugu film Gaddalakoda Ganesh ( remake of Jigarthanda) was a big hit.

The film was shot in various parts of Hyderabad and around Chennai. The film tells the story of a common man who confronts those in power. Yogibabu, Marimuthu, Tulsi, Kavita Bharathi, RNR Manohar, Baburaj, Billy Murali, Raveena, KSG Venkatesh, Maha Gandhi, Mariam George, Black sheep Deepti plays the lead roles. 

Actor Vishal is producing the film on behalf of Vishal Film Factory. து.பா.

 Saravanan writes and directs. Lead composer Yuvan Shankar Raja is composing the music for the film. Gavin Raj to do cinematography, NB Srikanth to do editing. SS Murthy does the art direction, Vasuki Bhaskar does the costume design. The sound system is done by Tapas Nayak. Anil Arasu, Ravi Verma and Dinesh set the fight scenes. Kannadasan does the advertising design. Johnson does public relations work. Bala Gopi is the Executive Producer.

Sri Lankan rap singer Yohani song deleted from Legend Saravana film- Bigg Boss Losliya debut film a washout

 Sri Lankan singer Yohani song for Tamil film starring Legend Saravana Stores owner Arul has been deleted and will not be aired. Yet another Sri Lankan in the news is Losliya who competed in Bigg Boss 4 Tamil season. Her debut film Friendship in Tamil bombed and is now considered unlucky . A Sri lankan nadaswaram exponent is said to have been introduced by D Imman in Rajinikanth's Annatthe.

Singer Yohani's rap song Manike Mage Hithe that is gone viral with 9 million viewers is facing heat in Tamil Nadu. Composer Harris Jayaraj introduced her as singer for the upcoming film that is the debut of of  Arul, owner of Legend Saravana Stores. Harris posted a picture of him and the singer on social media. It was met by sharp criticisms pointing out that Yohani is daughter of Sri Lankan Army Commander Prasanna De Silva who led the operations against LTTE in the final assault and killed Prabhakaran.

Following this, the photo was removed from the social media post. Now the entire song would not be part of the film album. Music companies have said that they would not want trouble at their stores. Yohani on the other hand had a rousing reception in Bollywood. She sang at the open ceremony of Hindi Bigg Boss 15 and received  praise from Big B. She also sung for Hindi film Shiddat. Yohani will sing the Hindi version of her hit track for the upcoming film Thank God starring Ahay Devgn.

Losliya who took part in Bigg Boss 4 Tamil was flooded with offers as she was found to be cute and appealing. Losliya Mariyanesan from Sri Lanka was a newsreader . She shifted to Chennai to try her luck in TV and films. It was then Star Vijay offered her the show. She came runner-up and had a good fan following. Many of the contestants ( Tharshan- Kevin) were in love with her. Her first film Friendship with cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Arjun was a total washout. Her second film is Android  Kuttappan the Malayalam film remake and directed by K S Ravikumar.

Even before the release, there was rumours of her starry behavior on the sets. After the flop, Kollywood has given up on her. She joins the list of Bigg Boss inmates who turned flops on big screen.

Ananya Panday lost film opp Thalapthi Vijay 66 due to Aryan drug case

Ananya Panday was the front runner to play opposite Thalapathy in Vijay 66 but the NCB putting her in the suspect list of people connected with drugs trade related to her childhood pal Aryan Khan has made the producer Dil Raju and director Vamshi look for alternative. Ananya is the heroine opposite Vijay Devarakonda - Puri Jagganath film Liger ( a Telugu- Hindif ilm). The film is about boxing and Mike Tyson is to play a role in it. The unit is all set to go to USA to film the scenes with Mike.

Ananya who had done only medium budget  Hindi films struck gold with Liger as  Vijay Devarakonda is a pan South Indian hero with hits like Geetha Govindam, Arjun Reddy, World Famous Lover and the producers are Karan Johar and actress Charmee. Made at a high budget and shot mostly in Mumbai, the film is Vijay's Hindi debut film. The film would launch Ananya in South with a bang.

Puri Jagganath and Charmee had spoken highly of Ananya's work in Liger and producer Dil Raju and director Vamshi were keen to sign her up. Kiara Advani who is working in Ram Charan - Shankar film. and produced by same producer Dil Raju asked Rs 6 crores. Now Vijay 66 team is to take a look at Ketika Sharma who is heroine of  `Romantic' directed by Puri Jagganath who is launching his son Akash as hero. Prabhas who released the trailor in Mumbai spoke highly of her.

Vijay Devarakonda had in his interviews spoke highly about Ananya's dedication. Ananya and Suhana ( sister of Aryan Khan) are thick friends. Aryan- Ananya- Suhana always are seen together and SRK has filmed the trio in many of their family holidays together. Though Aryan and Ananya are said to be in a relationship, both have never been spotted together without Suhana. NCB officials said that Ananya's name figured in other suspects chat list of WhatsApp and not only in Aryan's phone. Ananya appeared before the NCB for questioning.  

Ananya is daughter of actor Chunky Panday.. Incidentally Liger's producer Charmee and director Puri were named by a American drug peddler ash is customers. The case that involved many Tollywood film personalities died down after two years with all being cleared of the drug charges. Tollywood Actors Body MAA intervened and got an assurance from Telangana CM that no arrest will be made.

Director Shankar son in law goes underground as Puducherry Police book POSCO case

 Director Shankar's son - in - law Rohit and his father Damodaran along with three others have gone underground after Puducherry Police registered a POSCO charge against them. Rohitis captain of the Puducherry Cricket Club and owner of Madurai Panthers in Tamil Nadu Premier League. His father Damodharan is a businessman. He married Shankar's daughter Aishwarya , a Doctor by profession at a function on ECR in Chennai. Among the few invitess who attended the wedding was TN CM M K Stalin and son Udhaynidhi. Aishwarya's younger sister is slated to make her debut as heroine in Actor Suriya- Jyotika company 2 D Entertainment. Shankar is currently busy with Ram Chran film pre shoot work.

The cricket club was operating on Government land without permission and encroached on beach area violating CRZ rules. Then Lt Governor Kiran Bedi had sealed the premises and the land. During this period, cricket coaching was shifted to a Government school ground.  A 12th Std girl student complained that two coaches had physically abused her. The Club according to the girl asked her to ` adjust' with the coaches. She then filed a complaint before the State child welfare commission.

The commission found the coaches and the management guilty of the charges levelled by the girl. Based on a direction , Puducherry police has booked owner Damodran and son Rohit , secretary, two coaches. All of them are at time of writing not arrested by police.

SRK - Nayanthara -Atlee film on Chennai- Salem Train heist ?

 The SRK- Nayanthara Hindi film is about the robbery that took place in the Salem - Chennai train in 2016. Director Atlee is said to have narrated a semi-fictional account of how the case was solved after a two year investigation by CB-CID sleuths. The cracking of the case using latest technology like satellite images and mapping  and tapping of phones using satellites. The makers cannot publicly claim that the film is based on the train heist as the case is still in court. The kingpin is serving a sentence for other cases in Madhya Pradesh. Till date, the Salem- Chennai robbery is considered to be No 1 Train robbery in the World list of robberies. The amount stolen  amount was  around Rs 5.60 crores in cash.

From the top 5  train robberies in the World,, most of them have been become crime thrillers in print and celluloid. Adair train Robbery became a book The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and a movie of the same name starring Brad Pitt. The Great British train Robber 1963 did not get made into a movie. The Great Gold Robbery of 1855' was similar to the Salem- Chennai robbery as the theft was known only after the train reached Paris. Unlike earlier ones, there was no masked robbers with guns.  movie made on this heist starred Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland was called The Great Train Robbery.. Newton Boys and the Rondout Train Robbery in terms of money was the highest in US history. The brothers known as Newton Boys plundered the mail sacks containing over $3 million and fled the scene. It took place in  1924 and in 1998, a feature film was made on the story of the Newton Boys with the same name, starring Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke.

 In 1925's Kakori Train Robbery in pre-Independent India .which included Chandrasekar Azad figures though it is seen as part of rebellion against British, Hindustan Republican Association members looted the train and took away Treasury bags containing Rs 8000. The gang members were surrounded and taken to custody . Azad refused to surrender and shot himself during the encounter.

In the Chennai Robbery,  many teams were formed and investigators changed. The mobile phones calls that were made in the Salem - Villipuram stretch were taken and after a laborious search of each number, the dacoits numbers were pin pointed. Satellite images of the train movement showed the modus operandi and exit point of robbers.

The gang was identified as Pardi gang from MP. The cops waited for gang members to board a train to Chennai and nabbed them. The gang pitched tents on roadside and worked as laborer's. They scouted the area and then made their attack.

The loot was shared among members but two months later the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes turned useless due to demonetization. Gang members used the notes to light cigarettes after that.

Sun TV launches Marathi channel - sixth Indian language in network

 

Sun TV Network has entered the Marathi Entertainment Television space with the launch of Sun Marathi. The Channel went on air today (17th October 2021) at 6: 30 PM and it will be a Free-to-air channel.

The channel’s Tagline is ‘Sohala Natyancha’ which translates to ‘Celebrating relationships’. Staying true to its tagline, the channel has announced 3 hours of original programming with 6 shows starting from 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Each of these shows explore unique relations in its storyline. The shows announced are ‘Nandini’ at 6.30 pm, ‘Sundari’ at 7 pm, ‘Jaau nako dur..baba!’ at 7.30 pm, ‘Abhalachi Maya’ at 8 pm, ‘Kanyadaan’ at 8.30 pm and ‘Sant Gajanan Shegaviche’ at 9 pm. The Channel is likely to add movies to its Programming line-up that includes a mix of original Marathi movies and dubbed movies of hit titles from other languages as the network has a strong library of 4000+ movie titles.

The channel has also announced ‘Bagha Roj Jinka Rokh’ (Watch Daily, Win Cash) contest which every day offers an opportunity for more than 1,000 viewers to win up to 2 crores in cash prize from Dusshera to Diwali.  Every day during the contest period, one question will be asked in each of the six shows and viewers will have to give a missed call to register their answers on the numbers provided.

With the entry of Sun Marathi, the Marathi GEC space get even more competitive as the market is already having handful of satellite channels with Star Pravah on top of the viewership chart followed by Zee Marathi and Colors Marathi at No. 2 and No. 3 position respectively. The market also has other players like Sony Marathi and Fakt Marathi.

Prior to entering Marathi Market, Sun TV Network forayed into Bengali entertainment television market with the launch of FTA Bengali GEC, Sun Bangla on 3 February 2019.

With the launch of Sun Marathi, the Conglomerate has power-packed Thirty Four TV Channels with the reach of more than 95 million households in India. Out of 34 Channels 25 are aired in SD format and 9 Channels in HD format across six Indian languages. It also beams 68 FM Radio Station across India.

Sun TV Network’s channels can be viewed in 27 countries including U.S.A, Canada, Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Srilanka, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. ( source- Medianews4u.com)

Samantha post Divorce heralds her STAR status

Samantha's two producers announced two projects with only her name in it and no other cast detail, The director name is the only mention apart from her. This kind of announcement is usually done for Male STAR. Take the case of any STAR project announcement- It is either Vijay 66 or take the recent announcements of Ram Charan. It called RC 16 a Gowtam Tinnanuri directorial and RC17, a Prashanth Neel directorial.  No other details come forth till the actual start, Dream Warrior Pictures announced that they are collaborating with Sam for a bilingual that will be directed by debutante Shantharuban.Sridevi Movie announced their collaboration with Sam to be directed by debutant duo Hari and Harish.

Male dominated industry in Tamil- Telegu are peeved that the producers saw it fit to give the same privilege's given to a Male her. The announcement posters also make it obvious that except  for her , all others do not matter. The trade is quite amused as there is no film that has run on strength of Samantha. Shakunthalam is the only woman centric film that features her is going to release. 

Both the films are Tamil- Telegu bilingual. It is directed by new comers. Trade feels that the ` arrogance' of Samantha to adapt an announcement style reserved for heroes and the producers  accepting it is from the root cause that OTT platforms will buy her films as she has a pan Indian  draw after The Family Man 2. This sure revenue makes the producer safe.

Tamil has Nayanthara as Lady Superstar and Samantha will be an addition, Tollywood after Vijayshanthi had no Lady  Superstar and Samantha could easily fill the vacuum.

Udanpirappe - Mahasangamam of bro- sis story / Aranmanai 3 - You win in politics lose in films

 

Give the ladies a pooja treat – on TV tune to Amazon -Mahasangamam of brother- sister serial  is Udanpirappe.  Seeing  Aranmanai 3 , you need not wonder who has the last laugh – Distributor Udhyanidhi Stalin or producer Kushboo. A comedy for Sundar C and a horror for Udhay.

The idea is that for festival days, audience wants a family entertainer and giving it at home is a sure winner. Did not Kadaikutty Singam and  Pulikutthi Pandi ( later in TV TRP) create history ? So give Udanpirappe and see Amazon subscriber base zoom ahead.

Add to this it is Jyotika’s 50^th film and Sasikumar’s yet another forgettable rural backdrop film. Then Preacher Samudrakanni to give messages at regular intervals and Soori to give rustic jokes. You have an OTT blockbuster hit.

The instruction is that at no cost should the film show any signs of any new treatment to a weather beaten story as the ladies are all still living in the era of Kizhaku cheemayile - Pasa Malar . Do not disturb them..

Sundar C was sitting on a franchise called Aranmanai. Usually directors copy from Korean – Hollywood- Iranian films. Sundar lifts from Tamil films itself. A few cosmetic changes. Film is ready and guess what -Producer’s arch enemy Stalin's son buys it. Result- Enemy son will be short of couple of crores and hubby rich. Yet another casualty is Arya. His face dominates all publicity posters. Fans think post Sarpattai -- , Arya is going tp give another punch. Yes ,  he did. He is a guest actor.

 

Thalapathy Vijay local poll victory scares PMK

The victory of Vijay Makkal Manram candidate as Villipuram municipality President went unopposed    has started giving  age old PMK sleepless nights. It sees the rise of Vijay as filling the void left by Vijayakanth . The PMK which was breathing easy as Vijayakanth was physically ill is now seeing youths flocking towards the actor’s Makkal Manram, a phenomena that took place when Vijayakanth floated his party. The success of Vijay  though low in numbers is alarming to PMK  the areas the former's victory ,are in pockets where it has a clout. The fact that victory is  in seats where Scheduled Castes voters are in a majority is another concern.

Vijay fans have won 115 seats out of 165 seats it fielded candidates  . Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) of actor Kamal Haasan and Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) could not make any headway this election. NTK has been contesting elections since 2016, while MNM made its debut in 2019. Though Vijay has not officially endorse the poll victory of his fan club members ,  his  Man Froday Bussy Anand told the media after the results that the actor had given the green signal to enter the poll and  to use his name, photos and organisation banner for campaign to 165 candidates selected by Anand.

The emergence of Anand saw the actor distancing himself from his  father who till then controlled Vijay Makkal Manram,  He even got a court order to restrain his father and his supporters to use his name or fan club banner in elections.

Like Vijayakanth ,  Vijay too has entered the political arena silently through his fan clubs.  In the local body polls. 13 of the 115 elected are those who won  unopposed. . The success rate is 68% . The total seats that went to poll is around 23,000.  Anand is an ex  Congress MLA from Puduceery. All posters of the candidates carried Anand with Vijay photos.

Seeman’s argument that Vijay  fans who won claiming  to have won using the actor’s popularity was only hoodwinking the public. All of them had local clout and individual popularity. Vijay fans enraged by this has put up posters asking Seeman to apologize. Ironically, Seeman says Vijay his younger brother.

Victorious candidates of Vijay Makkal Manram termed Independent is nothing  undermining. Out of the 23, 000 posts, only 1500 filed party nomination papers and all others were  Independents supported by a political party.

Actor Sivakumar remembers Srikanth - first hero of Thalaivi

Veteran actor Sivakumar on hearing the death of actor Srikanth penned  his memories about his friend. He said that he had called on Srikanth on his 80th birthday and presented him with a painting and a coffee table book on Cinema. At that time Srikanth's wife Leelavathi, daughter  Mira and husband Zach Alexander was present. Tracing the early days of Srikanth, Sivakumar said that " his friend who was working in the US Consulate started his career in K Balchander's plays. He took the name of the charachter Srikanth that he acted in the play Major Chandrakanth as his screen name. His real name was Venky.  He sated out as hero in Vennarai Aadai as hero to Jayalalithaa as heroine. 

Vaali who rose to be most in demand lyricist and Nagesh became King of comedy had during their early days of starvation and struggle were fed by Srikanth who prepared food himself and stayed in Mambalam Club House. Though, he could not sustain himself as a lead hero, he did many memorable role  like in Sila Nerangil Sila Manithragal , Rajnagam etc. He acted with me in  Madan Mallikai, Sittukuruvi, Ippidiyum oru penn, Annakili, Yaarkum vekamillai, Navagriham etc."

We proved right again - Suriya buys Marathi film rights after RARA was found to be plagiarized

We had reported on Oct 1 that Suriya's 2D production film RARA was a plagiarized version of the Marathi film Raanga Paatanga . Now report in an English Daily  confirms it. It reports  that Suriya has bought  the copyright rights of the film from Bipin Shah of Motion Pictures after learning that it was plagiarized version .  However the twist in the tale is that the report quotes a 2D Entertainment source saying that Suriya had bought the rights of the film in July itself ( before release on Amazon) as it was then that he was informed about the similarity of  five scenes between two films. The source  says that the film production did not give any ` compensation'. The buying of rights is seen as` Suriya gesture wins appreciation ' by the English Daily in a report published on Oct 13th.

It is laughable that the 2D Entertainement company claims that the rights being bought were not `compensation'. Even taking the version put out by 2D that the rights were bought  before release in September , the film credits do not show any credit to the film company that produced the Marathi film or to the  screenplay writer Prasad Namjoshi. Though the company claims that there was only five scenes that were copy, the one line of the subject and core theme are the same. Story of Marathi film is by Chinmaya Patankar.

2D Entertainment's Udanpirappu which is Jyotika's 50 th film is releasing on October 14th at Amazon Prime Video . For Diwali, the film company has lined up Jai Bhim with Suriya in the central role. Amazon Prime Video  unveiled a captivating motion poster for the global release of the courtroom drama Jai Bhim. The film which releases this Diwali, on 2nd November in India and across 240 countries and territories, is written and directed by Tj Gnanavel and produced by Suriya and Jyotika.

see link to Oct 1 report : https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/10/suriya-productions-ra-ra-copy-of.html

End of Chiranjeevi brand signals Vishnu Manchu victory in Telegu actors poll

 Victory of Vishnu Manchu as President of MAA ( Telegu actors body) means the end of the stranglehold of Chiranjeevi clan in Telugu film industry is one opinion that is gaining traction. This victory will elevate Mohan Babu, father of Vishnu Manchu, to Pedda Dhikku . This honoured status was given to Late Dasari Narayana Rao , the Guru of Babu.

The margin of 100 votes among the 600 votes polled for Vishnu Manchu was a surprise as Prakash Raj with Chiranjeevi backing was to win and if at all lose , would be by a whisker. Ram Charan ( son of Chiru) , Mahesh Babu, Nag Chaitanya ( son of Nagarjuna), Prabhas, jr NTR, Ravi Teja, all young blood skipped voting as they were not happy with Chiru - brother Naga Babu support to Prakash Raj.

Prakash Raj had created lot of bad blood by riding roughshod over directors and producers who were not part of the filmy families of Chiru- Venkatesh- NTR - Nagarjuna group. Disciplinary actions against him were swept under the carpet, On the other hand, Mohan Babu - Son Vishnu emerged as an ideal channel for the disgruntled lot suffering from the bossism of the clan politics in Tollywood.

Mohan Babu was literally under a cloud after the Diamond Jubilee fest of Tollywood in Feb 2007. Babu said that only one Star was hogging all the limelight at the fest and this Star never allowed anybody to come up. Chiru fans burnt Babu's cut outs all over the State. Babu sensing that his anti- Chiru posture (later at the MAA meeting accusing of the Megastar shirking from doing flood relief work) was not getting him anywhere.

His son Vishnu was just climbing the ladder. Vishnu- daughter Lakshmi steered clear of their Dad's love- hate relationship. Both families went on get aways and posted pictures. Industry guys said that Babu had no way but to play along.

This year MAA polls came as a game changer. The mood among the members who were not lackeys of the filmy families of Tollywood wanted the Brand Chiranjeevi to be put in place. Chiru also found this poll a place to show his clout. He appeared as the dutiful brother backing Nagababu's candidate Prakash Raj.

As the poll result became swinging after a initial lead, Chiru termed the MAA posts as small posts that should not divide the industry. Prakash Raj- Nagababu quit.

Mohan Babu's first job is to meet Jagan AP CM to get relief in taxes on movie tickets and some other demands. Jagan did not grant an appointment to Chiru. Once this comes through, the Producers - exhibitors lobby will shift stance towards Babu and camp. The stranglehold on exhibitor sector by the Family too is expected to crumble. This would throw open a level playing field for other Stars and actors.

South India Film PRO Union meets TN CM Stalin

 

The South India Fim Pro Union met Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin and Information minister to prsent a five point demand memorandum . CM Stalin who read the demands forwarded it to Information Minister who met the reprsentatives led by Priesident Dimond Babu, Ganesh and Yuvaraaj  . He said that all the demands raised would be considered.

Mughizh movie review : Truly a birth of fragrance

 Mughizh was running in theaters without any usual excitement goes with a Viajy Sethupathi film. There was no camermen and anchors to ask what you felt about the film. In fact, theater guys made us twiddle our thumbs for 30 minutes in the name of interval. As the film is only  60 minutes, they cannot have a show timing below 90 minutes. Some stupid rule.

A small world of a middle class family- working father ( Vijay Sethupathi), homemaker ( Regina ) and their daughter (Sreeja). When ever the daughter walks on the road, stray dogs come toawards her. Her father feeds these dogs.  The girl is frightened of dogs. Father decides to present her a pup and drive her fear away. Predictable, she gets fond of the pup named Scooby. This pup love to the daughter and father creates a jealousy in the mother as it is she who looks after him.

Many such moments show the depth to which the pup becomes a inseparable part of the small family. Tragedy strikes when the pup gets run over by a bike. The girl feels that she is responsible and behins to sulk. Her mother too misses the pup who was her companion and it is now left to the man of the household to bring two of them to terms with reality.

The film in a way deals with the situation that arises when a family member dies in a nuclear family.  The decision of the father that no amount of coaxing is going to help and better to leave the daughter alone to cope with the loss and come out of it is what applies to most of us .

The film is produced by Vijay Sethupathi and Sreeja is his real life daughter. With no frills, a short loveable tale told effectively by Kartik Swaminathan and music and BGM by Reva shows her understanding of the subject. Similarly Sathya Ponmar camerawork makes us forget that the entire story happens mostly in an apartment.

Could the change of mood in the girl be brought out with a different circumstance  ? Needless to say that Vijay and Regina, two actors just get into the skin of the characters. The director approach to Sreeja, first time actor is appreciable. He has just left her do what comes to her and many seem amateurish but still it has a naturalness.

Nobody is going to talk of first day collections or high funda critics point out metaphors and what not in this film. As the title means it has given birth to a sensitive director- a child actor with a potential and a good set of technicians like Reva and Ponmar. From the titles I gather it is coming on Netflix.