Prithviraj - Listin support vital for Kerala Filmdom Reforms - After Bigg Boss now Space trip contest

Is WCC the Women’s Collective giving shape to a new trade union for Kerala Filmdom ? This is the talk in Kochi. As Ashiq Abu the Director quit the trade union FEFKA, there is a talk that many more are to follow him. Abu’s wife Rima is part of WCC. It seems Director Vinayan whose MACTA was sidelined by FEFKA is said to be backing Abu. In his media interaction, Mohanlal said that anybody was free to form a union as AMMA was not a trade union. B Unikrishnan of FEFKA is said to be a stooge of the Superstars and part of the so called Power Group. The backing of Listin Stephen President of Distributors Association and a close aide of Actor Prithviraj is crucial. However Listin is currently Producer of a Dilip film and this could be a thorn to the WCC, that was formed after the alleged sexual attack on actress Bhavana. Listin is acceptable to all the Superstars and his stance could be crucial. Prithviraj had a few days ago recalled the days when he was unofficially blacklisted . Now he is a saleable actor and successful Director with a Mohanlal film under production. From AMMA, actor Jagadish is said to be spearheading a move to bring back the executive body that resigned . Through this he aims to bring the General Body and go in for a new set of office bearers. Mohanlal hinted that he was not anymore a player in the politics that would unfurl now.

Banijay Asia Producers of Bigg Boss , one of the popular reality shows is to launch a new show that will select an ordinary Indian citizen who will get a seat in the Blue Origin Sheppard Mission that goes on a trip to Space. Six ordinary people from across the Globe will be selected through the realty show and they be onboard the rocket that will go past the Karman Line , the recognized boundary line of space. US based Space Exploration research Agency is collaborating with Banijay. The journey will last for 11 minutes in the space. The contestants will have to undergo various fitness tests and finally one will be selected. Banijay Asia’s Group CEO Dhar says that among all fiction and non fiction shows, Bigg Boss is the most profitable and recently launched Marathi Bigg Boss is a big hit. Banijay and Sony has agreed to do remake of former’s International scripted series for Indian audience.

Ranjith send nude boy photo to Revathy - Adjustment - compromise no secret - Sharadha

Director Ranjith shot nude photos of a young boy and send it across to Actress Revathy. Revathy is one of the founding members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) that is behind the formation of Hema Committee. Ranjith resigned from Chalachitra Akademi , the State Government body after a Bengali actress filed a complaint that she was sexually harassed by the Director. A male victim has mentioned in his complaint about Director Ranjith. The boy said that he was called to the hotel room in Taj Bengaluru and was forced to take liquor and participated in sexual activity with the Director. The director shot some nude photos while talking on the phone and send it to the person with whom he was talking. Ranjith said that he had send the photos to Revathy and she had liked it. The boy said that after he did not get chance to act in two films directed by Ranjith, he had complained to an actress who was close to Ranjith. The incident happened in 2012 when Ranjith was working in Mammootty film Baputty namathil. The man says that the Director said that the photos send to his friends will help him get offers. After 40 years of acting, Revathy in 2022 won Best Actress Award from Kerala State for her performance in Bhoothakalam. “I was told to place the award on my chair, but I didn't feel like letting her go. It took her almost 40 years to reach me” said Revathy while receiving the award from CM Pinnarayi Vijayan. Bhoothakalam was rejected by primary jury but was recalled after four members wanted it to be in final list due to Revathy’s fine performance. At that time there was an allegation that Ranjith who as Chairman of Chalachitra Academy had influenced the jury headed by Bengali film maker Gautam Ghose. Now a Bengali actress has alleged sexual harassment against Ranjith. An Fir has been filed against Ranjith on actress complaint. About the Hema Committee Revathi was quoted = Revathi stressed that there are a lot who have kept quiet for years but now feel that they can open up after reading the report. “Some men have been saying this has happened to them for years – 19 years ago, 16 years ago. It is like they have been silenced forever. The release of Hema Committee Report has kindled faith that it is alright to speak,” she said. Revathy had won twice the best actress award in Tamil from TamilNadu State and three national awards which include a best supporting actress in Thevar Maghan.

Sharadha one of the Hema Committee was quoted saying that casting couch in her days was out of mutual consent and nothing was forced. In `olden days’ , she says that nobody spoke in double meaning on the sets and nobody squeezed the breasts of actresses on sets. According to her the western culture was the culprit. Read on - Sharada also talks about how the current crop of actors is “influenced by Western culture.” "Hence, everybody mingles with each other quite openly. Girlfriends and boyfriends are very public now. The relationship between men and women was different in the olden days. The culture of the new generation is different. “Adjustment" and "compromise" are open these days, whereas it was not so open then,” she says.

With Suchi Leaks and Chinmayi get limelight ? Jordan actor sorry for Aadujeevitham - GOAT re-censor

Will Suchithra Tapes or Leaks get the importance that it deserved after the Hema Committee report that was released in Kerala ? Will Chinmayi’s allegation against lyricist Vairamuthu and actor Radha Ravi be brought to forefront now ? In an interview to IE, Chinmayi said - There were instances where actors named a big star in Tamil, but the accusations were soon retracted… Such names exist in all industries. I believe WCC can empower the system even more. When women in Malayalam name the men in Kerala, we must remember that Malayalam actresses have also worked in other languages, especially Tamil and Telugu. I don’t expect the WCC will empower other states. How much work will one set of women do?”

Thalapathy’ Vijay’s The Greatest Of All Time has been censored once again by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Initially, the film was given a ‘U/A’ rating for a lengthy runtime of 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 39 seconds. However, additional scenes were added, thus taking the runtime to 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 14 seconds.

It looks like Saudi Arabia has not forgotten Malayalam film Aadujeevitham . Jordan actor Akef Najem has issued a public apology saying that he was sorry for acting in the film . He says that he was told that he had to play a rich Saudi man who helps a migrant worker get back to his country. And this is what drove me to approve the role, because it reflects the valour and humanity of the Saudis. As a surprise, when I saw the film, it presents, in addition to my ideal personality, some negative Saudi models," he mentioned in his official statement. He went on to state that he wouldn't have done the film if he knew the details. Najem also apologised to the people of Saudi Arabia and explained that he was misunderstood.The film was largely shot during the COVID-19 pandemic across extensive schedules in Jordan. Omani actor Talib Al Balushi, who played a ruthless sponsor in the film, quashed rumours that he has been banned from entering Saudi Arabia because of his role in the film. The film was sidelined by National Awards jury as the film has created a friction with Saudi Arabia. However Kerala State showered the film with awards. Aadujeevitham- the 2024 Malayalam-language survival drama film, written, directed and co-produced by Blessy, had won nine Kerala state awards. The Goat Life or Aadujeevitham tells the story of an Indian young man and his suffering with the sponsor who made him a prisoner tending sheep and camels in the desert.

Vijay Sethupathi BiggBoss Shoot in Pondy - Rajini in Vizag- Riaz Khan in BB Tamil 8

Yes .Bigg Boss Tamil 8 is coming on Star Vijay and Disney HotStar. Promo shoot with Vijay Sethupathi will be on at Puducherry. Looks like VSP is in Puducherry for his film with Nithya Menen directed by Pandiraj. Actor Riaz Khan named by a Kerala actress as a person who sexually harassed her, is on board for the show. At the boardroom level there was a meeting to shift the Bigg Boss to Colors Tamil and stream on Jio Cinema. One it was seen as a move to boost Colors Tamil. Secondly, under pressure to fulfill the Competitive Commission of India (CCI) to drop some channels as perquisite to merge Walt Disney and Reliance and avoid being a monopoly. It was decided to sell off Star Suvarna in Kannada as Reliance has Colors Kannada and Colors Super run under Viacom 18 banner formerly ETV. As CCI has raised questions about cricket telecast and streaming rights, Banijay will go with Star Vijay and Hotstar for this season. In future, there is a possibility of Star Vijay- Colors Tamil- Jio Cinema and HotStar merging. CCI objection to Sony- Zee merger led to it’s not being clinched.

As auditions are going on as we reported, Vijay Sethupathi is confirmed as Nayanthara name has been dropped citing fluency in Tamil language. A last-minute option was Aravind Swami. Riaz Khan has been selected as contestant . His son Shariq had earlier taken part in the show. The sexual harassment complaint will not be a hurdle as contestants with police complaints were allowed to take part in the show.

Superstar Rajinikanth has arrived in Vizag to start filming for Coolie his eagerly awaited movie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. He is expected to spend close to 40 days filming in and around Vizag, with scenes being shot throughout the city. Aamir Khan is latest name to add to film’s list. Already Upendra is part of the film.

Actor Prajin’s edge-of-seat political thriller titled ‘Sevakar’ A Malayalam film crew’s ambitious political thriller Tamil movie titled ‘Sevakar’ The film 'Sevakar' has been produced by a dedicated Malayalam film team, showcasing their belief in Tamil cinema, and it has been crafted as a political thriller. ‘Sevakar' features Prajin in the titular character, supported by a talented ensemble cast that includes Shakana, Bose Venkat, Adukalam Naren, Madurai Saravanan, Udumalai Rajesh, Heema Shankari, Rupa, Sunil, Balu, Shaji Krishna, Sai Shankar, Jishnu Jith, Mano, Zameen Kumar, Sharbuddin, Chandru, Rajkumar, among others, who portray significant characters. The film is both written and directed by Santhosh gopinath. R.D. Mohan (Music), Pradeep Nair (DOP), Ranjith (Editing), Sreekumar (Art), Revathi Rao (Choreography), Rajesh Murugan-Velan Raj-Anbazhagan (Lyrics), Kathir (Sound Engineer) and Satheesh Palakkad (Production Executive).

As Mollywood burns - Kerala actresses shine in Kollywood- Vijay Sethupathi breaks Bollywood record on Netflix

While Mollywood witness Malayalee actresses coming out with charges of sexual harassment after the Hema committee, Kollywood is seeing the magic of Kerala actresses on the big screen. The film Thangalaan released recently had the critics and viewers raving about the performance of Parvathy Thiruvoth and Malavika Mohanan in the film. In fact, Parvathy came out with flying colours. Next in line is Kootukkaali with Soori and Anna Ben. Anna Ben in PS Vinothraj’s ‘Kottukkaali’, is the first Tamil film to world-premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Her performance has been highlight of the film.

After this comes Mari Selvaraaj film Vaazhai which again is a critics favourite and also said to be doing more than expected at box office. Here Nikhila Varma and Priyanka Nair are the two heroines and from Kerala. Nikhila has come in for praise and an unknown fact is that she had actually first worked with Mari Selvaraj in Dhanush Karnan and that too as a dubbing artiste. She dubbed for Malayalee actress Rajisha Vijayan in the film. In fact she sis not do it as dubbing artist but on request from Mari Selvaraj. This led to her getting Vaazhai.

This year Best Actress National award has been shared by Nithya Menen for the Tamil film Thiruchitamabalam. Manas was other winner for Kutch Express. In 2020, Aparna Balamurali won National award for Soorarai Pottru. In 2018, Keerthy Suresh won national award for Mahanadi the Tamil- Telugu film in 2018.

Thangalaan directed by Pa Ranjith and starring Vikram – Parvathy and Malavika Mohanan is going to release on August 30 in Hindi. The subject that deals with the exploitation of lower castes in the KGF gold Fields. There is no opposition in North India as no big movies are releasing. The film had a mixed response and there was a criticism that upper caste reviewers had targeted it. On the opening day, Pa Ranjith’s film collected around 13.30 crore at the box office. This is one of the biggest openings of Tamil Cinema this year. Meanwhile, it earned 4 crore overseas, taking the worldwide collection to 19.30 crore. But after that it slipped badly.

Vijay Sethupathi starrer Maharaja on Netflix has beaten all Bollywood films released this year with an viewership of 18.6 million. Crew, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu, and Kriti Sanon, was at the top spot on Netflix with 17.9 million views, followed by Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies with 17.1 million views. Maharaja was in third place with 15.5 million views. However, Maharaja has now surpassed both films, reaching 18.6 million views to become the top film on Netflix. The OTT battle between Tamil Rayaan of Dhanush and Prabhas Kalki verdict is out. Raayan has topped Kalki 2898 AD on the Amazon Prime Video. The film is trending at No 1 position pushing Kalki 2898 AD to the second spot. Kalki ‘s Telugu version with subtitles is released on Prime and Hindi on Netflix. Hindi version is doing well. The reaction from viewers for Rayaan on OTT is much different from the theatrical response as evident. Many have slammed the film after the OTT release.

Thalapathy's Circus Elephants - wrong images in Party Flag ?

No Political Party Flag in India has elicited such massive response. Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) flag unveiled by Thalapathi Vijay at outset looked like a copy of Spain’s flag and mixed with the Kerala Govt logo. But now Kannadigas say that it is Karnataka flag with Kerala Govt logo. Yet another design expert says that that it is an ulta (reverse) of FEVICOL logo of two elephants.

Now officially the Bahujan Samaj Party BSP Chennai chapter has issued a statement saying that the elephants are a copy of their party symbol which is Blue coloured one’s and also cite Election Commission rules. They threaten with a legal complaint. Now even the elephants are under suspicion. One group says they are not one’s that take part in war and are of African origin. They say it looks like circus elephants and that of the ones that were part of Devar Films with MGR. Coming to the logo. It is said instead of Vaagai flower (Siris tree/Albizia lebbeck).. the Monkeypod tree (Raintree/Samanea saman) flower for the original Vaagai flower was used instead. Vaagai flower is worn by soldiers during victory march in ancient era. They say that mistake happened as colloquially, the monkeypod tree is called ‘Thoongumoonji Maram’. Its bright pink flower resembles the white Vaagai flower.

The anthem song composed by Thaman is similar to “Aalaporaan Tamizhan” song from Mersal (2017). The TVK anthem video like in the film has shades of yellow and red splattered throughout the song, and the word “Tamizhan” appears frequently. Cinema Murasam Editor Devi Mani says that the 32 stars on flag remind one of 32 bullets in Eelam Flag. He also says that the silhouettes of Anna and MGR in the anthem show that TVK is against DMK and AIADMK. He says that TVK is wooing the Tamils abroad and especially the Tamil origin Sri Lankans. The Vaagai flower also has another connection—Tamil Eelam, thereby positioning TVK as a Tamil Nationalist party. The Vaagai tree is also the national tree symbol of Eelam. Take the lyrics -Tamizhan kodi parakkudu, Thalaivan yugam porakkudu, Moondrezhuthu mandhiratha meendum kaalam olikkidu” meaning the flag of Tamils is flying, the era of a leader is born, the three-letter mantra chant is being heard. Significantly ,the names of MGR, Anna, and Vijay are each formed by three Tamil letters. Vivek lyrics explain the flag’s colours and symbols—the colour red from blood, the strengths of two elephants, yellow decoration, and tilaka with blue and green. It is obvious that the colours indicate the vote bank TVK wants like: red for the working class, green for Muslims, blue for Dalits, pink for women, and yellow for Hindus. Cliched Hindu- Muslim- Christian holding the flag and Vijay being untainted and friend of all from auto driver to senior citizens – women. The last two groups hate the auto drivers is a reality. Personally, I feel that if TVK goes ahead on this line, then NTK will have to face stiff competition and to a certain extent ADMK. DMK men already have dumped MGR and Anna.

Thalapathy thanks Captain family- BiggBoss Tamil 8 Probables

Thalapathy Vijay along with Producer Archana and Director Venkat Prabhu called on Captain Vijayakanth family and thanked them for allowing use of the Late Star's image in the film GOAT using AI. We had reported this long time back on May 12 2024. Read -https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/05/ai-assusted-captain-with-thalapathy-on.html

Roshni Haripriyan of Bharathi Kannamma TV fame and Angayarkanni of hit film Garudan, Poonam Bajwa a Punjabi model actress who debuted in Hari’s Seval and appeared in Aranamani 2 and Muthina Kathirakai was last seen in Malayalam film Pathonpatham Noottandu and Main Hoon Moosa opposite Suresh Gopi.

Sonia Aagrwal the one time top heroine in Kollywood post Kadhal Kondain , 7 G rainbow Colony and Pudhupettai and divorce with Director Selvaraghavan had moved to TV and films with lesser known actors. She was part of Top Cooku a show on Sun TV and is part of webseries Queen 2. Farida Khan who played the negative role in Bharathi Kanamma is yet another aspirant.

Kiran the Gemini girl who appeared in BB 7 Telugu and got evicted in first week is to take her chance in Tamil BB 8. Like Kiran,

Shwetha Menon the award winning actress from Malayalam films was part of BBB Malayalam first season and lasted till 36 episodes, is tipped to be part of BB Tamil.

Thangalaan sinks or not ? Why Sai Pallavi in Gargi and Dulquer in Sita Ramam overlooked ?

We usually wait for a Monday and then give the box office verdict. This time, we feel that there is no need as we feel a miracle cannot happen. We are talking about Thangalaan of the Vikram- Pa Ranjith combo. As far we see the film in South has touched Rs 29 crores and worldwide it is Rs 43.5 croes. The film opened big in Tamil Nadu and it was Rs 11 crores but the shocker was that on non working days it slumped and to a miserable Rs 3 crores. After taking the entire holidays, the total is Rs 25 crores. Vikram who had a good opening in Kerala has touched a miserable figure in thousands !!!. Telugu was slightly better. Gokulam Gopalan who bought Thangalaan Kerala had announced that a part of the proceeds would be given to Wayanad relief. Wonder what that amount is ?. Meanwhile Producer Studio Green has claimed Rs 53 crores in three days. It claims that Monday has a Rs 3 crore advance booking. Yet another Rayaan like claim. Rayaan of Dhanush had a similar start and fizzled out. However it had no big or small films as opposition and has limped to Rs 94 crores. It was released on July 24th. Now Dhanush fans say that with Rs 6 crores more the film will enter Rs 100 crore club. They are hopeful as Thangalaan has dropped. Rayaan is coming on August 23 on Prime. So al Rayaan needs is Rs 6 crores in six days. The silent winner is Demonte Colony 2 and it has got Rs 15 crores. More screens are coming in for the film.

Now Sai Pallavi fans say that her role in Gargi was any day better than Nithya Menen in Thiruchitrambalam. Now they say that Sai had slammed Kashmir Files and so she was dumped. Nithya on the other hand asks why an actress who does light hearted roles be given a best actress award ? Good question. Dhanush says that Nithya’s National award is his personal victory !!!. If Mammootty opted out of National awards by not entering the fray, his son Dulquer’s fans ask as to how Sita Ramam was not given a single award and instead a right wing Karthikeya 2 got one. As Rahman announced that the award prize money will go Musicians Union, his fans ask why he was not given best music Director and only for BGM ? Why did PS 2 not get national best film ? Arguments go on.

Mohanlal down with Myalgia

Mohanlal in hospital for Myalgia Mohanlal has been admitted to Amrita Kochi for treatment of Myalgia. Myalgia is nothing but acute muscle aches that everybody at one point of time undergoes. It can be treated with cold – hot packs and Ibrufen. As per the hospital, it is generalized Myalgia. It means not related to any particular issues like low potassium, auto immune disorders, use of BP tablets like statins, Ace inhibitors or any drug like cocaine. Mohanlal could have felt the following signs that need immediate medical emergency acre. If any of the following along with aching muscles happen then one has to be hospitalised. • a sudden onset of water retention or a reduction in urine volume • difficulty swallowing • vomiting or running a fever • trouble catching your breath • stiffness in your neck area • muscles that are weak • an inability to move the affected area of the body He was in Gujarat to shoot for his upcoming film ‘L2: Empuraan’. He returned to Kochi, where his health condition worsened

Mammootty film not an entry for Award - Why ? Chiyaan fans in loincloth in theatres - Kerala snub for Rahman

Chiyaan Vikram fans answer to critics The opening day of Thangalaan in Chennai was a shocking surprise to some. At the theatre was a huge bunch of fans clad in loin cloth, long unkempt hair. They were dressed like Vikram was in the film. Not only that, they screamed and behaved like they were from the Stone age. This frightened some kids at the theatre but all the same was a big hit. Some say that Chiyaan was pissed off when a reporter at the Madurai function of the film promo was asked why he had less fans than Vijay and Ajith. This loin cloth guys were to show that he had as crazy as can be fans too. Though his answer to the reporter was not an exact answer but a below the belt reply and uncalled for., Opening Day India net stands ar Rs 18 crores.

Mammootty ‘s Film Kampany the Producers of Nanpakal nerathu mayakkam never submitted the film for National awards. A R Rahman score in Aadujeevitham the Malayalam film went unnoticed by Kerala State Government Film jury. When Nanpakal was submitted for FilmFare awards South and it got Mammootty the best actor, why was it not send to National awards ?. First reason could be that the actor is a CPM supporter and so he knew that there was no point in entering it. Does that not deny other technicians and actors who worked in the film from competing for National awards ?. Anyway Mamootty fans can stop crying foul . Coming to Kerala Film awards which was announced o same day. Legendary AR Rahman who scored music for Aadujeevitham was bypassed and instead Best background score went to Mathew Pulikal for Kathal The Core and Best song Director to Justin for Chaver. Blessy Director of Aadujeevitham which won 7 State awards voiced his disapproval and also pointed out that one song from the film had been a hit across many languages. “The song Periyone was a hit and was accepted and appreciated globally. I saw videos of children in relief camps after the Wayanad landslides singing the song, and even sent them to him. We expected him to win a state award today for the film. The jury failed to recognise the legend,” he said.

Nayanthara for BIggBoss Tamil and Rs 400 crore needed to make Indian 3 a hit

Big Boss a Lady Superstar Nayanthara’s office and Banijay are in talks for hosting Big Boss Tamil next season, is what we heard just now. We were told that Vignesh Shivan , hubby , was in talks with the production company. In another related development, it is said that the team that was said to prepare a storyboard for Vijay Sethupathi as host for a promo has been told to put it on hold. Two things that could possibly happened is that VSP team might have asked for the same amount of Rs 150 crores that Kamal was getting or anuthing more than Rs 100 crore plus. Banijay has to convince the sponsors and they are those looking for targeting urban class and Tier 2 cities. Apart from this the audience of BB Tamil is spread across many countries and they are those that view them on HotStar app. This audience would be nil for VSP. Though Maharaja got a good run in OTT and theatre, his previous films were duds. On Netflix, Maharaja termed a hit was no 5 among non English films but Indian 2 which is termed a flop was on 7th spot globally.

At the same time, Nayanthara is an option that loomed big . For one the fact that for first time a full time Lady Host for BB is new concept and no language has tried it and secondly that she is a known face across all regions. Added to this, Nayanthara exposure to advertising and her dress sense could be an added advantage. It was Kushboo who turned host for a Jaya TV show and created a big buzz. Women audience waited to see what Kushboo wore for the show and soon they were copied put out on the market. Ramyakrishnan was also a popular host of TV show. She did step in a for a while in BB as Kamal had taken a break. This season to make it interesting, many film celebrities are to appear every week as guests. They will be mostly those working in films that Disney Hotstar has bought for OTT streaming. Let’s wait to see if Lady Superstar says yes to Banijay. Rs 400 crores Plus to cover Indian 2 losses

Lyca and Red Giant has sat across the table and counted the figures and have come to a conclusion that if Indian 3 has to succeed and it means only covering up the losses for both companies, nothing short of Rs 425 crores Gross has to be collected. Lyca started with a Rs 250 crore budget and after accident. Legal disputes with Shankar over budgets and Covid , it resumed shooting after Red Giant pumped in Rs 150 crores. In India, theatrical revenues for the film was only Rs 83 crores and rest was in overseas. Taking the total amount invested in both parts and it reaches a staggering Rs 500 crores, With revenues from Indian 2 pegged at Rs 53 crores overseas and Rs 81 crores in India and totally Rs 148 cr, both companies need a staggering amount to just cover the investment

Legal hurdle for Vikram- Suriya film release - Nayanthara is Maharani

Thangalaan starring Chiyan Vikram due for release this Friday and Suriya’s Kanguva due October are facing legal issues. Madras High Court directed Production company Studio Green to pay Rs. 1 Crore before 14th August and file a compliance report with the High Court on the same day. The court further directed another Rs 1 Crore to be paid before the release of the Kanguva movie. financier Arjunlal Sunderdas after he was declared insolvent in 2019, the division bench had allowed a petition filed by the Official Assignee directing Studio Green to pay a sum of Rs. 10,35,00,000/- with an interest of 18% p.a. The official assignee had filed the current execution petition after the 2019 order was not complied with. The official assignee had sought to attach Studio Green's future movies till the orders were complied with. Studio Green stance was that it had taken money from Arjunlal for pre- production but as the financier could pay further, Studio Green handed him remake rights of three films to him for the money it took. Court dismissed this claim as there was no evidence to prove this. (source; courtesy; https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/madras-high-court/madras-high-court-studio-green-to-deposit-1-crore-each-before-releasing-thangalaan-kanguva-266491).Trailor of Suriya’s Kanguva was released today. It scheduled for October 10th release. Thangalaan advance booking has opened in all releasing States. In Kerala, the amount kept for promotions by Gokulam movies will be used for Wayanad relief and there will be no function.

As Thangalaan release nears , we have a happy news that it’s music composer G V Prakash is acting in a web series directed by Anurag Kashyap . Anurag previous one Sacred Games was a hit on OTT. Currently as a baddie he is creating waves especially after Maharajah. Anurag- GVP series is coming on Netflix. GVP is scoring music for a Akshay Kumar film.

We hear that Sivakarthikeyan’s Amaran trailor is not releasing on August 15th as scheduled as Producer Kamal Haasan is not happy with the outcome. SK camp tells us that the Pradeep incident in previous BB Tamil had dented Kamal’s image and also their hero was first choice for Siddharth in Indian 2. Luckily he did not accept and look what happened they say. Now reports say that Vijay Sethupathi is hosting BB and a promo shoot is to take place.

Talking about Makkal Selvan, Nithilan’s next after Maharaja is Maharani. Nayanthara is the Queen. Produced by Passion Studios. Hope Nithilan gives Nayan’s a much deserved hit.

Indian 2 OTT fallout - Lens on Vellore Mutiny- bad luck Priya and Loud mouth Siddharth

Indian 2 OTT release on Netflix has let loose a heavy trolls, abuses and memes. One important scene that netizens have noticed is that , Kamal Haasan asks – You talk about Kargil war or the Chinese aggression that happened at your doorstep. Do you know about the war that happened in 1806 and inside India ? “ Ajith fans are circulating a video clip in which Senapathy is talking and on the side there a FB page live and fans are asking for Vidamuyurchi update. As Kamal said about this freedom struggle that we never heard about, we Googled and up came the fact that it was the Vellore Mutiny by sepoys. I had studied about the Sepoy Mutiny 1857 and till date believed that this was the first rebellion that led to start of our freedom struggle. So 51 years back there was Mutiny and heroes were Tamil sepoys. The description also talks of Tipu Sultan’s sons who were behind this. I stumbled on this writeup by my friend R Rangaraj on Vellore Mutiny in The Federal. It was written last year in August. For me only now the Mutiny caught my attention and thanks to Indian . Read ; https://thefederal.com/category/features/vellore-mutiny-of-1806-tamil-nadus-warriors-in-indias-fight-for-freedom-that-history-forgot-94398?infinitescroll=1 Going through vile attacks on the film after OTT release, I found that more than Kamal or Shankar, it was Siddharth who has been bombarded. His speeches at Indian 2 meets are added to drive a punch on Siddharth. Yet another victim is Priya Bhavani Sankar. This film flop is attributed to her unlucky phase. She has cried foul and asked “ if a hero gives four flops , will he be called a flop hero ? Why only heroines ? Hero with flops is called zero market hero or no opening hero. But in case of Indian 2 , I cannot perceive why Priya considers herself as the heroine ? It is not the public that terms a heroine as unlucky charm but the hero and the rival heroine fans. In case of Siddharth, I think , it was his one upmanship at the media interactions. On Kamal Haasan front, we hear that Ulaganayakan is going to USA on August 14. In that weekend, he is likely to guest at a function organized by Indian Associations abroad in connection with our I Day celebrations. Speculations abuzz about replacement for Kamal in BB Tamil and latest is that sponsors that in big league will pull out if Kamal is not part of the show and so Kamal will come in a brief video conference in weekend episode along with new host. Did Banijay sleep on Kamal not in BB matter ? It cannot be that Kamal just send over a letter and said goodbye with no notice. By the way things look on social media, without Kamal , only pan sellers, neighborhood dhabas and small time joints will be sponsors.

Mohanlal Barroz story a copy ? Yash- Naga Chaitanya- NTR Jr hit by 8-8-8 sentiment

Mohanlal Directorial debut film Barroz is based on a book Maya written by a German- Malayalee writer Thundiparambil is the claim in a legal notice send by the author. George Thundiparambil travels between India and Germany since 1997. He has written a historical novel Maya in English, published in India in 2008 and has also written many articles on religion for online platforms. Barroz is said to be based on a book written by Jijo Punnose, Director of My Dear Kuttichthan the first 3D film of India. Jijo’s book said to have published in 2017 also deals with the myth of Muthapan Kappiri. This Muthappan Kappiri has now become a deity in Fort Kochi. There are around 20 Kappiri wals in Mattanchery of Fort Kochi where offerings are made. Kappiri is a local name for African slaves that came with the Portugese. While fleeing the Dutch, the Portguese killed the Kappiris and along with them buried gold. Portugese believed that the souls of Kappiri would protect the Gold. Now George novel has a girl Maya who can see Kappiri and communicate with him and in turn becomes the guardian of the buried treasure. A similar plot is the story of Barroz, claims George. He says that his book was given to Director T K Rajeev Kumar and latter said that he would he would give it to Jijo. The film has been in the making since 2021. Jijo who has written the book had copyrighted it in 2017. Due to several changes in script and actors, Jijo opted out of Direction and screenplay writing. Mohanlal turned Director and T K Rajeev Kumar as Assistant. Plans were to release trailor in Abhu Dhabi and theatrical release on September 12.

8-8-8 sentiment has Nag Chaitanya getting engaged to Shobitha , Yash- Geethu Mohandas film and NTR – Prasanth Neel film getting launched. Actor & Producer Yash was spotted visiting several temples in Karnataka with producer Venkat K. Narayana and their families. Throughout the day, they were seen at the Shri Sadashiva Rudra Surya Temple, Shri Manjunatheshwara Temple in Dharmastala, and Kukke Subramanya Temple in Subramanya, in Karnataka. Fans welcomed this unexpected sighting, noting that it aligns with Yash's ritual of visiting temples before beginning any new project. According to a confirmation from a source, the film, which is being directed by Geetu Mohandas, will go on floors on August 8, 2024.(8-8-8) in Bangalore. Interestingly, this date adds up to, 8-8-8. The number 8 has a strong association with Rocking Star Yash. It also matches his birth date and date on which the official announcement of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups was made.

Sivakarthikeyan or STR for BB Tamil - Vijay Sethupathi is OTT hot favourite

It’s not official but will be. Simbu aka Silambarasan STR #Atman or Sivakarthikeyan will be new Bigg Boss Tamil Season 8 host. Our BB trackers say that before Kamal Haasan issued the signed letter, he and Banijay, the Producers of BB show had a talk about the next replacement.. We all know that STR is signed for a film with Rajkamal banner. It will start sometime in March next year as STR is soon to sign a mega project. Details later. Sivakarthikeyan film Amaran with RajKamal is releasing next month. Kamal and Mahendran co- producer Turmeric Media had said that STR or Sivakarthikeyan are good choices. STR already hosted BB Ultimate and got good response. So Banijay is comfortable with STR.

However information that we got was that R Mahendran has asked Banijay to seriously consider Sivakarthikeyan for BB host. R Mahendran, ex VP Star Vijay and co – producer of Sivakarthikeyan film Amaran and Thug Life has put forth this idea. It seems that Mahendran and SK friendship dates back to the days when the latter was a participant in reality show Kalakaai Poovathu Yaar. Apart from this SK and Director Atlee are friends and former had worked in latter’s short films Mugaputhagam. Atlee and Mahendran are cousins. Turmeric Media of Mahendran is partner to RajKamal films ventures. For one day at BB sets for the 100 days of the show, Kamal was reportedly paid Rs 150 crores. So SK should get at least Rs 100 crores ? SK’s Amaran is releasing on September 27 and has Sai Pallavi in it. Also there is a report that Lokesh Kanagaraj will play a pivotal role in SK film with Sudha Kongara.

Viduthalai 2 is most expected film now. For one it is a Vetrimaaran directorial and secondly it has Vijay Sethupathi. Till the other day, it was because it has Soori whose Garudan is a hit. Now Maharaja has changed all this. Film is a Rs 100 crore film and for Sethupathy a first. After streaming on Netflix, for four weeks in a row, the film rated among the top ten non-English films globally. Maharaja movie has got 15.5 million views and 36.4 million watch hours to date. Our Kerala box office guy informs that Vaika has got Kerala theatrical rights. It has Manju Warrier in main role.

We told You !!! Kamal Haasan no to Bigg BossTamil 8

It is official! Kamal Haasan will not be hosting the forthcoming BiggBoss Tamil. He posted this in his X handle. We had told you as soon as Anil Kapoor came on board for Hindi BiggBoss OTT 3 season that changes are around the corner. Read : https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/06/indian-2-hindi-function-in-delhi-lal.html. Even recently, our friend Devi Mani had called on Kamal Haasan at is Alwarpet office. Mani was celebrating his birthday ( numbers not needed) and as usual, old friends met and exchanged notes. At that time, Kamal had expressed his doubts about hosting the BB show. Reason was that his coming dates were packed with so many assignments. We made a few inquiries with our Star Vijay pals. They told us that yes it was true that in all probability Ulga Nayakan will not be hosting it. Now they could say was that Kamal would not be in Chennai vicinity or for the matter not in India to come for a weekend to host the show. All they knew was that Kamal was on an academic trip to USA. Reports said that Kamal was going to learn use of AI in films. Some said that Kamal would come on Zoom every weekend and host BB Tamil !!!. Since we as a team are not so intelligent on such techniques, we just made it clear that Kamal hosting the show was a remote possibility. Read; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/07/kamal-doubts-him-hosting-bb-tamil-6.html. Finally from the Ulaganayakan’s mouth. Looking back, we were told to pull down the post as it was only our figment of imagination.

Is Mythri - Prashanth Neel - Ajith combo on ? Premalu girl dumps Atharva - Yuvan on the run

Ajith’s Suresh Chandra and then Hombale denied that Prashanth Neel was to direct our AK. We too had said about this fake news. Still the news refuses to die down. Now on August 9th, Prashanth and NTR Jr are starting the new film likely to be titled Dragon. Mythiri Movie makers who are producers of Ajith’s Good Bad and Ugly are funding NTR Jr – Prashanth Neel. So is this the reason that Ajith and Prashanth Neel combo news refuses to die down.

Two music Directors – Yuvan and Anirudh are facing heat from Thalapathy and NTR Jr fans. Yuvan third single Spark in G O A T has been heavily trolled and even Venkat Prabhu for the de-aging of Vijay as it makes him look a comic character. Anirudh who has been often said to be legally right by adapting from licensed soundtracks that he owns, now is said to have copied from a Sinhalese song - ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ sung by Yohani & Satheeshan, this song was released in 2021. As far as GOAT is considered the music front so far is disappointing and already subject of trolls. To offset, we are fed with a video clip that has Thalapathy say that after seeing GOAT, he regrets having announced his retirement. He wants to work with Venkat Prabhu again. Again we are told that Kalpathy family liked it immensely as it was a family watch. So that is supposed to balance negativity. After last single, Yuvan shut his social media and now wonder what ?

On case of Devara, the curves of Jhanvi had made up for Anirudh’s copy of Sinhalese song. In GOAT, Meenakshi Chaudhury is a big dampener.

Now as we are in Thalapathy zone, a production manager who also is a artiste manager told us this interesting story. Production team of an Atharva film directed by newbie Akash had been sitting with load of costumes of the heroine as it needs to tried out. Heroine’s Brother who did the talking with the producer is not reachable. Finally, another `brother’ of heroine was tracked down. Brother says that the heroine did a photo test shoot for Thalapathy next with H Vinoth. So ? “ Who will act with Atharva after getting a Vijay film ? “ asks brother. Good question. Now this heroine is also signed a film with Pradeep Ranganathan. So this question is applicable to Pradeep and as he is only a one film wonder. Now our manager tells us that this heroine was promised a film with Vijay Devarakonda in Telugu. At same time, another film with a young hero in Tollywood came. As expected the heroine brother was not reachable to young hero. Later, the Production manager of Devarakonda film too went not reachable. So brother decided to play the ruthless game. Now what next we heard is what stuns us – this heroine is not main lead in Thalapathy film. She plays lead to a second hero but Brother feels that being even a part of Thalapathy project is better than a main lead in Atharva film. Now who is this heroine ? She is said to be the next biggest invasion from Kerala. First being Nayanthara who is Lady Superstar. Yes it is Mamitha Baiju.

Parvathy's nature beauty frock and Wayanad Relief Work - Jo gets FilmFare Award - Nazir REAL BIRTH DATE

Nature’s fury at Wayanad and at Filmfare South Awards, we saw Parvathy Thiruvothu wearing a frock incorporating the idea of 'nature's beauty. The actress wore a black frock with heavy work adorned with flowers. The dress, incorporating the idea of 'nature's beauty', is embellished with trees, flowers, and birds. This what is the description given about the dress in media and we only reproduced it from onmanorama.com. Our guys are bad at describing a girl’s dress. We are told that Shruti Haasan called it beautiful. We heard the clip where Parvathy says that her red carpet walk was her rooting for Kaathal. Jo did get the award. Anyway, some unkind souls felt that all that nature on her dress lookd too sensational or loud and for all the souls of the dead in Wayanad, she should have toned down her dress. Maybe a black gown !. Meanwhile Lt Col Mohanlal in army uniform turned up at the disaster site and announced Rs 3 cr to build a school that was washed away and also gave Rs 25 lakhs as immediate help. Suresh Gopi Union Minister came after Lal and visited all relief camps. Now Major Ravi a director and actor who is said to Kerala’s last word on anything connected with Armed Forces is said to have violated Army rules be wearing his old uniform while accompanying Lal and horror of horror posting selfies from the affected sites. Wonder what the punishment is ? Interesting Ravi directed a film on Kandhar hijack and now a web series is coming from Month end. Kollywood we saw Suriya family, Vikram among others donating to CM relief. Chiru family has too given a hefty amount – Rs1 crore.

Mammootty got his award for Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam and not for Kathal. Jo got it for Kathal. So is this a trail run of National Awards ?. read https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/08/jyothika-tipped-for-national-award.html

To set the record straight- Prem Nazir birthday is 10th day of the Meenam month in the year 1104 as per the Malayalam calendar. The corresponding date in the English calendar is March 23, 1929. An English documentary on Nazir has led to makers R Sarath and Vinu to confirm this as other dates are mentioned - April 7, 1926 ( Wikipedia) sane sate but year 1927 in autobiography and 1929 in his passport.