Acharya movie review : Out beats Akhanda in action drama

Acharya transported me to the good old days when I cheered Chiru Garu for his dance steps and fight scenes.  I thank the choreographer and stunt master for showing only this one movement repeatedly and by this they have satisfied me as a fan.  Thank You Mr Koratala Siva for giving the ` vintage' Chiru  but I did not like Chiru Garu being passive.in some scenes. Above all, I always rated Chiru Garu as Superstar and Siva has shown it. A whole village pulls a wooden chariot but it does not move. Chiru Garu just nudges it and OMG it starts to roll. Thank You Mr Siva. Also I liked the scene where a knife or a sword  pierces into a man's stomach and comes out the other side and then pierces the stomach of the man behind and comes out from other side . Chiru Garu pulls out the knife and uses to behead many more. Thoughtful choreographer - he saved on production cost.

Now I knew that Ram Charan real heir to Chiru Garu is going to dominate second half and was looking for a duo song and fight like in RRR. Thank You Mr Siva for adding comic elements in the otherwise gory fight with two Indian Cinema legends together. Mani Sharma your  music made my day . Transported to those days of the 80's and also the BGM tracks of those days that you re-used here.

Once again I thank Mr Siva for chopping off scenes of all actors except Chiru- RC and Sonu Sood. It is not only Kajol but all were given same treatment. Regina and Sangeetha could have upstaged Samantha if the film was released before Pushpa.

Art director is so innovative that the tribal villagers are living in houses with fresh coat of paint. Swacch Bharat. Thiru camera can only capture what is given to him.  Such films give me the motivation to live life to the full. Chiru Garu who is elder tan me is so robust and full of life. My humble request to reviewers please don't compare Rajamouli's way of presenting RC in RRR to Siva's Acharya.

Off theater experience : Next seat guy was saying Mirchi and another was arguing saying Dharma Teja and a third said Farishtay. I got a WhatsApp msg saying Liquat Ali Khan has moved writer union saying Acharya is Poonthootha kavalkaran. Might be a fake news as I have never seen anything so original in recent times. Now I respect Jagan Garu for agreeing to increase ticket prices. The film should have been tax free. He earned a few crores for AP treasury.

Jana Gana Mana Malayalam film review: Overloaded with messages

Director Dijo Jose Antony ( Queen) and writer Sharis Mohamed has pushed in too many contemporary happenings and riding piggyback on  Prithviraj's Star stature hopes to get the audience involved in the subject that is pegged on the Rohit Vemula case.. For one it lacks cohesiveness. Merely punch dialogues otherwise known as home truths said in a court room by the hero and then resorting to too many filmy twists will not give the film an appeal of being a bold film . In fact, the second half starts to go on a downward curve. Film starts well with a Muslim woman professor  body found in a burnt condition, students going on a rampage, media on the prowl and finally a police office Sajjan ( Suraj Venjaramoodu) deciding to deliver  his own justice by killing the `rapists' in a fake encounter.

Story shifts to court room where the officer stands guilty of murdering four guys in cold blood. A typical filmy Iyer lawyer as prosecutor and a never before heard lawyer ( Prithviraj) to defend the case. We empathise with the Judge ( Kitty) who throws up his hands hearing the defense lawyer. After a dramatic twist in the tale and a sketchy past of some mumbo jumbo of International lawyer turned IPS officer seeking to settle scores with a politician who killed his family and so on, we are told that a sequel is on the cards. Probably it might compete with Pushpa 2 as there is so many Telugu- Kannada- Tamil dialogues in this film. Even if you don't know these languages, it will make no difference.

As I walk out, I wonder why the writer  tried to put major part of the onus for all misconceptions on the media. Who made this case a national headline ? Why was not other rape cases not headlines ? As rape cases are happening every fifteen minutes in India, will you tweet shocked every 15 minutes and so does your BP go high ? . These are few questions posed by defense lawyer.  

Technically, film is good. Song placement is good and cinematography apt. In fact BGM seemed to be doing overboard as it did not match with the happenings. We are tired of Mamta in such roles , Suraj has done this before and for a change Prithviraj does not bring in his `style' quotient and deliver a neat performance. Shammi did a good job as lawyer.

Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal. : two Sim cards in a second hand phone :

 Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal. (KVRK)  gives you the raunchy Samantha ( remember Pushpa ..) and Nayanthara in a lean look with a middle aged paunchy over weight Vijay Sethupathi for his `effortless' acting. Add to this Cinematography - choreography - music and then you can credit director Vignesh for the comedy. Lollu Sabha guys and Kingsley. In total a fun film to be seen with anyone who does not ask illogical questions .

By default, Vignesh gets a bonanza in form of Samantha. Her westernised look and bindaas goes just well with her on and off screen image. In fact, now you understand why there was reshoots. As nothing is lined up for coming week, you can see KVRK a second time ( after interval). Samantha keeps you regaled.

First half was so boring in many parts and lively in jerks and bits. Most of the story is out on the trailor. Now the song that you saw in the trailor is the only one that is worth a watch. Others are show spoilers. Cameraman ( two of them) are good.

Nayanthara lean looks  are good for a modelling and being a clothes horse. Somehow one misses the Nayans we saw sometime back. Vijay Sethupathi choice was because he is shown as a loser and so his paunch- over weight suited the role as he is looks too jaded and also Vignesh would have found it easy as Vijay has done similar easy going stuff before and is no great challenge.

At the two wheeler stand, a guy was asking - How will he make out Thala do comedy ?. Another comment- STR would have made this a superhit . Thoughts to ponder for Ajih aka AK like Rajini had after seeing Beast.

Bahubaali 2 still ahead of KGF 2 and RRR in terms of footfalls

Bahubaali 2 is still ahead of KGF 2 and RRR in terms of viewership or otherwise known as footfalls in theaters, says a trade analyst . Though the box office figures are quoted to show that KGF 2 outstripped BB2 , truth lies somewhere in between.

As we have to take into consideration the entrance ticket price hike after BB2 released in April 2017,  the box office figures of KGF 2 and RRR cannot be a barometer for a comparison. As per a study done BB2 footfall was 5.1 crore and at the time of writing , the KGF 2 was 1.75 crore and RRR was  1.6 crore.

To set record straight, all those who claim that KGF and RRR have even beaten Top Hindi films . Here is a numbers - Bajraang Baijaan - 3.2 crores and Dangal -  3.1 crores footfalls. In short, KGF 2 and RRR claim that their film was seen by more people than the two Hindi films and BB 2 is a lopsided way of looking at it. BB2 completed the total run with a Rs 510 crore nett. As on date , RRR nett World wide is Rs 600.14 crore. KGF 2 is still running.

US markets have not favoured KGF 2 like it did for RRR.  KGF 2 took a $ 4.15 million first week and slumped to $93K . RRR on the other hand did not open as big as KGF 2 but second week and third week collections was five time more than KGF. BB2 gross in USA was $12.5 million. Here again one reason given is that premiere shows were less for RRR and KGF 2 but with the cost of ticket  high , patronage post Covid in the US market was restricted and audience choosy.  KGF 2 slump is said to be because the film is a Kannada film dubbed into Tamil and Telugu languages and so the Tamilans and Andhra / TS origin people patronage was less than that to RRR . For footfalls for BB2 being higher than RRR in USA, reason is that BB2 was a sequel and over time and streaming of Part 1 on TV, audience grew manifold. So is KGF 2 a sequel, but why this did not happen ?. Answer is that  KGF  did not pose an interesting question - Why did Kattappa kill Baahubaali ?

Meanwhile , Chiranjeevi- Ram Charan Acharya bookings for USA premiere opened and in 623 shows pre sales was $ 287,778 . Not a bad start feels trade. CM Jagan has allowed theaters to up ticket rates in opening week in Andhra and also a 5th show can be screened.

Beast pushes down Kamal Haasan's Vikram film OTT prices

 The failure of `Beast' in the Hindi market ( theatrical) has affected the OTT price of many South films that had been riding on a ` pan Indian tag'. Kamal Haasan who has the tag of `Ulaga Nayagan' ( International Actor) given by fans is coming after a gap of 4 years with ` Vikram' that is scheduled to release on June 3rd. The actor who is also the producer was quoting a price that was on par with a Pan Indian film  with the OTT platforms. 

After the flop of `Beast'  the film which has Thalapathy Vijay as hero, Vikram stock has fallen. Vijay's BO rating is as high as Rajinikanth and much above Kamal Haasan in Tamil Nadu. The last release of Kamal was Vishwaroopam 2 that was an average grosser and nothing that electrified the box office. In the last four years, Kamal has floated his own party and is opposed to the two Dravidian majors. The fan base ( if any left) would have been divided. His party contested two elections and all the candidates including himself lost. Incidentally, the film is distributed by Red Giant Movies of Udaynidhi Stalin.

His only public outing has been the reality show Bigg Boss on Star Vijay. A  abridged version called Ultimate was telecast on Disney Hotstar and this  was a non starter as it was available to only those with Smart TV and Disney app. Nearing the end, Kamal quit hosting the show citing prior date issues.

Vikram has Faahad Fazil and Vijay Setupathi  to give a multiple language look. Amitabh Bachchan is said to have played a cameo. Lokesh Kanakraj,  the director had directed Vijay's Master and it was a block buster. It was dubbed and released in Hindi. With no promotion, it sank. Anirudh is the music director who has a high stock as his score for Beast is a hit across several languages especially the Arabic Kuthtu song. The story line of Vkram that is being circulated around, if true, is nothing novel.

The next big Pan Indian film is Ponniyin Selvan directed by Mani Rathinam with several South stars and  Aishwarya Rai. Mani's rating as a Pan Indian director is still high and commands a huge audience abroad. Film produced by Lyca , the film is fetching high prices in the OTT and digital rights market.  Here again what works for Mani is that the subject is a historical fantasy adventure film , a genre that clicked with Baahubali .franchise.

As per trade sources, only directors like Shankar, Rajamouli and Prasanth Neel who have added to Pan Indain list with Mani Rathinam are able to demand a price for their product. As Pushpa is a hit, the sequel has a high market value but the director does not and nor the hero Allu Arjun .  Prabhas Salaar commands a pan Indian price tag for the director Prasanth Neel as Prabhas Radhe Syam was a flop in Hindi.

Illaiyaraaja pro Modi tweet to escape GST notice ? - Tamil filmdom keeps mum

Illaiyaraaja was served a summons from DG,  GST , to provide proof on the service tax that he has made and this is the reason that the maestro wrote a foreword in the book likening Prime Minister Modi to Dr Ambedkar is the latest allegation levelled against him. As the composer gets vilified on social media, no Superstar or Ullaga Nayakan from Kollywood has spoken about this hate campaign going on in the social media. Predictably BJP State President and Union Minister L Ganesan has come out in support of the Isaiganani. The book was published much before the GST summons is conveniently swept under the carpet.

Sources say that DG Intelligence had sent a notice on February 28th and since he did not respond, a second one was send asking him to appear on March 28th. Composer's auditor appeared and submitted the details . Bluekraft Digital Foundation company who published the book  Exam Warriors written by Modi, are the publishers of this book too. . Another book was on Modi's radio broadcasts Mann ki Baat which " brought in social revolution on radio".  Bluekraft founder Rajesh Jain who was part of Modi 2014 poll campaign and part time member of UDAI ( aadhar), Company CEO Akhilesh Mishra apart from being Modi poll campaign  managers was content director of Union Government website MyGov.in , a citizen portal. Recently, a report said that Bluekraft was linked to a website - www,truepicture.in that is out to bust fake news. As many as 14 Union ministers  had tweeted a link to this website. Anybody wants to know about the truth in news has to go to this site. Bluekraft denied links to this site.

As per the publisher - The book studies the points of intersection of India’s development story under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ideals of Babasaheb. It also highlights the striking parallels between the two towering personalities that succeeded against all odds and worked to dismantle stifling social structures that they themselves experienced from close quarters.

The composer got into the eye of the storm when he wrote a foreword to a book published by  Blue Kraft Digital Foundation titled Ambedkar & Modi — Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementations,. His foreword - “Both these striking personalities succeeded against odds that people from socially disempowered sections of the society face. Both saw poverty and stifling social structures from close quarters and worked to dismantle them, but both are also practical men who believe in action rather than mere thought exercises.”.

All hell broke loose. Fans said that he need to withdraw his writeup. At first his brother Gangai Amaran - a BJP member and composer said that his brother will not pull back his writeup. The hate campaign took more steam. Now Raaja has issued a revised version of his song from Dhalapathi ( Rajini- Mammooty- Mani Rathinam) Sundari kannaley with a tweaked lyrics to imply that he stood firm on his  Modi views.

Raaja's son Yuvan Shankar Raaja put out a post with him in a black shirt  with a caption - Dark Dravidian Proud Thamizhan. Many celebrities followed suit. BJP President Annamalai reacted - “If Yuvan is dark, then I am  much darker like a jungle crow and so I too is a pure Dravidian.”. When Amit Shah said that Hindi should be the link language like English to unite the Nation, A R Rahman put out a post of a painting in which a black woman in white saree with a trishul  in hand and in a red background with the caption  Tamizhananagu - caption from Bhartidasan invocation song to Mother Tamil. It says that Tamil language is the root to Tamil rights. ARR got bouquets and brickbats too. Many asked him if it was not for Hindi films that he scored, would he have got the worldwide fame.

There are many books on Modi's achievements -  Email: contact@bluekraft.in

 

When Prithviraj picked Rockybhai from airport as unit forgot him

 

Yash alias RockyBhai of KGF who came to shoot for a music video Spirit of Chennai was stranded at the airport as the film unit that was filming the video did not even known that there was an actor called Yash coming from Bangalore for the shoot. For the same shoot, Prithviraj had arrived at the airport . He came to know through the escort that took him the car about a Kannada actor Yash was waiting in the airport as logistic team of the shoot has not arranged for one. Prithviraj immediately asked the driver to go back to the airport and walked up to Yash and asked him to accompany him. Yash told him that a car was on the way but Prithviraj insisted and took him along to the hotel.

This happened in 2016 and producer of the music video was Actor `Chiyaan ' Vikram. It was about the Chennai floods 2015 and the unity of the citizens in tackling it. Many actors starting from Abhishek Bachchan -Suriya - Nivin Pauly took part.  Yash had just started work on KGF 1.

As Kannada film KGF is able to created a Pan Indian  film on a Rs 100 crore budget, the second or almost same ranked regional language film industry is Malayalam , in terms of box office returns. In many discussions as whether there is a director who has a mettle to created a KGF like mammoth film from Kerala, the first name that comes is Prithviraj.

Though Kerala film industry had has Rs 100 cr club films like Puli Murugan - Lucifer - Premam, Kurup , Kayamkulam Kochunni and Drishyam, none of them had a pan Indian appeal. Film industry watchers say that Malayalam film industry has many writers whose works can be a subject for Pan Indian appeal.

Prithviraj as a producer- distributor is by now a known name in Bollywood film circuit, He was sharing stage with Karan Johar at the KGF  2 function in Mumbai. Prithviraj is the distributor of KGF 2 in Kerala. In an interview, the actor  said that Pan Indian films do nt happen in Kerala, as after the completion, the discussion to dub it in other languages come. Nobody shoots with a Pan Indian audience and mainly for hte film to get noticed in Hindi heartland, one needs people like Karan Johar and similar big names to take it across widely.

KGF 2 review: Here is the real Beast- Stay after end credits

 KGF2 is much better and bigger sequel than one thought would be. Those who hated first part or did not see it as it did not suit their sensibilities, stay away from KGF 2. If you are first timer to KGF franchise, the film will not bore you as the visuals, dialogues. sounds and screen presence of Yash will keep you engaged- only that you might be wondering why the guy next is getting goosebumps at every turn of events, Reason is that he has seen part one and is relating to it. You are not.

First part to me looked quite slow in establishing the hero and the bad world of KGF. Here , it just kicks off at jet speed. A honest PM, scheming corporate and a bad guy who wants to be in Rocky Bhai shoes. In short a Prashanth Neel film. Prabhas and Salaar are in for good opening. Strangely, this film if titled KGF 2 The Beast , nobody would have complained. Sanju Baba ( Sanjay Dutt) gets an intro that is MASS and you sit back with the feeling that at last a tough opponent. Here you are disappointed. It looks like Sanju's Covid infection disrupted the script. Also Raveena Tandom does not jell - she looks like an extra fitting.

Beast review : Rajinikanth needs to have a rethink on Nelson direction

Beast shows again that young directors lose their grip on the narrative when they have a STAR  who is a Thalapathy to his fans.  Nelson is confused as to how to treat a wafer thin story with a larger than life Vijay's image and more so confine the hostage drama  within a Mall. He has to bring in a Sylvester Stallone kind of Vijay during action and then shift to kid sentiment and comedy. Finally, he hits a roadblock. How do we end the film ?. The happenings so far are so limp and merely gunning down the bad guys will not do. So hero takes off in a fighter jet ( not provided by Indian Airforce) to fly to POK and do a URI surgical. JAI HIND.

The best of Beast is all there in the trailor.  Anirudh BGM is so loud and even drowns out dialogues. The songs and choreography with camerawork ( Manoj ) is a plus. Pooja Hegde ??? . Comedy ??? . Merely sporting a swag, style and playing Mr Cool, Vijay to an extent satisfy his fans but is this all that is needed in a Thalapathy film to be a hit at box office ?. It so then Sun Pictures can laugh their way to the bank. 

Rajinikanth who is teaming up with Nelson for his next has to doubly cautious. Nelson is not able to balance the Stardom of Vijay and combine his narrative style seen in two of his earlier films.  It can worst with Thalaivar as hero.Tbere is director Selvaraghavan in a role that only Nelson can describe and as per a Biz report on Beast Selvaraghavan was paid Rs 2 cr. Sun got ripped off.

Vijay - SRK in Atlee Lion confirmed - Details below

Thalapathy Vijay will come for 15 minutes in the underproduction SRK- Nayanthara film Lion directed by Atlee, according to Umar Sandhu censor board member of Dubai and film journalist. In a tweet he said that SRK is started shooting again and will juggle the dates between Rajkumar and Atlee film.
Umar had been part of the censor panel in Dubai that censored Beast. He tweeted - #Vijay's #Beast Passed Censor Test & got U/A Certificate without any Cut !! Reports are Terrific Umair Sandhu @UmairSandu · Apr 6 #ShahRukhKhan will start shooting for #RajkumarHirani movie from next week. #Atlee movie in next few days. @iamsrk will be juggling among the two. Such an amazing lineup along with #Pathaan. Sandhu shared his review of the film on social media and gave it four stars. Posting the review on his Instagram Story, Sandhu wrote, “Vijay looks very dashing and his performance is outstanding. He is brilliant in every frame. Engaging Story and Screenplay, Dialogues are Clap Worthy. Nelson’s direction is simple and he shows that he has the ability to handle a film of this scale. He also joins the dots in the narrative neatly. On the whole, Beast is a paisa-vasool action entertainer which has style as well as enough twists and turns to keep the viewers engrossed." (sic)

AP CM Jagan to grant ticket hike for KGF2 ? - Beast Hindi for Rs 4 crores

The biggest expectation from Tollywood film trade is that Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan will grant permission for KGF 2 makers ( distributors) to make a hike of Rs 50 per ticket in the State.Exhibitors are told to not open advance booking counters as the order from CM office is expected any time. KGF producers produced recods to show that certain portions of the film were shot in coastal Andhra regions and hence sought permission to hike the ticket price. KGF producers who are also producer of Prabhas `Salaar' will put a trailor with KGF 2 as bonus and also draw Prabhas fans. Nizam area has gone for a record price of Rs 70 crores as per trade sources. This amount for a non Telugu hero film is given on the assurance that the area collections will be safe guarded in case of a shortfall by `Salaar' film collections. Including coastal areas Andhra alone is done a Rs 100 crores business, The Hindi advance booking shows that the film will get a Rs 40 + crore net collections on Day one. The earlier goral post was RRR opening but now it has shifted to Baahubali 2 opening from today. Beast the Vijay film dubbed in Hindi is sold for Rs 4 crores. This is a reasonable amount and can be easily got feels trade. The whole weekend being a oliday starting with Ambedkar Jayanti and Easter holidays, the film will collect as the songs have reaced widely and if the content is great, it might be a slow sleeper hit. KGF 2 distributors are Hombale Films Through KRG Studios and Jayanna Films (Kannada) Excel Entertainment & AA Films (Hindi) Varahi Chalana Chitram (Telugu) Dream Warrior Pictures (Tamil) Prithviraj Productions (Malayalam)

KGF 2 beats Beast on advance booking except Tamil Nadu

Exhibitors in Tamil Nadu are happy with the advance booking of Beast but in Kerala- Karnataka and AP/ TS , KGF shows a marked difference. As expected, KGF 2 is creating a storm at Hindi advance booking counters that opened on April 7th. 80 % of the occupancy in Tamil Nadu is booked as per reports from exhibitors of Beast in Tamil Nadu. This on expected lines and close to 800 theaters are screening the film and around 250- 300 are screening KGF 2. Big screens in multiplexes in TN are for Beast. KGF 2 getting 200 - 300 screens for a start is good enough for S R Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures , distributor of KGF 2. Dream Warrior had distributed Karthi's Kaithi opposite Bigil with limited screens and made money as the film got postive reviews continued to hold against Bigil. The box office of Kerala shows a trend of KGF 2 being scheduled for fan shows starting from 4 AM on April 14th. By going with the advance booking numbers, trade says that KGF 2 on opening day will cross the entire collection of KGF 1 done in it's entire run. Beast as expected for a Vijay film is doing the business it expected. In Karnataka, almost 90 % of the screens are with KGF 2 as the Telugu- Hindi- Tamil prints with the original Kannada version will be playing in biggest box office area of Bengaluru. Beast opening is considerably dimmed.In AP/ TS, too the advance booking for KGF 2 is bigger than Beast. Beast team director Nelson - music director Anirudh and Pooja Hegde took part in a press meet to promote the film. In Bollywood, the trade is watching whether KGF 2 will beat RRR opening. By the rate the booking is moving, KGF might not reach RRR opening . The opening might be anything around Rs 15 crores. Beast in comparison might get a opening of Rs 3 crores, Sadly nobody is talking of Shahid Kapoor Jersey, a straight Hindi film , remake of Telugu film with Pushpa hero Allu Arjun's father as co- producer.

Vijay fans memes on Stalin- Thalapathy adds fuel to Muslim fire

Thalapathy Makkal Iyakkam issued a stern warning to members to not troll- put memes, write any defamatory about any political leader in any media and warned of immediate dismissal. This is fall out of the unscheduled meet between TN CM Stalin and Thalapathy Vijay at the wedding reception of Kalapathi Agroharm owner of AGS group of companies that includes AGS Entertainment.AGS produced Vijay's Bigil and is sceduled to bankroll an Atlee - Vijay film in 2023. Yesterday morning, Indian Union Muslim League ( alliance partner of DMK) issued a statement and a letter to Home Secretary asking that Beast be banned as the film t ( produced by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures) picturises Muslims as the brain behind terrorist activity. This was after a news report said that Kuwait censors had banned the film. What was suprising was the support from the minorities wing of PMK to the League call. PMK which has a cadre base in South districts can disturb the screenings. IUML is a alliance partner of DMK and contested in Vaniyambadi -Kadainallur and Chidambram.They lost to AIADMK whose alliance partner is PMK.Reason for PMK backing IUML is that the Makkal Iyakkam defeated PMK candidates and even got Chairman posts in Vanniar belt during the local body polls. PMK saw red as some time back it was Actor Vijaykant who was a headache as he poached on Vanniyar youth votes.

As it is Ramzan month, response to film releases in Muslim dominated areas will be less. It is more pronounced in Malabar areas of Kerala and pockets of Telangana ( Old Hyderabad).The ban call has been downplayed in mainstream media but last minute drama might play out in court room.

Latha Rajinikanth to produce film and music videos

Latha Rajinikanth is to collaborate with producer Prernaa Arora to produce music videos and probably a feature film too. Arora was the producer of the music video Musafir directed by Aishwarya Rajinikanth. Arora was to produce a film with Nidhi Agarwal ( reportedly live in GF of STR). As per the report, a music video Numa is being shot in Goa , as a part of the collaboration between Latha and Arora. Two other albums are Aankhon Aankhon Mein', 'Azhagu' and 'Kannal Peginaal', all in Hindi- Tamil. Music album field is not new to Lata. She had released ‘Maaya Jaalam' and ‘Saraal'. Latha started working as a playback singer in Tamil cinema. Few of her famous songs include ‘Netru Indha Neram' from Tik Tik Tik- Kamal Haasan starred movie in 1981 and ‘Kadavul Ullamae' from Anbulla Rajinikanth in 1984

The next two videos will be shot in Chennai from April 12th. Latha has started a new company We Studios who will be the presenter and Arora directs the videos. Arora has produced Rustom, Toilet Ek Prem Katha and Padman among others under KiriArj Studios and later wound it up. She was to produce a film with Aishwarya announced her Hindi directorial debut Oh Saathi Chaal.

In a first : Tickets for Beast trailor at black rates - Vijay 's Sun TV interview after 10 years

Thalapathy Vijay's Beast is the first film whose tickets for a Trailor of a film was sold at the black market for a premium. After 10 years,Actor Vijay will appear on Sun TV for a interview with Nelson , director of Beast. Finally, with help from Actor Shime Tom Chacko, the main baddie was spotted in the trailor of Beast.

Usually, trailor of big ticket films are released in theaters along with films that are running in the hall. There have been instances where the shows of flop movies got housefull boards after the trailor screened. Many theaters like Rohini in Chennai screened trailor on open screen ooutside the hall as a bonus to fans. This time however, trailr screening became organised and converted it to a channel of revenue by theater owners. In many Districts trailor of Beast was screened for Rs 50 per head ticket. In some halls the celeberation of fans went over board and glass windows - seats were damaged. YouTube critic Blue Sattai Maaran in a tweet showed shots of a ticket sold in a theater in Madurai. Tirupr Subramanian , Exhibitors Association said that by allowing unlimited crowds inside the hall or outside the hall to watch trailor was risky if any untoward happened, He said that the theater license would be cancelled. In Chennai suburbs, theaters for Rs 1 a ticket allow fans to watch trailors and no one without tickets are allowed inside. So over crowding does not appen and usual security for a fan film release is put in place. In another first, Vijay interview is coming on Sun TV at 9 PM Sunday April 10th and it is after his last apperance on this channel for an interview in 2011 as promotion of film Velayutham. The actor's audio release for films produced by Sun Pictures has appeared.

After the trailor appeared, many started asking where is Shine Tom in the film. Some reviewing the film also spoke about a bald foriegner coming as a bad guy. Now Shine put a clue in his insta post with his makeover look.

Selfie Tamil film review: New area but flawed treatment

 Selfie is from Mathi Maran and is said to be from Vetrimaaran school of film making. This film has all the rawness that goes with a Vetri Maaran film but lacks characters that has an audience connect. The area chosen is the sale of professional courses seat in private colleges and here the difference is that the subject goes into how the parents are lured  by colleges to buy the seats from organized mafia backed touts and the behind the scene operation. 

The whole story starts with the hero learning that his father paid a donation for an engineering seat in a college where seats were going abegging. He decides to start this racket and earn money. The first attempt to sell a medical college seat for a premium goes for a toss and this makes him fall foul of the bad world of the racket. The question here is which parent or the aspirant who can give Rs 65 lakhs for a seat be so dumb enough to not even ask anybody about the college ranking ?.

The friend of the hero ( G V Prakash) commits suicide after the first biz deal flops and thugs turn up at his house for money. This should have motivated the hero to either bust the racket that took the life of his pal or push him to be a kingpin in the racket ( as he says the lure is not easy to avoid). Both are absent.

The focus shifts to the so far silent character Ravi played by Gautam Menon , the mafia kingpin. From here, this character gets a buildup that he turns out to be  a noble man who keeps to his word and delivers what he promises. He does not over charge his clients and very loyal to his boss ( college chairman). Towards the climax you feel for this Don getting killed by his own boss men. When hero turns a new leaf and remembers his dead friend, you will hoot him out.

If being disheveled and sporting a constipated look is what the role demands, G V Prakash does it to perfection. The songs ???. Lets forget it. Camerawork is only saving grace. In short , Selfie is a Gautam Vasudev Menon film ( acting wise). Many say that Menon's role is inspired from Vendar Movies Madan life. Madan was the man for SRM Group and not any college that had to hoodwink parents to enroll students. Also Madan openly advertised his link with SRM owner in his movie production credits. P. S. Vagai Chadrasekar  shows that he still has it in him . The scene he speaks to his repenting son over the phone is a treat.

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Manmandha Leelai - Venkat Prabhu is KB's heir

 Manmandha Leelai is a B grade thriller and nothing more than that.  Adult ?- lip lock scenes and comedy? - comments from audience. Actors Ashok Selvan and others have done their bit. Premji gives an offbeat BGM to catch the audience attention. As it is a low budget film, cameraman has restrictions. Nothing overboard in terms of sexual content like Iruutu aaraiyil  murattu kutthu and their likes. Time Pass. Venkat Prabhu tweet says that like Maanaadu had to skip morning shows and became a hit, Manmadha -- too had the same fate and moving to a blockbuster hit. Buzz is that K Balchander's production house had objected to use of the title as it belongs to them but technically it was now free to be used by anyone. It is a lesson to every producer of any iconic movie to keep the title alive by registering or patenting it. Otherwise you will have to be a spectator to see B grade stuff come out in that name. AMEN

PEARLCITY MASSACRE on the struggle against the Sterlite plant (Muthunagar massacre)

Nachiyal Films had produced a documentary titled 'Marina Revolution' in January 2017 condemning the Jallikattu ban and the protest that took place not only in Tamil Nadu but all over the world. Directed by MS Raj. 'Marina Revolution', which was censored after a fierce struggle, won an award at the Norwegian and Korean film festivals.

Currently Nachiyal Films and Daruvai Talkies are producing an investigative documentary titled PEARLCITY MASSACRE (Pearl City Massacre) about the protest against the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi on May 22 & 23, 2018. The film is directed by MS Raj.

More about the film Director MS Raj ..

"The PEARLCITY MASSACRE (Muthunagar massacre) investigative documentary actually recorded the atrocities of May 22 & 23 with witnesses and filmed with evidence the mistakes made by the state machinery.

We screened the documentary for the families of those killed in the shooting. We are going to screen this film not only in Tamil Nadu but all over the world (in 32 countries) and collect the signatures of the audience and present it to the Government of Tamil Nadu. We humbly request the support of the media on this journey of ours to seek justice. "