Big Bids for Maanaadu Hindi- Telugu remakes

 

Maanaadu’s Telugu and Hindi remake rights are in big demand. Telugu theatrical rights that has been bought is yet to release and now the buyer is willing to pay the remake rights for the same language and also for Hindi. The clash between two stars like in Vikram Vedha has excited producers as they feel that a multi star film would do wonders if Maanaadu is remade.

Yet another factor for remake  is that that the reason said in the film , for hero to be the chosen one to save the CM as he was born a Muslim in a North Indian temple and has closeness to Babri Masjid destruction is what that will strike chord with the mass.

S J Suryah has dubbed himself for the Telugu version. Maanaadu’s Tamil prints released in North India has got exceptional good response. Even cities like Chandigarh witnessed full shows as Tamil population after reading the rave reviews went to see the film. Suryah dialogue and Yuvan’s BGM for Suryah has become popular ringtones. BO source; https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Maanaadu_2021

Maanaadu Tamil Day Wise Net Collection

Tamil Verdict	Tamil Net Box Office	Day 5	Day 4	Day 3	Day 2	Day 1
None	₹ 28.79 Cr	₹ 1.94 Cr *	₹ 7.8 Cr	₹ 6.9 Cr	₹ 4.9 Cr	₹ 7.25 Cr

Maanaadu Chennai Day Wise Gross Collection

Chennai Gross Box Office	Day 4	Day 3	Day 2	Day 1
₹ 3.23 Cr	₹ 0.92 Cr	₹ 0.91 Cr	₹ 0.59 Cr	₹ 0.81 Cr

Bigg Boss 5 Tamil to wind up ?

 

Bigg Boss 5 Tamil might shut down or go forward with  new anchor ( not Ramya Krishnan) is the thinking in Star Vijay bosses circle. The drop in TRP of Ramya ‘s episodes is making a rethink on future of show.

Kamal will not attend BB5 for next 15 days and if TRP falls further, it will be a disaster. Suspend the show citing new virus and precautions or bring in an equally BIG STAR. At present, only Suriya is apt replacement. Popular as an actor with involvement in social issues .bold in saying out his mind and earning critical acclaim for powerful roles like in Jai Bhim, Suriya is the best choice . His availability is to be seen.

Most probably it will be suspended and restarted after Kamal is back. Malayalam BB finale was suspended as Chennai Corpn cracked on the sets for violation of Covid norms. Later, a month after it was resumed.

Udhayanidhi Stalin helped Maanaadu release ? - No says Producer, alleges conspiracy

 For STR's Maanaadu release , no help by Udhayanidhi Stalin was given states producer Suresh Kamatchi . Veteran Producer K Rajan who is expert in trade issue and closely involved in Suresh's financial deals was quoted saying that the film was bailed out by Stalin by buying the TV rights for Kalaignar TV.  We too had reported about Stalin chipping in to help the film clear financial dues. Suresh says that he had no dealing whatsoever with Udhay and in fact he says that a lobby worked overtime to see that the film did not get released. He felt that the lobby was working against STR. He gives his version of what happened after he tweeted that the film was not releasing on Friday.

According to Rajan, the money from the distributor did not come on time to settle the dues of financier Uttam Chand. He says that the distributor collects money from theaters and hands it over to the producer. The money got stuck and saying where would be a breach of trust, he said.  

Suresh says that the satellite rights amount was agreed with Star Vijay but at last minute it was reduced by half or the option was to wait till the box office results were known. All channels were willing to buy the film but were quoting very low rates or were non committal on the price. This seemed odd as it appeared to a part of a conspiracy, says Suresh. Suresh had tied up deal with Sony Liv for OTT release and got only a letter confirming it. With Star Vijay, there was no such letter.

He then decided that after the TV - OTT rights money came, the film will release and did not want to beg for waiver of interest etc. Hence the tweet. Then STR's father TR came forward and agreed to give a letter undertaking to pay the Rs 6 crores that was due to the financier.. Meanwhile producers T Siva, Sathyajothi Thyagrajan came to see Suresh and they mediated with Uttam Chand the financier. Tirupur Subramnian Coimbatore's biggest exhibitor also stood surety. Film release decks were cleared.

Though the issue was cleared only in early morning, director Venkat Prabhu jumped the gun and tweeted in the night that the issue was solved. Fans came for  5 AM show were disappointed and they created a havoc and bad mouthed Suresh. Shows stated from 8 AM only.

Star Vijay paid the amount that Suresh wanted as the opening was good. Vijay TV had bought STR's Eaaswaran and it received a cold reception as the film was a dud at the theaters. As per two days box office reports, the film has collected  close to Rs 13 crores. There is a RED Alert from Weather office in 9 districts and entire State is reeling under the heavy rain. Telugu release will take place only next week. Kerala it has got a good response. Budget of the film is Rs 30 crores.

Maanaadu{ review: STR- S J Suryah - Venkat Prabhu combo rocks

 Maanaadu the STR film keeps you engrossed as director Venkat Prabhu screenplay has many twists in it.  Though the time loop factor is irritating, after a point of time, the happenings make you forget this and keeps you amused at the going on's. Venkat justification for time loop factor is laughable but the way the conflict between STR- S J Suryah keeps building up and and how the director balances between the two actors and gives both of them their moments, makes it a very interesting watch.

Yuvan who is called the King of BGM seems to have given attention to the portions when Suryah appears. Most others in the the cast have not much but are quite effectively used. Kalyani Priyadarshan does catch the eye. Technically the film is good but for a few glitches like the VFX. This film happens to be Editor's Praveen's 100th film  The climax is something that is very ordinary .  If you don't get used to the time loop concept, the film is a very irritating.  It takes a while to get used to this treatment and once u are okay with it, the film is worth a watch.

Son Rises to save STR's Maanaadu - Fans angry as special shows cancelled

Kalaignar TV owned by DMK First Family bought the TV telecast rights and SonyLiv the digital rights of STR Maanaadu to help the producer pay the outstanding dues and help him to release the film on the scheduled date ( Nov 24). Fan shows scheduled to start at 5 AM in city theatre Rohini was cancelled as the digital provider Qube did not give the digital key. By 8 AM, the FDFS began to roll. STR fans have predictably given the film a big Thumbs Up on twitter. The fans who came to movie hall at 4 AM and burst crackers and danced in front of STR cutouts soon got tired as the show timings got pushed further and finally it was announced that the fan shows were cancelled. Irate fans were seen abusing Producer Cool Suresh.

By yesterday noon, Producer Suresh Kamatchi tweeted that Maanaadu would not release on Friday. He cited unavoidable reasons. The reason was that he  had to pay the financier the money that he borrowed. He asked the finanacier to wait till he tied up the TV and digital rights. Star Vijay who after the previous Eeasawaran experience, was willing to pay the amount after seeing the public response. Financier was not willing to wait and finally Udhaynidhi Stalin, stepped in and clinched the TV rights for reportedly Rs 6 crores. SonyLiv bought the Digital rights for Rs 3 crores and Ishari Ganesh of Vels International who is producer of STR- Menon under production film chipped in with another Rs 3 crores. Financier gave the green signal.

Dr Ishari Ganesh - TR and wife Usha ( parents of STR) were said to have taken the lead to rope in Udhaynidhi. Delay in bank transactions from  Sony LIV is said to have led to fan shows being cancelled.

Maanaadu, which is touted to be a time-loop thriller film with political and action elements, marks Venkat Prabhu's comeback as director after a long gap of 5 years. The movie also marks the filmmaker's first onscreen collaboration with STR. Maanaadu features the popular actor-filmmaker SJ Suryah as the lead antagonist. First half of the film is said to be a drag but picks up steam in second half.

Sai Pallavi sister debut film release on Zee5 - December 3

Sai Pallavi's sister Pooja Kannan debut film will release on Zee5 - December 3rd. The film 'Chithirai Sevvaanam' also marks the directorial debut of Action choreographer Stunt Silva. The director warns that the film is not an out and out action film. He says that the story is about a father- daughter bonding and it was narrated by director Vijay to him.and to his surprise he asked him to direct it. Silva found Samudrakanni apt for the role and cast him. Vijay suggestted Sai Pallavi's sister for the daughter role. Malayalam actress Rima Kalingal has played a pivotal role in it. Pooja had acted in a short film `Kaara'. She did her schooling and college in Coimbatore.

Chithirai Sevvaanam has music by Sam CS, lyrics by Vairamuthu, cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa, and editing by Praveen KL Actor Dhanush released the first look on Twitter.

Parthiban's single shot feature film shoot over- Abhishek - Parthiban on sets

 Director- Actor R Parthiban Iravin Nizhal ( shadow of the  night) , the single shot feature film ( first in Asia) completed its shooting portions. A R Rahman has given a musical score after watching the rushes. He has asked the director to not rush things as he needs time to give the entire BGM that are needed for the film. Parthiban had asked for a promotional song too. Iravin Nizhal is the first film to have the score recorded at Firdaus Studio Dubai.

Meanwhile Abhishek Bachchan took part in the Hindi remake of Tamil film Otha serupu size 7 directed by Parthiban. Working stills of the film is doing the rounds. The Tamil film has only one actor and that is Parthiban himself. Abhishek is producing the film.

Sources say that 50 sets were erected for the film Iravin Nizhal. Parthiban had to do 17 retakes to take the film in one shot. The running time is  95 minutes and close to 90 minutes , there would be a flaw and the whole process would start all over again. Instead of keeping a static camera and one location, the story unfolds through 50 sets  erected in one ground and different actors taking part in it.

Parthiban who heard the first BGM composition of Rahman given for the film was stunned as he felt amazed that the music wizard could imbibe the movie essence so fast and in depth. Big B had released the curtain raiser. Uruguayan film "La Casa Muda" and its American remake "Silent House" starring Elizabeth Olsen claim to have been filmed in a single, unbroken take to capture the real-time effect of a woman venturing through a haunted house, with the story supposedly based on real events. Mohamad Issack’s first film Agadam, which tells the story of two men who have murdered a woman whose spirit returns to haunt them after they have buried her body, is considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the longest single shot movie ever made. Filmed in the southern Indian city of Chennai, the cast and crew rehearsed for a month before shooting the Tamil language film in one continual shot on December 7, 2012. Issack remade the film in the Telugu language, this time titled Seesa. That film also clocked in two hours and three minutes, with Issack tying his own record.( source filmbuffonline.com).

On Nov 21 2011 Hindustan Times reported that  " Six Hours With Terrorists is not only the first-of-its-kind in India in terms of its directorial style, but is also claiming to be the longest one-shot film in the world. It has been directed by Karan Kashyap, who adapted its script from Naya Rasta, a play he had written earlier." The report said that director had wrapped up the shoot in presence of Limca Book of World Records officials in January and would release in March next  year. Arun Deodhar of Star Smile Productions was credited as producer. This film was to be entered as longest single shot movie category of Limca Records.

Thalapathy's Beast next is Kashmir and Indo- PAK LOC created in Georgia

 

Thalapathy Vijay - director Nelson and crew are to fly to Georgia to shoot the last leg of the out of India schedule of the film Beast. D R K Kiran, the art director has created parts of Kashmir and the LOC with Pakistan. As the shooting permission cannot be got from Army authorities , Kiran was asked to recreate the mountain valley and LOC. 

Source said that the film has Thalapathy Vijay play the Army officer posted in Kashmir border areas. The infiltration from PAK side into Indian camps and retaliation by Indian jawans as well as the man hunt for a group of terrorists who manage to evade the Border security are part of the actions to be shot in Georgia. Kiran was art director for Nelson's Doctor and Vignesh Sivan- Suriya film Thaana serntha kootam about fake CBI officers, Kaapaan about threat to PM life and the SPG officer (Suriya) who has to protect him and directed by Late K V Anand too was the work of Kiran. Kiran also has acted in a few films.

As per the story, the action shifts to a Mall in Chennai. The same gang that gave Vijay the slip at the LOC is now taken control of the shopping Mall and holding them to ransom. Vijay plays a RAW agent working as Army jawan but trained in the high ballistic gun fire. The climax will see a Rambo erupt on screen, said the source. The source said that before year end, Vijay wants to wind up his work for Beast and move on to his first bilingual film ( Telugu- Tamil) directed by Vamsi by January middle.

Balakrishna aka Balayya puts his career at stake for family honour

 Tollywood is full of awe of Balakrishna the actor - son of legendary NTR taking on full steam ahead the might of ruling YSR with just ten days to go for  release of Akhanda in  two Andhra States. This is in contrast to the silence maintained by Chiranjeevi when Posani  bad mouthed his brother Pawan Kalyan and dragged in his mother and daughter. Chiru camp defended his silence as his concern for Tollywood.

Soon after YCR attack on EX CM Chandrababu Naidu and his wife ( sister and daughter of Late NTR). Family closed ranks.  Actor Jr NTR  asked the Ruling Party not to move towards Arachaka Paripaalana ( anarchy) and advised them to stick to the issues pertaining the people. This guarded comment came from  Jr NTR son of Nandamuri Harikrishna and it was a message to a section of the fans who claim that they are only Jr NTR fans and not of TDP or Naidu. In the end the family TARAK unites when under attack. Jr NTR's mother in law is niece of Naidu. NTR had campaigned for TDP in 2009.

“Chandrababu was the one who controlled us all the while as YCP leaders badmouthed our troops. But they have crossed every limit this time by speaking ill of my sister and Chandrababu’s wife Bhuvaneshwari. From now on, we don’t need Chandrababu’s permission to react with as much vigour if they sling mud on us. There will be immediate repercussions if YCP leaders cross the limit again,” Balayya said. He added - “The comments on Bhuvaneshwari shows their political motives. Khabadaar… this is my last warning to those making personal slurs on us.” Nandamuri Ramakrishna, the brother of Balakrishna said “Orei Kodali Nani ga… Vamsi ga… Ambati Rambabu ga… Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar ga… don’t you dare speak about my family again.”

Keerthy Suresh - Priya Bhavani Shankar ,- Samantha- Nayanthara- Shruti in news

 Keerthy Suresh officially turned producer with the launch of Malayalam film Vaashi opposite Tovino. Priya Bhavani Shankar makes her Tollywood debut opposite Naga Chaitanya. Nag's ex wife Samantha paired opposite Unni Mukundan for a Telugu film. Nayanthara and Shruti Haasan bleed producers of Chiranjeevi- Balakrishna films.

Revathy Kala Mandir is a banner that was run by Keerthy's father Suresh. This banner had produced blockbuster hits and also duds. It was lying dormant and now it has been dusted and revived. Keerthy who has a all South market and Tovino Thomas , a hero with reasonable market teams up for Vaashi ( dogged- persistent) directed by newcomer Vishnu G Raghav, who has previously acted in a couple of films including ‘Theevram’.

‘Vaashi’  story penned by Janiz Chacko Simon and screenplay by director Vishnu. The film has Neil Dcunha as the cinematographer, Kailas Menon as the music director and Mahesh Narayanan handling the edits. Film had an official launch in Keerthy's home town Thiruthavanathapuram at a temple and attended by father Suresh and her mother Menaka.

Naga Chaitanya who is to do a web series directed by Vikram Kumar will have Tamil heartthrob Priya Bhavani Shankar as the heroine.  Currently he is acting in a film which has his father Nagarjuna and Ramya Krishna. Naga is pared opposite Kirti Shetty of Uppena - Shyam Singha Roy fame in this film. His recent release was Love Story with Sai Pallavi.

Meanwhile Samantha has signed a heroine centric film Yashoda directed by Hari and Harish Sanakar. Incidentally, close friends and family of Samantha call her Yashoda. The hero of the film is Malayalam hero Unni Mukundan. Unni acted in Janatha Garage’, in which he got to share screen space with Mohanlal and Jr NTR. Later, he did ‘Bhaagamathie’, in which he was paired with Anushka Shetty. Unni is also playing a major role in Ravi Teja’s upcoming film ‘Khiladi’, also starring Arjun Sarja. Samantha  made her first public appearance for her singer friend Chimayi Sripaada. Samantha inaugurated her friend’s beauty salon – Deep Skin Dialogues in Chennai. Samantha shares a great friendship with Chinmayi and the singer’s husband Rahul Ravindran. It is learnt that the bonding between the trio began from the early stages of her career. Samantha charged a whopping Rs 1.5 cr for a special song in Pushpa. Allu Arjun-Samantha's fourth single will be out soon in a couple of days from now.

The team of Godfather  sent the birthday wishes to Lady Superstar Nayanthara and confirmed that she is the part of Chiranjeevi starrer which is helmed by Mohan Raja .Producers of Godfather have paid Nayanthara  a whopping 4 Cr as a fee. 

Shruti Haasan has been paid Rs  2 Cr as her remuneration for the Balakrishna starrer directed by Gopichand Malineni. Bobby is planning to bring Krack and Vakeel Saab fame Shruti Haasan on the board to play the role of the lover of Chiranjeevi in #Mega154. How much will she charge ???

Kurup : Says nothing new

 Kurup tells us nothing that we did not know about the mysterious disappearance of the criminal. In fact it goes on about the Indian Air Force Days of Kurup and it hardly excites us . Wonder why the director took such pains to recreate the old Mumbai with sepia tones etc. If that portion goes missing too, it does not affect the plot. So the search which is yet another  boring  affair goes on and then finally ends of a note of  justice delivered . 

Keralites of the 80's generation used to wove tales of this untraceable Sukumara Kurup and retired police officers talked about their role in tracking down the fugitive. He was Kerala's Mr Natwarlal and Bunti Chor. After this film, Kurup will be seen as a mentally deranged guy and probably some mental asylum might have records of him.

Salman does have the ampere to carry off this role but  he is let down by a weak writing. There is hardly anything other the Kurup role in the film and all other have not much to offer. Here and there the BGM makes us remember that we are seeing a thriller. Yet another shocker- Media reports that a sequel is to follow.

Why Siruthai Siva is most apt for `Mass' heroes like Rajini and Suriya ?

 

Siruthai Siva achieved what Paa Ranjith- Karthik Subburaj-  Murgadoss could not with a Mass hero Rajinikanth. These directors increased their salary after a Rajini film but did they give the box office collection that Annaaatthe got ? .  Which film in recent years reach out to the core audience of Rajinikanth like Annaatthe ?. To a certain extent was Kabali ( keeping the Enthiran series and Sivaji the Boss away from the `recent' list). Annaatthhe was a film that drew the audience in droves to the theaters. It was the answer that however much you carve an audience for films like Jai Bhim / Soorarai Poottru through OTT, the  core processor of Tamil cinema is still on a technology that you wrongly understood as phased out.

Suriya and Gananavel had collaborated with Siva for a film that was `mass'. Suriya after the Singham series had not given anything that took him to the namma annnachis and aachis. Siva on the other hand with Ajith was rolling out hits. Fatigue sets in and Ajit moves on while Siva signs Suriya film.. It was three years back.

At this point, Rajini sees a Ajith film that talks of brother- sister- wife- hubby - father- daughter ties. So Gananvel and Suriya tells Siva to go and take up Rajini film. reason being that after a Rajini film , the brand value of Siva will be high and so Ganandvel can rake in his moolah.

Old timers say that there was a situation in the long past that when KB and Bharathiraaja - Balu were just getting Tamil cinema and audience to move away from crass masala. At that time, SPM directed Kamal in Sakalakala Vallabhan and it was everything that Tamil cinema was synonymous. KB is said to have never forgiven Kamal for doing this film and taking cinema back into the serpents mouth.

From the producer point Siva is not obstinate that he has to have a X budget and  his wastage ratio is minimal as he is more or less clear about what he wants and shoots them. He does come with a baggage that makes him go in for `visual ' exravaganza to put his stamp on the film. A film called Darbar was directed by Murugodoss and his salary alone was Rs 33 crores. He came with a similar budget for Vijay and Sun TV told him to slash the budget. Vijay agreed to do the film but bot reduce his salary. So, it leaves Murugodoss to take a pay cut.  Project dropped. Vijay plus  Nelson = Beast - Next Sun Pictures on the floor.

Dulquar Salman's Kurup hit by rains - Tamil Nadu Boxoffice- TV show ratings crash

  

Dulquar Salman's Kurup which is the first major release across Kerala and other markets post Covid 2 has hit badly by the rains and put an end to the run of the film. Theaters across TamilNadu remained closed as rains continued to play havoc. Weekend reality shows including  Bigg Boss 5 Tamil were badly hit as Chennai without power and along with it the Sunday premiere shows.

Getting a mixed response from critics, Kurup opened to a bumper opening. The Kerala opening day Rs 4.7 crore and second day was Rs4.5 cr Net. Outside India, the highest opening was in Gulf Countries which reported a Rs 15 crore for two days. 

In Tamil Nadu, the film did exceptionally well as rains continued to pour. On Day one it was Rs 60 cr and increased to Rs 90 cr on day two. As this is gross figures, the nett would be close to Rs 1 cr. Andhra/TS markets were good as it gave close to Rs 60 lakhs nett. In Hindi belt, the film was a washout with a meagre Rs 70 Lakhs. Dream Warriors acquired the Kurup Tamil , Aditi Enterprises the Telugu- Kannada and UFO the Hindi version. Dulquar dubbed for Tamil- Telugu- Hindi versions.

With Kanyakumari- Thiruvanthapuram markets shuuting on Day 3 due to heavy rains and red alerts issued to other Kerala districts, Kurup hopes to collect Rs 50-60 cr from Kerala markets will remain a difficult task.

Bigg Boss 5 Tamil high TRP happens on weekends when host Kamal Haasan comes and contestant elimination takes place. This week the entire TV viewers were caught in floods and power cuts. The eviction of Madhumitha went unoticed. Similarly Sun TV's reaity show Master Chef with actor Vijay Sethupathy as anchor gave the title and this too went unsung. Master Chef Tamil was Devaki who bagged Rs 25 lakh cash prize and a citation. Three other contestants too were given prizes.

Chennai roads were badly battered and schools - colleges reopened. It would take almost a week for life at entertainment hubs to get back.

Kerala filmdom to see Trivandrum - Kochi lobby revival ?

 Kerala filmdom is in coming days going to see the revival of the Thiruvanthapuram- Kochi lobbies. These lobby war had ceased  and the kingpins of the lobby had merged and joined hands in many collaboration. Now the Marakkar OTT release has given  life to the lobby that backs Antony Perumbavoor the producer and by that the supporters of Mohanlal. The first indication came when Mohanlal's closest buddy Priyadarshan ( also director of Marakkar) fired a salvo at Dulquar Salman producer of Kurup in  a TV interview.

Already there was talk going

around that the current exhibitors lobby headed by Vijayakumar was working in tandem with Mammootty and painting Antony and Mohanlal as people who went back on their words and looked only to their bank balance. This time however there is a shift in balance as Dilip who considered the kingpin of film trade, might shift his loyalty to the Lal lobby. Prihviraj who geographically comes from Trivandrum had  been with Kochi lobby but of late, he is back with Lalettan.

The reason for exhibitors to get belligerent with Antony and not accept the terms for Marakkar release was due to the freehold release of Kurup which has Dulquar in title role. The  director of the film had stated that they had Rs 40 crores offer for Kurup but Dulquar was adamant that he would release in theaters first. Priyadarshan without taking names said that a film rejected by Netflix and many other OTT due to high price is now coming to theaters and is projected as doing a service to exhibitors.

When Drishyam 2 went to OTT, Mammooty released The Priest and ONE in theaters. Exhibitors went in a group and hailed their Messiah. Kurup budget is close to Rs 35 crore and this is too high for a Dulquar film .  Collecting it from theaters in Kerala alone is tough and was planned to release the dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu as he had hits in that regions. ( Kaanum Kannum Koliyaadithal and Mahanati in Tamil - Telugu) and a known face through Hindi films like Zoya Factor and  Karwaan. Covid put an end to this business. In a situation almost similar to Antony, Dulquar found that OTT does not give that kind of money to his films , even if it was a direct release. So best way out to go to try his luck with Kerala theaters and hope to make up for  the deficit.

40 % of the theater lobby and many big banners are out to shift out of Kerala Film Chamber and Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK). Will it go back to the days of Lal v/s Mammooty lobby ? If so where will the new breed of actors who were not witness to this lobby war stand ?

Rain ends Annaatthe box office run; Trade happy

Annaatthe the Rajinikanth starrer box office run in South India has ended and trade is not complaining as they have not lost any money and made decent profits.  The rains that are lashing Tamil Nadu ended the dipping box office of the film and Chennai - Chengalpey the biggest markets being severely affected due to rains has shut down theaters. 

Tamil Nadu the primary market collections show that  Rs 78.59 cr has been the net collection for four days. Chennai accounted for Rs 4.24 cr alone. The Chennai collection on day one was Rs 2 cr and by day four it was Rs 50 lakhs. Andhra and Telangana accounted for Rs 4.52 cr. Kerala collected  was around Rs 2 crore. Karnataka had close to Rs 4 crores. ( We had told you about the Kerala model adopted for Annaatthe release -  https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/10/rajinikanths-annaathe-adopts-kerala.html

Sun Pictures with  India - overseas are happy has the satellite - OTT- Hindi dubbing digital rights to cover make frofuts as the film budget is Rs 180 crores. Sun Pictures has come to a conclusion that  the budget should be lesser than Annaatthe and the price of the lead actor should be decided on the business  from Tamil Nadu that the Star generates. The business acumen of using Qube to garner most revenue abroad has helped Sun Pictures to breathe easy. Rajinikanth salary of Rs 100 crore could not be generated and even if the rains had not played havoc, the figures would have fallen short by Rs10-15 crores. Secondly, the Andhra market giving the film a lukewarm response has baffled the producers.

Suruthi to be eliminated from Bigg Bos5 Tamil

 Suruthi Periyasamy is the contestant to be eliminated from Bigg Boss 5 Tamil, says a source close to the show producer. Ample hints were given by Kamal Haasan  on Saturday, When the majority felt that Abhnay Vadde would go as last week he and Varun were warned by Kamal to not take it easy. Varun saved himself by using his coin to remove Ciby from Captain post and get into it. Thereby he escaped the nomination process and as he was told you are on a limbo now. Kamal while announcing Nirrop as saved said that Abhinay had said that it was not necessary that  those who made most noise or worked should be saved from nomination and Kamal remarked that probably the audience felt otherwise. He kept saying expect the unexpected..

The least active contestant was Abhinay as he seemed to be reserved and shy. He shared a good bonding with all the housemates but all felt that he was too soft for the `game' . He was considered a trustworthy friend by all and liked but majority felt that he would go out. As it stands, Suruthi has polled the least votes.

Reason is that she plotted with Paavni to hoodwink Thamarai and take her coin at the time she was dressing and could not make a move to get the coin back. Despite pressure from housemates, Suruthi decided to not give it  back. Kamal did not find anything wrong in it and advised Thamarai to not believe that all were good people around her and see them as contestants.

In Saturday episode she won the fashion show  sponsored by LensKart.  A fashion blogger, stylist and based in USA , Suruthi shocked everybody when she said that she was happy in the day her father died,  "My grandfather and father are of the same age. My mom was married to him as a gesture of gratitude as he helped my grandpa by providing financial support during the tough times. My father had five children from his first married most of whom were older than my mother. I was an unwanted child for my father. He would always lock us away in a room. I was 11 when my father died but I didn't shed any tears instead I was happy. I felt relieved that my mom and I are finally going to have an independent and happy life.,: she said, 

Brand Rajinikanth a hit or flop abroad ?

Brand Rajini no doubt in Tamil Nadu has worked big but lost steam in Andhra and TS. Has this brand worked abroad and made Annaatthe  a hit abroad or is it a flop ?. Qube Cinema that replaced traditional overseas distributors of Tamil- Telugu films with Annaatthe in its official twitter handle claims that first day collections was USD $1.5 M across 1125 theaters overseas and the figures are excluding UK and Europe. As far as Europe goes, France and Germany distributors posts show that there is a big box office explosion happening in their theaters. Qube has got 500 screens in USA and it tweets that Regal Palmetto Grande stadium 16 movie hall has been added due to public demand.  In North America it says that  it crossed the $ 400k mark even before the first show. France guy posts + 4000 admissions on Day I.

In Sri Lanka and UAE, it is being released on 86 and 117 screens respectively, the film is also being released in Singapore, Malaysia, & the U.K with 23, 110 & 35 screen counts.

A  source close to Tamil- Telugu films overseas trade gives a different picture. He says that the film's overseas collections is the lowest compared to the last five films of Rajinikanth. The two day collections overseas is Rs 23 crores. Though the pre release sales was very high in USA, negative reports tanked the movie and on Friday it was only $83K ( Rs 6157882.05) from 230 locations. The pre-sales was just on Brand Rajini and after the first show the film's content quality took over and sales dipped. The reason given is that family melodramas do not work with US audience.

Enemy's fate has been miserable. The source said that the condition in US is much better than in other countries as the audience are willing to come to theaters and the only thing that works big is a film that has a good talk that spreads after the FDFS. The negative reviews and literally Annaatthe trashing has affected the weekend crowds mindset.

Enemy - Tamil- Telugu India Net Collections 2 Day

 

Enemy Tamil Day Wise Net Collection ( https://www.sacnilk.com/movie)

Tamil Verdict	Tamil Net Box Office	Day 2	Day 1
None	₹ 6.48 Cr	₹ 3.08 Cr	₹ 3.4 Cr

Enemy Telugu Day Wise Net Collection

Telugu Verdict	Telugu Net Box Office	Day 2	Day 1
None	₹ 1.78 Cr	₹ 0.58 Cr	₹ 1.2 Cr

Annaatthe - Tamil - Telugu 2Day Collection - India

 Annaatthe Tamil Day Wise Net Collection ( source[https://www.sacnilk.com/)

Tamil Verdict	Tamil Net Box Office	Day 2	Day 1
None	₹ 48.3 Cr	₹ 20.6 Cr	₹ 27.7 Cr

Annaatthe Telugu Day Wise Net Collection

Telugu Verdict	Telugu Net Box Office	Day 2	Day 1
None	₹ 3.15 Cr	₹ 0.95 Cr	₹ 2.2 Cr

Annaatthe - Vintage Rajini in Thala avatar : Enemy- script is the Villain

 Annatthe  trailor hoodwinked us and even Dhaush. Look what he tweeted after seeing it - Annathe !!! Vintage rajinism!!! So excited to see thalaivar in muthu, arunachalam , padayappa vibes. Can’t wait to see his magic on screen yet again. Vaa saami !!

See the names of films he mentions- C Sundar- K S Ravikumar films. What we got - Siruthai Siva's films - Viswasam- Veeram- Vivegam and also Perarasu films. So Sundar's comedy and Ravikumar's emotional dramas went missing. So if you went in expecting Siva to make Rajini do a Thala then you feel let down. If you went in hoping to see K S Ravikumar- Sunday type film, it too was not there. The only hope is that all the folks who made Sun TV serials the toast of the town come to theaters. Rain Gods should help .

Now Enemy by Anand Shankar is a move to take Tamil cinema to equal the sci-fi action thriller films coming out of Hollywood. It starts of well and for most of the first part, the pace is ok. Then the director realizes that he is making a Tamil film and so what about the songs and comedy tracks ?. He begins to insert in at random and already in the second half the screenplay loses steam. Vishal - Arya were to be outshining each other in performance. To a great extent, these two have saved the film from plunging to a low. This is not for the OTT guys who watch US Made films but for our annachis.

Rajinikanth next with director Thiagarajan Kumararaja post Annaatthe disaster

 Rajinikanth and director Thiagarajan Kumararaja of Super Deluxe fame have been in talks and the next is likely to be a collaboration between them. Sources say that the film might be coming under Dhanush Wunderbar films. The film will be the kind of films that Kumararaja has made so far. In eight years, he has directed only two films and both have been trendsetters in terms of treatment and brought accolades to the director and cast- crew.

His first film was  Aranya Kandam which is considered a cult film.  Being a hyperlink film and breaking all myths that are widely circulated in Tamil cinema, the film won two National awards. The film is described as neo noir gangster film was produced SPB Charan. The film had run into censor problems for the violence and profane language. Director- Producer fought it out to get the film cleared with minimum cuts. SPB Charan says that the film was no loss for him as it recovered money from the festival circuit. Though it was hailed by critics at release time, the lukewarm response at box office muted the film's value. Over the years it is now seen as a cult film among film lovers and  subject for VISCOM students. It was the first  Tamil film of Jackie Shroff. Cinematography of P S Vinod was a highlight.

After that Kumararaja was credited  as dialogue writer for film Oram Po directed by Pushkar - Gayathri duo. They went to direct Vikram Vedha the blockbuster film now remade in Hindi. He worked with Gautam Menon ( Yennai Arinthaal) and his involvement as lyric writer in the experimental film Seethakaathi starring Vijay Sethupathi led to his directing Super Deluxe. . The film was co- produced by him and directed the four part anthology which has stories that run parallels. Vijay Sethupathi's role  of a transgender in one part won accolades. Big names like Myskkin- Nalan Kumaraswamy m screenplay , cinematographers P S Vinod- Nirav Shah, Yuvan music and actors Faahad Fazil- Samantha in the xast, it won many awards and was commercially a hit.

Vijay Sethupathi prays at Puneeth's samadhi - Drunk Malayali behind attack

Police say that it was a drunk Malayali  called Johnson  who attacked the aide of Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi  at the airport.  In a drunken state, he asked the accompanying actor to allow him to take a selfie with Vijay. As he was drunk, the aide refused permission. Enraged , he tried to barge towards Vijay. He was pushed back by the security and in a fit of rage kicked at the aide. As the airport security took him in, Johnson sobered down. Vijay who arrived in Bengaluru to shoot for Sun TV Master Chef pressed no complaint. He later paid floral tributes to Puneet samadhi at Kantaveera studio.  

Shivaraj Kumae known as Shivanna to fans said that Rajinikanth was in a state of shock when he came to know of Appu's ( Puneeth) death. He said that Rajinikanth was at the hospital and hearing the news his wife Latha and daughter phoned him up. Shivanna said that Rajini and family know Appu ( Punnet) as a child and was very attached to him. He said Prabhu, Sivakarthikeyan and Nakheeran Gopal  had come  to see him , Ram Charan and  Nagarjuna too had come to see him. Ram Charan came after finishing a schedule for Director  Shankar at Pune. Prabhu said that Puneeth and he were foodies and shared food together. He recalled that he had once fallen sick in Bengaluru and Puneet sat with him for 6 days and nursed him back.

He denied a talk that Puneet was depressed as his previous film did not run. He said that he- brother Appu and Yash danced together on stage for the pre- release event of Bhajarangi 2. He said that Puneet had a back problem and had treated it at the start of the year. He had no heart problem, said Shivaraj. He was asked why Puneet was not taken to the nearest hospital  instead of going to Vikram. He said that who knew it was so critical and all it needed was ten minutes.

Bigg Boss 5 Tamil Diwali thunder stolen by Namitha Marimuthu outside

 Bigg Boss 5 Tamil ex contestant Namitha Marimuthu Diwali photos on the net has won her many admirers and also kick started a speculation that she is to soon enter back as wild card entry. She suddenly vanished in the second week with Bigg Boss announcing that due to unavoidable reasons she had to leave the house. The `disppaerance' became mysterious as the second week Friday episode telecast on Saturday after Kamal haasan entry had no aingle shot of hers. Till date, her life sruggle account given by her is rated as the most touching of all contestants.

Jai Bhim controversies : Baradwaj bad review gets mauled and Pro Hindi guys slam Prakashraj

How can a guy get slapped for speaking in Hindi and not Tamil ? asks a twitterati. Film companion South YouTube channel film critic Baradwaj Rangan says Jai Bhim is badly made film .  Has 1.59, 850 views and 12 K have disliked while others have liked it.

Let’s us take scene where IG interrogates a pawn broker who accepted the stolen jewels. Pawn broker says in Hindi that since the guys were from the same area and before he completes it, Prakashraj who plays IG slaps him. Pawn broker asks why did you slap me and he gets the reply- Speak in Tamil.

So what is wrong in it  asks twiterrati. Is it not an Indian language ? Another goes a step forward and points out that Prakashraj being a Kannadiga should be slapped for speaking in various languages on screen.

Now those disliking Rangan’s review of Jai Bhim  attributes  caste prejudice, not knowing reality and pointing out reviews where he praised actors who were stone faced  and being not able to digest somebody being better than Mani Rathinam ( Rangan  wrote a book on Mani).

Rangan has this disclaimer at the start - having a good story and good intentions automatically do not make a good movie and if you are a fan of Samudrakanni the director then you are going to like the film. The review is for those who do not belong to this category says Rangan.

Wonder why Rangan brought Samudrakanni in to it ?.At times, Suriya does sound like Kanni. It was only recently that Kanni informed that he was going to say no to the preachy kind of roles. Probably those who hated Samudrakanni decided to hear out Rangan.

 

Now the comments are that Baradwaj  praised Malayalam film Brahmam and rated Mamata Mohandas performance to be so good that one forgot Tabu’s in the original.  Rangan terms Suriya not being involved and  being in a hurry. He says a similar subject of three people going missing ( Naayattu) was handled well by a neighboring State ( Kerala)  with finesse and is it too much to expect such from Tamil audience and go on to magnify everything. I gathered from the whole review is that he did not like the police brutality overuse, magnifying of scenes and characters and lack of giving a personal dimension to the Lawyer character. In short, he says this not  an iconic movie.

Most of his  reviews or rather 99% of it never calls a spade a spade directly and describes it many ways. I have found him to go great lengths to find some `positives’ in a bad film. The majority of his core viewers seem to have liked what  he spoke about the film and so he knows his audience well. As for Nayattu- it did not happen in a environment like in Jai Bhim. I gathered from the scenes in he film  that Lawyer Chandru is a painter and he reads Economic and Political Weekly.  Mercifully, Chandru is not a tribal song writer cum singer and the teacher ( Rajisha ) a chorus singer.

Allu Arjun shells out money to get Pushpa Hindi released

Allu Arjun had to shell out money to save his face as the Bollywood company that bought the Hindi dubbing rights refused to spend any money on promotions or in distribution. The company told Mythiri the production house that Allu Arjun was no pan Indian star and no audience would come to see Pushpa in theaters. The company said that they would release the film on channels including YouTube and not in theaters.

Mythiri who has spent a huge amount on the presumption that Pushpa would do an All India biz was shocked. They had seen the figures of Ala Vaikantapuram and were confident of Pushpa 1 doing good in North and releasing Pushpa 2. Bollywood company told Mythiri that every Telugu actor coming with a huge budget film was not an attraction to North audience and they would be contended watching it on TV with a dubbed version. Ala vaikunthapurramuloo earned 269.35 cr worldwide collection. 

Mythiri however got hold of a company in Mumbai to do the theatrical release/ This time the Hindi dubbing rights holder said that he wanted a share of the profits, if any , but would not spend on promotions. Allu Arjun finally stepped in and decided to take a cut from his remuneration and foot the Hindi version theatre  release and distribution- promotion. Two parts cost Rs 250 crores with Rs 70 crores as Allu Arjuns salary. Pushpa will release in five languages - Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada. Directed by Sukumar, the film also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil. Pushpa has been co-produced by Mythri Movie Makers and Muttamsetty Media.

Bollywood comanies are waiting for Sooryavanshi biz to decide on the public feedback to theater reopening. Will public sit at home and watch Diwali fare on OTT or come out to emjoy a film ?. Most of shopping has been online and gifts are being given through portals to kith and kin. House visits are rare. This has created a scare among film trade. 

Unlike in Chennai - Hyderabad - Bengaluru where shopping malls and local markets are flowing with shoppers, Mumbai's shopping frenzy has not touched the pre- Covid figures says trade. Will it be the same for theaters ?

Suriya's Jai Bhim on TV sets set up in public by fans- exhibitors cry foul

Jai Bhim is running nonstop across many places like neighourhood clubs etc. TV screens are set up enthusiastic Suriya fans to make it a celebration. State’s biggest exhibitor Subramaniam has asked State machinery to stop this as it will affect collections of Diwali films to be released on Nov 4^th. He says OTT screening cannot be show in public places and is restricted to home viewing.

Jai Bhim is a classic example that if the Star wants he can bring about a change in approach to film making. I have been often asked by my Tamil brethren as to why Kollywood does not make films that are close to reality. My answer was and is that the most saleable Super heroes of Malayalam cinema have a confidence that the audience will accept the film if it is well told.

Suriya does it here with Jai Bhim. I found Soorarai Poottru to very cinematic about an achiever and whole stuff of casteism to be forced.. Here Gananavel the director and Krithika ( both credited with screenplay) have done a fine job in homework. In many places, there is ample scope to bring a the Singam Suriya ( his fans would have been more happy) but Lawyer Chandru does not take that route. Hats off !!! The caste issue just merges with the plot and not stand out like sore thumb.

The casting is perfect. For the first half it is Lijimol Jose who shines. I was told that she has dubbed herself and if so – splendid ( she is a Keralaite). The expressions- body language is too good. Prakashraj after a long time does show that he can be do away his usual hamming and be his vintage self. From Manikantan onwards to his co- actors ( who played relatives and tortured victims) to likes of M S Baskar- Rajisha- Guru  and the cops, all have fitted the role with ease. Kathir cinematography and Sean music just blend.

If a regular producer would have put his money on Jai Bhim and be able to sell it, is something that lies unanswered. The OTT platform Amazon Prime has earned applause . Lets hope this sets a new thinking even among the film trade circles  to back such films.