PM Modi - Unni Mukundan meet lead to rejection of Mallikapuram by jury and boycott Tamil films call in Kerala

Was the Mallikapuram film ignored for a State Award in Kerala due to its alleged propagation of Hindu religion by the Left Government? Alternatively, could it have been overlooked because the film's hero, Unni Mukundan, met PM Modi during his recent visit to Kochi? Despite being a blockbuster hit and garnering praise for the child actor's performance, Devananda, the film didn't receive an award. Director Viji Thampi, who is associated with Viswa Hindu Parishad, stated that during his time as a member of the National awards jury the previous year, there was no interference from the Ministry. This year, the State jury received a pre-determined list of award winners. Interestingly, Devananda also acted in another successful film in 2018. Furthermore, the Kerala film jury had BJP leader Gautami, who is also the Chairperson of the Regional Censor Board, as one of its members.

Director Vinayan, the founder President of MACTA (Kerala Cine Technicians Association), expressed his opposition to the FEFSI's call for using only Tamil actors in Tamil films. In response, he suggested halting the release of Tamil films in Kerala. Vinayan clarified that although he has great respect for the Tamil film industry, and has even directed Tamil films like "Kasi" featuring Vikram, he believes FEFSI's stance goes against the principles of federalism and unity as one nation. Vinayan pointed out that many actors, including Kamal Haasan, have simultaneous releases in Kerala and achieve significant box office success, earning over Rs 150 crores at theaters in the state. He acknowledged that the call for using only Tamil actors in Tamil films has garnered support from various quarters, and in Kerala, there is no objection from the State Government or any film trade body. Regarding his film "19 Noothand," which received three State awards, some criticism arose, suggesting that the film, based on a historical character that brought about social changes, deserved better recognition. In response, Vinayan mentioned that he did not anticipate receiving these awards and expressed gratitude to Chalchitra Academy Chairman Ranjith for the recognition.

Director Shankar has commenced the post-production work of Indian 2. According to internal reports, computer-generated imagery (CG) has been utilized not only for the late actors Nedumudi Venu and Vivek but also to depict Kamal Haasan's character, Senapathi, as a 30-year-old in the movie. CG has been employed in various Hindi films as well, such as "Dhoni: The Untold Story" to portray the childhood days of actor Sushanth, "Lal Singh Chaddha" featuring Aamir Khan, and "Fan" starring Shah Rukh Khan. In an interview, Lokesj mentioned that in the film "Vikram," they also used CG to depict Kamal Haasan, but due to its length, they couldn't include it in the final cut to avoid increasing the runtime. However, he assured that the CG portions will be released at a later stage.

Rajinikanth "Jailer" has received a U/A certification and has a total runtime of 2 hours and 48 minutes. The first half of the film spans one hour and 19 minutes, while the second half is one hour and 29 minutes long. The audio launch event will take place at Chennai Nehru Stadium on July 28th. Among the songs in the movie, two have already become hits, both composed by Anirudh. The lead actress in the film is Tamannaah, and the cast also includes Mohanal and Shivarajkumar.