Ajith Good Bad Ugly only release in 2025 : A vacuum hits Kollywood

 

The news that Ajith is going for car racing and that too he has formed a team of his own is good news for sports lovers but not for Kollywood. Alread Thalapathy Vijay next film will be his last as he enters full time politics. After Thug Life, Kamal has only a Kalki sequel that is confirmed. That leaves only Rajinikanth to keep box office window busy next year. The most worrying part is that next saleable heroes - Dhanush - Suriya- Sivakarthikeyan highest box office collections so far are way below the top 4 of Kollywood.

Ajith is going to take part in  GT4 European Series . the GT4 European Series calendar has now been completed with a return to Italy and Barcelona resuming its spot as the title decider.

The GT4 European Series will once again be fought out over 12 races at six events, with all races running alongside the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS, ensuring both a world-class stage and widespread media coverage..2025 Calendar

• April 11/13: Circuit Paul Ricard
• May 16/18: Zandvoort
• June 26/29: CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa
• July 18/20: Misano
• August 29/31: Nürburgring
• October 10/12: Barcelona

So as Ajith is also taking part apart from being the owner, he will have time only after October next year to devote for films.  GBU shooting is commencing in Spain.

Sports news source dailysportscar.com

Kamal drops Anbarivu project - Dhruv Vikram Bison reshoot after Luber Pandhu

 Kamal Haasan has done it again, He has dropped the idea to produce a film with stunt choreographers Anbarivu duo. The project with STR is is said to have passed hands to another producer. Has it been shelved ? Now this film was announced with Kamal praising the duo skyhigh as directors.. They had collaborated in Vikram and later in Thug Life. It seems that the subject was not Pan Indian and after Bollywood film Kill that is considered as the top action film, what Anbarivu offers was nothing new. Secondly, Lawrence is doing the Kill remake in Tamil - Telugu. RKFI had toyed with the idea to do with new faces but it looked a big risk as the budget for action scenes was very high. Earlier Vignesh Shivan - Pradeep movie too from RKFI was dropped.

Raghav a Bigg Boss reality show contestant who entered bug screen with Kill got lot of praise from many but he treasures the message from Fahadh Faasil who wrote you shocked me. Raghav said that he was floored as he was still not got over Avesham hangover.

Swasika and Nikila Vimal are the two Malayalam actress who are toast of Kollywood after Luber Pandhu and Vaazhai. Swasika said that long time back she did act in a Tamil film but it did not click. Now Luber Pandhu, a sleeper hit and has given her recognition and so decided to set up shop in Kodambakkam. Nikila Vimal's Vaazhai has similarly giver her a big boost. She said that when Director Mari Selvaraj took 30 takes, she felt that she was not cut out for films. She said that many asked if she had only one expression after seeing her hit Malayalam film Guruvayoor ambala Nadayil.Mari Selvaraj was asked where the teacher character played by Nikila vanished, he said that actually the end was the character lying on teacher lap and crying but as Nikila date was not got , so he had to compromise

Dhruv Vikram Bison for a reshoot after Luber Pandhu 

Director Thamizharasan of Luber Pandhu said that it was the Malayalam film  Ayyappan and Koshy that gave him the idea to use the the theme of ego in the film. He said that the sports film which triggered on family rivalry , love and casteism had to be different and how to build a clash between the two main characters and then the Malayalam film gave him the idea of using ego conflict.  Sucess of Luber Pandhu has created a problem for Bison the movie starring Dhruv Vikram and director Mari Selvaraj. 70 % of movie is over. Now this film being a sports drama will face comparison with Luber andhu and now it looks that Bison like many earlier films is centered around caste rivalry and offers nothing new. Rajisha Vijayan and Anupama Parameswaran are the heroines. A reshoot is on the cards. Pa Ranjith is one of the producers.

Shine Tom Chacko the  Malayalam actor who has acted in big films like Vijay's Beast to latest NTR Jr's Devara 1 says that all these big budgeted  films are shot inside studio sets and using gree mat technology. He said everything from Mall in Beast to the sea shots in Devara are all on green mat. He said that only Malayalam films do shooting in actual locales and give the real feel. He said that this VFX in these films make it w look jaded after some time. The reason for shooting in sets is because the production cannot control the crowds that come to see the actors in outdoor locations.

Jayam Ravi in Mumbai - Big B AI voice in Vettaiyan - Kamal video for Amaran

 

Makers of Vettaiyan have replaced the dubbing of Prakash Raj for Amitabh Bachchan with AI enhanced sound. This is the first time that an actor’s dubbing is done using AI. Earlier in this film Anirudh used AI for Malayasia Vasudevan voice in the song Manasilaayo. The song features the powerful vocals of Legendary singer Malaysia Vasudevan with the usage of AI technology along with Yugendren Vadudevan and Deepthi Suresh whose voices bring the lyrics, penned by Super Subu and Vishnu Edavan, to life. Before too music composers had used AI and Director have used the images of Late Actors. Meanwhile the film has got U/A certificate.

Many online sites had said that peculiar voice of Prakash Raj was easily recognizable by the audience and Nizhalagal Ravi who had earlier dubbed for Big B Tamil advertisement was more suitable.  He dubbed for Bachchan in the Tamil versions of Kaun Banega Crorepati and Thugs of Hindostan.  An X post - Prevue seems like more to the content of the film. Hope, the content justifies. They should have opted for Nizhalgal Ravi to dub Big B. #VettaiyanPrevue

We are told that Music Director G V Prakash along with Sivakarthikeyan – Sai Pallavi and Director Raju has left for Malaysia and it for an audio release. A single will be released there. Kamal Haasan after completing his MNM meeting drove straight to another venue ( Kalaivanar Arangam) where he shot for an extensive video which will be featured on Star Vijay as part of Amaran promotion.

Yet another news is that Jeyam Ravi who spoke to reporters at Mumbai Airport and told that he has shifted base to this Metro , a month back is now in talks with some leading Bollywood Directors and soon an announcement is on the way. Jayam Ravi 2nd Diwali release  Brother coming after 15 years. Last was  Peranmai(2009)

 

Kerala Story2 on Hema report and Sidiqque in Abhu Dhabi SIIMA awards ???

 

Two interesting news items – Siddique has fled to Abu Dhabi where SIIMA awards are going to start from tomorrow. Second news is that makers of Kerala Story have been working a script based on the Hema committee report. Both of them turned out to be false. Kerala Police team was in Chennai to track Siddique as the SIIMA ‘s award winners from Kollywood are to leave for Abu Dhabi. By chance he could be in Delhi and awaiting Supreme Court verdict on anticipatory bail. SC has always taken the route that Bail is the rule and jail only an option. TN minister Senthil Balaji got his bail from SC.

Mollywood biggies are in doldrums as Siddique is part of their projects and his portions are to be completed. Many that are about to start have now zeroed in Ranji Panicker.

Kerala Story 2 is non starter and the Director  felt that the Hema report does not fit the bill of a sequel to a subject of human trafficking by terrorists. He said the first part was radicalization of women in first part and second part is about boys as victims.

Probably they are not aware that down South, sequels have the name of the first part and the story has no relevance to subject. In most cases the actors are the only link to first part. A sequel to Indian  had a stretched out link and Kamal Haasan in the lead failed to strike a chord. A third part in under way.

We told you on September 19^th about Jeyam Ravi seeking police protection and Kenisha being a spiritual healer. We also reported on September 22 on Ravi wresting his Instagram account from his wife. Today many dailies have confirmed our stories.

Rekha dance practice for IIFA - Jaya Prada in Prabhas Madurai set

 In todays news we have two Bollywood Icons and one time rivals- Jaya Prada is in Madurai shooting for Prabhas film and Rekha is busy practicing for her dance performance at IIFA Awards 2024 in Abu Dhabi.

After 2018 IIFA Awards , Rekha is performing again this year as announced earlier. Andre Timmins, Founder and Director, IIFA, revealed thatRekha will be performing alongside “150 dancers”,  . designer Manish Malhotra gad designed the costumes of Rekha. Timmins shared, “Rekha has been working day and night on her costumes and graphics. The whole performance last for 22 minutes”

The three-day gala is set to kick-start with IIFA Utsavam, an event dedicated to southern film industries- Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Chiranjeevi will be honoured at the event. 

On the second day, stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Vicky Kaushal and Karan Johar will come on stage to entertain the audience with their hosting stint at the IIFA Awards night. SRK and Karan worked on several films together including ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…’, ‘My Name is Khan’, and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’.

Interestingly, the second day  is when  Rekha dance performance takes place. Rekha last performed at the IIFA in 2018. From ‘Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ to ‘Salam-E-Ishq Meri Jaan,’ she left everyone smitten with her ‘adaa’. She was joined by stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Varun Dhawan, Kartik Aaryan and Karan Johar on the stage. Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor and Vicky will also add chaar chand to the gala night with their performances. IIFA 2024 will be concluded on September 29 with the exclusive, invitation-only IIFA Rocks. Artistes such as Honey Singh, Shilpa Rao and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy will perform live for the audience.

Only 2 days left until the #IIFAFESTIVAL kicks off!
Join us for an unforgettable celebration of India’s 5 film industries on one grand stage!
From September 27th to 29th at Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Don’t miss out—book your tickets now! (Link in bio)

#IIFA2024 #YasIsland #InAbuDhabi

Jaya Prada is said to have joined the Madurai locales of Prabhas film directed by Hanu ( Sita Ramam). Prabhas is away shooting for Maruti’s Raja Saab. Mithun Chakraborty is another actor in the cast.

Mammootty in Sri Lankan Political thriller - Madhu turns 91

 

Mammootty – Mahesh Narayanan political thriller will be funded by Lyca Productions . The film will have Mohanlal in an extended cameo and screen time of 20 minutes. The shooting portions of the film has around 30-40 days in Sri lanka and this film being a political thriller, is the film anything to do with Sri Lankan politics ? What adds to this theory is that the film has an equally long schedule in London. We all know that London is also a hub for overseas Tamils of Sri Lankan origin. Similarly New Delhi is another major locale. The fact that Lyca’s owner Subhaskaran is a Sri Lankan Tamil adds to the likely angle of the thriller.

Yet another aspect is that Mammootty Kampany and son Dulquer’s Wayfarer films are coming together with Lyca. A photo of Mammooty with Mohanlal and Producer Antony of Aashirvad Cinemas together led to a speculation that Mammootty is playing a cameo in underproduction film and sequel to Empuran directed by Prithviraj.

About the Mahesh Narayanan film, we learn that de-aging technology is to be used for younger days of Mammotty. In the anthology based on MT stories, Mammootty portions were shot in Sri Lanka. If Mahesh Narayanan is the director can it be with without Fahadh Faasil?

Shooting has started in Nagercoil for Mammootty film directed by Jithin  K jose began without Mammootty. Vinayakan is playing a guy who is targeted by by a bad cop played by Mammootty in the film. Dulquer is the Producer.

A short nostalgic trip . A news item that Madhu has turned 91 , prompted me to pen a few thoughts about him. Though I had interviewed Madhu several times in Trivandrum for Screen, it was my chat with him in Palmgrove Hotel Chennai that lingers in me. Madhu had a soft corner for me as he has seen me when I used to accompany my grandfather Ayyappan Pillai ( ex Trivandrum Corporation Comissioner) to Sri Moolam Club known as SMC. While my grandfather sat inside and played cards , I sat in the lounge and read the magazines. Madhu was also a card player.

After the card game, I would help my grandfather board the car and go to our house. Sometimes, our car would not be available and anybody from the card game set gave a lift. Many times Madhu has given us a lift. I learnt from my grandfather that Chemeen’s Bombay show and publicity was all coordinated by S S Pillai then Editor of Screen weekly in Bombay. Pillai is none other than my grandfather’s younger brother. A side track- my aunt Udaya Tara Nayar later became Editor and later yours truly headed the South Bureau of the magazine.

Many times on my visit to Trivandrum ( I was by then based in Chennai for Screen ), I used to see him and talk to him at SMC. My cousin was a member of SMC. Cinema Express , Tamil fortnightly from Indian Express ( Madurai ) group was part of our group. The Editor Ramamurthy and I shared a good friendship.. I suggested Madhu name to Cinema Express Awards Life Time Achievement award. I went to Trivandrum and invited him. I asked him which hotel he wanted to stay. He said that Palmgrove and quipped if it still exists.

He came one day earlier. He told me that he had not informed anybody about his visit to Chennai and said that he would feel bored if there was nobody to talk. As I had a few invites to give, I told him that he could start the `session’ and I would join later.

When I arrived, Madhu was in full form. I joined him. I had told him that a car was at his disposal as soon as he arrived. I asked him if he went anywhere. He said no and said that he spoke to some and they were all not very active. He asked me what was the rent  of the cottage that he was staying and I said that it was Rs 5000 per day.

This sparked a nostalgic trip in him. He said that for Chemeen , he was paid Rs 2000 and adde that Sathyan got paid Rs 12,000. “ I had most of the scenes than Sathyan “ he added. Do you know that the film totally cost Kanmani Babu Rs 8 lakhs ? he asked.

He wanted to go to actress Srividya’s house and said that he was having dinner with her. I gave the exact route to her house then located in Alwarpet.

After the function , he was leaving next day early morning for Trivandrum. I bid him goodbye at the hotel and told him that office car and driver was parked in the hotel. Next day, the car driver came with a big smile – “ What a gentlemen ! He carried his own suitcase and tipped me a Rs 100 . He pushed it in my shirt pocket. No VIP has even bothered to even goodbye leave alone give a tip”.

May you live for many more years – Madhu Saar.

FFI bets on Aamir Khan to get Oscars for Lapaataa Ladies

 Film Federation of India or North India ? . After selection of Laapataa Ladies as India’s official entry for Oscars , the goings on in the jury deliberation shows that the name Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan as producers just did the expected. If you read the shitty citation that FFI jury Chairperson put out ( even jury is misspelt) , you spot from where the mistake that started. “ “Indian women are a strange mixture of submission and dominance. It shows that women can happily desire to be home makers as well as rebel”. Now Ravi Kottarakara President of FFI and represents South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce gives his view on why the film was chosen – The goonghat or the veil that the woman wears and because of this the problem starts according to Ravi is something that is peculiar to Indian woman. He also admits that two bigger films Vaazhai and Thangalaan that came to finals were `too big’ to handle.

So the jury found in LL  the Indianness and the story  is  of a man married to a child bride and her being lost . Coming to the plot, Anant Mahadevan way back in May 2024 said that  that the mix-up and the ghunghatwala (face covered with veil) photo in Laapataa Ladies are straight out of his 1999 film Ghoonghat Ke Pat Khol. The endings differ. In Ghoonghat Ke Pat Khol, the two women correct the mix-up but realise they have feelings for the other’s partner. The four characters end their marriages, switch partners and tie the knot again.

The point that Jury deliberated was not about whether Payal Kapadia film that won Grand Prix in Cannes was not Indian enough or that Ullozhukku'. , Thangalaan ,Vaazha and Aatam were fit to be India’s entry.  Critic Rangan hit the nail - Submitting a film for the Oscars is not just about the film being good but also whether the producers have the funds / desire / know-how / contacts to mount the hugely expensive Oscar campaign.

Look at all the so called films from South and background of the Production companies. Suriya did an exception as the film Jai Bhim was produced by him and he put it up as a private entry. Now take Payal Kapadia’s film. It needed a Rana to get a theatre in Kochi and then fulfil the Oscar criteria. Beyond that what can Rana do ? The five production companies that are behind Kapadia film seem to have given up on it, at least when  it comes to Oscars. Business wise they have got real solid distributors across the globe. Rana is part of the RRR team and all that is fine but is he a  Aamir Khan ?

Track record of Aamir Khan who is co producer of the film. Earth, Lagaan, rang De Basanti, Tare Zameen Par, Peepli Live were all Iscar entry. Out of this Laagan made it to top 5 in Foreign Film Category. Khan hired a Hollywood promotion agency and took a serious shot at it.

Last year, RRR Producers with SSR- NTR jr- Ram Charan team that had the bucks to do Oscar campaign were overlooked for an arthouse film. It did not make it to final and we know what RRR got. In 2022 , Surya was prepared to spend on Jai Bhim if selected for Oscars but instead Koozhangal an arthouse film was selected. In 2023, we send Malayalam film 2018 and that too sank without a trace. Koozhangal was bought by Nayanthara’s banner and she and hubby did some ground work in USA. Even this year Payal Kapadia film that had Rana Daggubatti from D Rama Naidu family backing and a person who is part of S S Rajamouli team from Baahubali to RRR  , lost out to Aamir Khan.

 

Going by track record – jury decided to correct the mistake . It is why  a North Indian Production House and that too with a Bollywood Star backing  and experienced in handling Oscar ,comes with a film , it will just find it Indian enough for official entry. Oscars. If it is a South  banner with Tollywood  Stars , it will find Indianness in an art house film that too from Gujarat.. Three Cheers to Film Federation of India ( North). Also the jury spared the embarrassment of having to wish Payal a win at Oscars. Read l 

Director Shankar angry with Koratala Siva or Siruthai Siva ?

 

Is Director Shankar upset with Koratala Siva of Devara or Siruthai Siva of Kanguva ? In a tweet he threatens legal action against some recent films that have ben lifting profusely from the book written by Su Venatesan’s book Vel Paari. Shankar has bought the rights. Some say that Shankar is angry with Kanguva director for using many situations in the novel and some found their way in the trailor. Others say the timing of the post coming soon after Devara trailor shows that Koratala Siva has liberally used from the book. Only after release of Devara can we know  and the tweet by Shankar is to warn Siva from lifting more from the book for the second part.  Kanguva is a fictional character and a Tamil warrior and could this film be the culprit. Here again a sequel is on the cards.

One post said - Su Venkatesan is a Telugu person and his main agenda is to speak or write against Tamil history. Another felt - But Director Shankar loves to portray historic Tamil characters in negative light in all of his movies. Eg. Angavai Sangavai, Panjavan Paari vendhan etc. This is exactly why this director has chosen to make Velpaari novel, which denigrates a Tamil King, into a movie.

Paari Salaan writes; Do not use historical names from Tamil history in fictional stories, especially if intended to portray them negatively. The entire novel written by Su. Venketesh Naidu portrays the Tamil kings—Chera, Chola, and Pandya—in a negative light, which is historically inaccurate. It falsely accuses them of a genocide that never occurred.

Shankar post - Attention to all ! As the copyright holder of Su. Venkatesan’s iconic Tamil novel "Veera Yuga Nayagan Vel Paari", I'm disturbed to see key scenes being ripped off & used without permission in many movies. Really upset to see important key scene from the novel in a recent movie trailer. Kindly refrain from using the scenes from the novel in movies, web series and any medium, Respect creators' rights! Refrain from Unauthorized adaptations of scenes, Refrain from infringement or face legal action! #VeeraYugaNayaganVelPaari #CopyrightProtection #FilmEthics

@SuVe4Madurai

 

Kamal off to USA - Jeyam Ravi gets back Instagram - Prithviraj profit share a loss

 

Kamal off to USA after Thug Life wrap-up party. Jeyam Ravi gets back his Instagram account and a film with Director brother. Sidique victim submits medical records of rape. Prithviraj charges only 21 % of total film profits.

Kamal Haasan has left for USA for the AI course that he enrolled. Though many reported that he was already in USA for past few weeks, we told you that he is busy wrapping Thug  Life in Chennai. He took part in a  wrap-up party and left for USA. Morning papers would have filled you with the details of his MNM party general body . They elected him Permanent President. It may seem silly as who could possibly take that post. We have seen developments in AIADMK post Jayalalithaa death when the General secretary post became so crucial for two groups trying to take control of the party. It was a far sighted clause in the party constitution that is causing pin pricks now.

On September 9 Kamal’s House of Khaddhat launched its new collection called Sutura at prestigious New York Fashion Week. Thug Life record breaking deal with Netflix is an old story.

Now that we told you about Jeyam Ravi and singer Kenishaa not having anything other a friendship, it seems now the entire family has closed ranks. Mohan Raja is going to direct his brother Ravi in an upcoming film and has taken an office in Chamiers Road Chennai. Next is that Jeyam Ravi has retrieved his Instagram account which was in his wife Aarti’s control. He wrote to #Meta and got it back as he needs to promote his films. Lastly it seems a social media influencer who roots for Aarti realized that Ravi was not at fault. TOI reports that Ravi and Kenishaa are to open a spiritual healing center. Kollywood does need one. A branch in Kochi could be of help to distressed victims who met the Justice Hema.

From Kochi we get a shocking news that medical reports of the victim who was `raped’ by Siddique at Mascot Hotel Trivandrum and eyewitness to the mental trauma and subsequent treatment for the victim has been recorded. Soon after this National women’s Commission is taking a case on it’s own and coming to Kochi to meet the victims.

 

If you think Prithviraj is rolling in wealth and that too after he bought a Rs 30 crore office space for his production company in Pali Hill of Mumbai, you are wrong. In fact the producers of the films are the ones that has got a bonanza. Now Prithviraj  works on a commission basis. So lets take what he took home from the share of two films – Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil and Goat Life . Both together earned Rs 250 crores. He took home only Rs 50 crore !. We are told that bulk of it came from Goat Life and as for Guruvayoor he did not get much as he quoted a lesser commission . Probably he did not expect it to collect Rs 90 crore.

 

Rajinikanth Kutty story sparks Thalapathy v/s Thalaivar war

 

Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan audio launch was marked by not one but two kutty stories and as usual it had Thalapathy fans overworked as some felt it was directed against their hero. Lost in the cross fire on social media between Thalaivan and Thalapathy fans is that the loudest claps came when Kaththi came on screen to show producer Lyca Productions journey and this cheering could come from Thalaivar fans inside the hall.

Rajinikanth said that a dhobi who used go to a river nearby with clothes on a donkey to wash was lost after the animal went missing. He went out of control and like a mad man he stood on a single foot and sported a huge beard. Seeing this crowds gathered and he became a big saint. He muttered something and that became words of wisdom. Millionaires to all celebs flocked around him.

One day he heard the donkey braying and he opened his eyes and was joyous that he had found what he was searching. He as then told that he cannot go back to be a dhobi and that he was now a SAINT. A Saint by default ? Who is her referring ?

Yet another kutty story. Rajini in his speech says that in today’s age of Shakuni, one has to be a Chanakya to achieve. This he summary of his life journey .  So who  is the Shakunni that he was referring ?

Rajinikanth’s praise for Fahad Faasil was another surprise. He tracked down the way that how he spoke to next film Director Lokesh to others to get a two months time for Fahadh to join the sets. Similarly, he was all praise for Manju Warrier. He said that when the Director said that he felt Manju would suit the role, he said okay. He had the image of an elderly lady from Asuran. From when he saw her, he was taken aback. In his words – looks like Thakali ( tommatoes). Manju spoke about the days when she wished that one day she would take a photo with Rajini.

Will Sangh Parivar scuttle Payal Kapadia shot at Oscars ?

 

Kerala’s Shenoy Theatre  Kochi and Rana Daggubatti Spirit Media are making it possible for Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light to enter the Oscars as an Indian entry. We had written about how an Indian film is going to be Oscar entry as France’s read https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/09/modi-stalin-vie-to-host-rajini-50th.html) and Kerala reactions to the Cannes win ( https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/05/kerala-story-of-indias-win-at-cannes.html ) . Now what we dread is the political play that will likely play out when the film comes before the FFI ( Film Federation of India ) jury.

The reason for the film  to need a release in India is  that Oscars rule says that film in Foreign Language category should have 7 days screening and as paid ones at a theater in a country of origin or another eligible country, provided it is not USA. It should also have a release before September 30^th. Now the film is releasing in France only in October first week and so it cannot be submitted from that country. Instead, France has presented Emilia Perez which won the Jury prize. As the film has Malayalam – Hindi dialogue and fulfill the condition that more than 50% of track should be non-English and that one of the Producer is an Indian, the film with a Malayalam title will get released on September 21 in Shenoys. It will fulfill the rule that the film should be released before September 30 this year.

To beat the deadline, the film was certified on September 10^th and now the iconic Kochi theatre has come forward. Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha and Azeez Nedumangad are the three Malayalee actors in the film.

Now fulfilling this condition is not enough. For 86^th Academy Award, we overlooked The Lunchbox which was nominated at BAFTA and send The Good Road. In 95^th Academy award we send The Last Show and bypassed SSR RRR which was already creating waves in the West. RRR came with Best Original Song.

As a twitterati Yellow stone Dragon posted - Imagine if after everything that's happened, the desi jury sends...say Article 370 instead of All We Imagine as Light as India's Oscar nominee. Coz we did send Jeans that one year. And, also Reshma Aur Sheera before that.

Distributors generally treat such films as one for niche audience and do not buy them and no production company comes forward to bankroll such films. However given that Payal in 2015 as student of Pune Film Institute had gone on a hunger strike over appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as President, she was suspended and the money that was due to her as scholarship was not given . She had to move the court to get it. The jury could go by this background and not the Cannes story.

After the Grand Prix win, PM Modi and including Gajendra ( not anymore in FTII) had praised Payal. Joining the chorus was Madhavan present FTII President. Wonder why commie friends in Kerala did not open up State owned theatres for this film ? Anyway as we can hope now= jahanbakshi on X posted this :

 

Jeyam Ravi seeks police help - Singer Kenisha in France

 

As singer Kenisha is said to be in France ,our trackers say that lawyer of Jeyam Ravi has sought police protection to remove his clients belongings from the flat in South Madras.  A signed list has been given to the lawyer. The address was used by wife Aarti to issue statements to the media. As you are aware that Aarti is said to be behind the photocopy of Goa traffic cops challan issued to the driver of the car Kenisha Francis for overspeeding and another one for adding extra sun film to the car. As the car is registered in aarti's name, the challan were able to be traced by her.

Though it is widely believed that Ravi and Kenisha met at the launch of the Actor Jiva's audio  label Deep Frog, and it all started with an launch party in Radio Room pub in Santhome, frim what we hear, Kenisha had met ravi through Jiva before. It was Ravi who took up the invitation from Kenisha to come over to Goa. She has sung in many pubs of Goa. The actor being spotted in Goa on his birthday led to Aarti removing all her photos from Insta account.

The counterattack on Aarti by releasing photos of her with Dhanush that was taken at a party and that Ravi was all along was used as milking cow by Aarti's mother Sujatha who  produced three films with him. All were duds.

Allu Arjun offers work to victim - Will Revanth release report on Tollywood ?

 

Bunny aks Allu Arjun has reached out to woman choreographer who was viction of choreographer Jani who sexually abused her. He had asked Jhansi who heads the TFI panel to probe the harassment case to convey to the woman choreographer. Reports say that Jani is shooting in Ladakh for a film and no further details are available.  It emerges that Jani's wife was an accomplice and it was she who had asked the victim to convert to Islam and marry her hubby. Following All Arjun, more actors are likely to follow suit. 

This move has been in contrast to where other actors gang up to isolate the victim as seen in other language industries.  Jani belonged to Jana Sena of Pawan Kalyan and he has been since been expelled. Now that Allu Arjun and his uncle Pawan Kalyan had some difference during the last poll campaign, will help to Jani's victim be seen in a different light ? It seems that KCR ministry had constituted a panel to probe into the allegations raised by Sri Reddy She created a storm by doing a public protest in semi nude. The panel was set up after the Women and Transgender People Organisations Joint Action Committee (WT-JAC) filed a PIL in the High Court of Telangana. It had lot of people from film industry and the panel held several meetings ranging fro junior actors to actresses in film and TV sector. It submitted a report  “Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination in the Telugu Film and Television Industries”.

This happened in June 2022 and KCR has gone and given way to Revanth ministry. Like the Hema report was made public after a journalist moved a PIL, it is time that the report lying with Telangana Government sees light. Jhanis who is probing Jani case was part of the sub-committee that probed woman harassment in Tollywood.

Poonam Kaur had come out with an old complaint that she gave to MAA about Director Trivikram and nobody took any action. In reply, Thammi Bharadwaj of TFC says that there is  a box kept in the Film  Chamber  and it could have been used. An audio tape in which Kaur was blasting Pawan Kalyan m Trivikram and many actresses went public. She denied that she was behind it. Trivikram on the other hand is said to busy with launching his son.

During Bigg Boss Tamil last season, one of the contestants Vichithra recalled the days she stayed at a resort in Kerala for a Telugu film with Balkrishna as hero. She spoke about the open invitation from Balayaa to come to her room in the night and after her refusal, she was harassed by the other men in the film unit. She complained to then Nadigar Sangham Chief Vijaykanth. It happened sometime in 2000.

Did Nayanthara hubby miss Prabhu Deva intentionally ? Suresh Gopi to shave beard

Hubby Vignesh Shivan wished Director Venkat Prabhu for sucess of GOAT and in the process kickstarted a renewed interest in his wife Nayanthara's broken relationship with Prabhu Deva. Vignesh had a reason to wish Venkat on GOAT being a hit as the Director had asked Nayanthara for the role done by Sneha. Venkat later said that the couple after seeing GOAT had told him that only Sneha could have done justice to it. Vignesh praised entire GOAT team and actors but left out Prabhu deva who also did a major role. Now we can assume that Vignesh did not want to put out anything that his wife does not like. Prabhu deva had fallen for Nayanthara and it was very itense. Nayanthara had tattooed her arm with Prabhu name. After breakup, she wiped out other letters and made in Positivity with a capital P. The actor's wife Ramlath threatened to file a suit and whole thing ended as Nayanthara walked out. Nayanthara had actually said that the whole relationship was not destined to unite and it ended. Though some say that Prabhu Deva had agreed to divorce his wife and when his wife put her foot down, he buckled and that made Nayanthara walk out. Ultimately, Prabhu deva did get a divorce and two years back married a Mumbau based physiotherapist and have a son. While are on Nayanthara, we got an official announcement that C Sundar is directing Nayanthara in Mookuthi Amman sequel. Sundar;s company along with Nayanthara production house and that of original film producer Vels have joined hands. So where is R J Balaji who directed the first part ?

At last Union Minister Suresh Gopi is to don the makeup from October. He is joing the sets of Ottakomban, Latest we hear is that Suresh Gopi after the Malaysia schedule which is action block is all set to shave off his beard. The film was actually launched in 2022, but ran into legal trouble as the makers of Prithviraj film Kaduva filed asuit that they are making a film on real life character Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan which is also the subject of Ottakomban. Now makers Gokulam Gopalan has cleared the problem. Anushka Shetty who is acting in Malayalam film Kathanar starring Jayasurya is said to be cast as Suresh Gopi film. This film is also produced by Gopalan. Gokulam movies who distribute Tamil films in Kerala has bought Vettaiyan of Rajinikanth. It lost heavily with Vijay's GOAT. Suresh Gopi has two films ready for release but dubbing for the same is not over.

We have heard stories of Bollywood actor buying swanky apartments in Mumbai. Very rarely have any South actor showed any interest in Mumbai. Now Prithviraj from Mollywood who has branched out to Tollywood and also to Bollywood has bought a swanky place for Rs 30 crores and it is in Pali Hill and called Narain Terrace. is a spacious flat measuring 2,971 square feet, has a four car parking space. He already owns a Rs 17 crore flat in same area. Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh stay in the neighbourhood. Kangana Ranaut owned a flat in same area but sold it. She bought it for Rs 20 crores and sold it for Rs 32 crore.

Kamal Haasan MNM crucial meet - Kamal v/s Ajith - Suriya v/s SRK

Kamal Haasan political party MNM has convened a crucial office bearers meet in Chennai next week says our sources. Though according to many media outlets, Kamal is said to be in USA stydying for AI, he is very much in town and wrapping up his portions for Thug Life. Now that MNM meet will take place, wonder what those who said Kamal is in USA say ? He returned to preside over the meet ?. On the film front Red Giant has bought Vidamuyurchi of Ajith and is already behind Thug Life. Now the company is releasing both films for Pongal - January 9 and 10th. Next we hear that Godd Bad Ugly will be ready for a May 1 st release and it is a long time that the actor had a birthday release and that too on a Thursday ( his favourite day). Meanwhile Bollywood media is full about Dhoom 4 going to start and it said that Suriya is being considered for the baddie role. Baddie role in Dhoom is as big as hero role. First part it was John Abraham, second was Hrithik Roshan and third was Aamir Khan.

Raghava Lawrennce 25th film that is to be directed by Ramesh Varma is a remake of the Hindi blockbuster KILL. Pooja Hegde is said to be playing the female lead.Telugu films 'Veera', 'Rakshasudu', and 'Khilladi',were directed by Varma. Jigarthanda by Karthik Subburaj was his previous release.

Thangalaan starring Chiyan Vikram and directed by Paa Ranjith is releasing on Netflic September 20. Only South language versions are available and Hindi will come later. At the SIMMA awards, Chiyan Vikram and Aishwarya Rai , the pS 2 pair were seen chatting up.

On September 27th, DeMonte Colony starring Arulnithi and directed by Ajay willsteam on Zee5. Made at cost of Rs 15 crores, film collected Rs 85 crores. A sequel to the hit film, it was pitted against Thangalaan. Andhagan the Prashanth comeback film that was released before this film is yet to find an OTT release and in Chennai, it continues to be screened in some theatres.

Thalapathy 69 not a Kamal reject - Nithya again with Dhanush -Payal Rajput hits big time

Thalapathy 69 trackers team tells that the film is not a political propaganda film of TVK and not the one that Director H Vinoth and Kamal Haasan had decided to work on. Though the poster launched yesterday shows that Vijay is torchnearer of Democracy and that has made the conclusion that the film is a political one. Earlier, it was reported that Vinoth and Kamal were working on a subject that has the farmer issues amd that even experts advocating modern farming were invited to sit in for discussion. The truth is that the subject was first told to Vijay as back as 2017 and that too on sets of Mersal. It did not work. Later he told the subject to Ajith with whom he worked and also to Vijay Sethupathi. They felt it was not the right kind. With Kamal, he changed it to actor's taste but then Rajkamal earlier production committments and the acting assignments made it a distant possibility. Major challenge was that the film needed a huge budget. At that time, Vinoth met Vijay again and the changed version got a green signal and as per Vijay's condition, the subject should be a total family entertainer. From what we hearis that the film is a rustic family subject. Farmer issues are the theme but woven into a entertainer that will bring back the family crowds to a Vijay film. Vijay has realised that only Anirudh matters and not anyone else. Now that we talking about Vijay, tells us go for facts. GOAT is a blockbuster in Tamil Nadu alone. India net is Rs 198 cr and Tamil Nadu Net after Day 10 is Rs 175 cr. On Day 10, film has seen a surge and marked Rs 12 cr collection as it was again a weekend. We can easily take it for granted that GOAT will cross Rs 200 cr net mark in India. PS1 holds record of highest grosser in Tamil Nadu with Rs 230 crore set in 2022 and this will be easily crossed. His orevious film LEO too crossed Rs 200 crore in Tamil Nadu.

Payal Rajput has been selected as heroine of Actor Legend Saravanan for his next film directed by Durai Senthilkumar. Now why this is big news is that in previous film of the actor the heroine was Urvasi Rautela and she was paid a bomb and it equals almost what even South's highest paid Nayanthara took for a film. Payal from what we down in Kollywood know was that she made news in Telugu films RDX and Managalavaram and that too for her bold and sexy potrayals. Arul know as Legend owns a chain of readymade textile retail sales outlet. Shooting has started in Tuticorin.

Nithya Menen who wpn the National award for her Tamil film opposite Dhanush is once gain teaming up again for the actor's fourth Directorial. Nithya said that it was an out and out rustic role that she has not played before. Dhanush posted pixs of him at sekar Kammula film.

Kamal Haasan egged Urvashi to commit suicide - Akshay flop film better than Kalki on OTT

Urvashi recently revealed her conversation with Kamal Haasan about her thinking about committing suicide. She told Kamal that what she thought was her dearest in life was no more her's and wanted to commit suicide. A cool Kamal lauded her and said that as she was a lady with lots of courage and guts, she could do it. He said that she should also think about her any committments that she has towards film producers. He also told her for two days people will talk about her death and after that she will be forgotten. Urvashi who expected a consoling talk was shocked. After that she changed her mind. This pep talk led to us seeing Urvashi win the Kerala State award forbest actress and that too for 7 time.

ur OTT trade source tells us that when it comes to South movies dubbed into Hindi and boast of a viewership that is more than that of a straight flop Hindi movie,on OTT the viewership is dismal. Take the case of Kalki Hindi. In North India it collected Rs 227 crores. In contrast Akshay kumar flop Chote Miyan Bade Miyan collected Rs 59 crores only and the budget was Rs 350 crores. We are told that Producer Bhagnani sold his office to repay the debut. Now let us how both performed on Netflix. Kalki Hindi got off to flying start with 4.5 million views and by third week the views were only 900 k. At same time the third week viewership was 1.6 million. Now going by yardstick that OTT pays as per box office figures, it paid Rs 175 crores to Kalki producer. Another reason is that films like Kalki that ae big screen experience get theatre audience and not others. A eight week window for OTT release asked by multiplex chain in North India is too not helping. But again films like Stree 2 run at box office is said to be because the film will not come on OTT for 2 months after theatre release and word of mouth positive talk helped. So on OTT platform, is Akshay a bigger draw than Prabhas ?. Aamir Khan says that a great chunk of audience wait out for the film to come on OTT and so he is not going to sell his film to OTT. Now yet another fallout is that TV channels are offering ery poor money for telecast for films that have already coming on OTT. The Tv viewership drops by halg when a film that is streaming on OTT is telecast. So now a Producer is caught in a fix. He has to clinch an OTT- TV deal in ne go. Those OTT that are part of TV channels sensing this drive a hard bargain with Producers. Tollywood films that have bombed in theatres are coming in a four week or in some cases in 2 week gap. In Mollywood many small budgeted films do not figure in major OTT platforms and find their way to other localized OTT platforms where it is screened on sharing of revenue got from pay per view. A uniform 8 week windown for all South films could be a better alternative, some feel. Now South films dubbed in Hindi and not adhering to 8 week window are not screened by national chains in North India.

Modi- Stalin vie to host Rajini 50th year event - Indian Woman film Director film is France Oscar entry

It seems Central I&B ministry and Tamil Nadu State Government are vying to conduct an event to honour Rajinikanth as he enters the 50th year of his career in 2025. From what we hear is that Kamal Haasan has been roped in to lead the State event and instead of handing over the event to any of the bodies like Nadigar Sangham, an seperate body will be formed and it will include Producers- technicians who have worked with Thalaivar. Central Government that had conferred on him the Dadasaheb Phalke award and other central government honors like Padma VBhushan and Padma Vibhushan is planning to honour him with a special citation and have it conducted on a Pan Indian level. in the year 1975 actually before KB film , Rajinikanth acted in Kannada film directed by Puttana Kanagal and later came Apoorva Rangangal. The first Hindi film was Andha Kanoon with Big B in a cameo and released in 1978. It was a remake of Sattam oru irutuaarai, the Tamil film directed by SAC ( father of Thalapathy). T Rama Rao was the Hindi version Director. Rajinikant has Lokesh film Coolie and followed by Jailer 2 that will releasing next year.

Rana Daguubatti has bought the Indian theatrical rights of the film All we Imagine as Light Directed by Payal Kapadia. It won top honour at Cannes Festival. This film produced by French company and directed by an Indian woman Director is entered for Oscars are entry from france !. Three other French films too have been shortlisted by France for Oscars. India that celeberated it's win in Cannes will not be anywhere this film at Oscars. Anurah Kashyap had at that time cut straight to the matter and said that it was not an Indian win at Cannes and that we have long back stopped backing such films from Independent film Directors. Malayalam film Vanaprastham produced by Pranavam Arts International owned by Mohanlal and Pierre Assouline that was last entry from India in Cannes. NFDC and other bollywood Production houses run by corporates had long back stopped backing such films. Directors like Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalkrishnan to Shaji N Karun who grew with such backing are last of their tribe.We can now get ready to celeberate that Indian woman Director film is a France Entry at Oscars. We can forget that Kapadia as FTII student had to stage a dharna to get her stipend as she was branded anti- establishment.Rana would wait to release it theatres after Oscar 2025 results.

Kanguva of Suriya is all set to lock November 14 th as release date, says out trackers. After shifting from October, now the prouducers see that in Tamil and Bollywood there is no major films. As Kanguva has reached an agreement to release the film 8 weeks after theatre release on OTT, multiplex theatre chains have agreed to screen the film along with South theatres. So far no Tamil film has agreed for a 8 week window and so national chains in North India have not taken them for screening. Raid 2 was the only November release but the producers have changed this Ajay Devgn date to Febuary. In Andhra, Vijay Devarakonda film JGM might come.on November 3 rd .

Did GOAT box office one week cover Thalapathy's Rs 200 crore - Activist actress says all Fine

After one week of theatre run globally , it looks like GOAT has just about managed to cover the Rs 200 crore paid to Thalapathy. AGS Archana herself confirmed this amount paid to Vijay and said that they were covered by the pre- release business. If we look at post release business and which means the money coming for people who bought the screening rights, GOAT India wide Net is Rs 171 crore. Out of this Tamil Nadu share was Rs 150 crore and Rs 21 crore from other languages. Now one may that collections will increase but reality is that Day one across Tamil Nadu, it was Rs 39 crores and Day 7 , the figure is Rs 7.2 crores. Overseas figures are at Rs 130 crores. So it reaches the Rs 300 crore mark in 7 days ! A record indeed. Those rooting for Jailer should understand that in overseas GOAT is going strong and only a week has passed. Usually considered strong markets, Kerala and two Telugu States has underperformed and that too very badly. AGS with digital, satellite and OTT rights will have a profit. At the end of the day, the entire exercise looks like it was an effort to recover Thalapathy’s wages.

A prominent actress who deposed before Hema Committee is said to have given a statement that there is no sexual harassment by male actors on the sets or outside. She claimed ignorance of any such acts where actress was denied roles as they had not cooperated with actors. The most surprise element was that this actress was in the forefront of calling for a probe after Dilip case and part of setting up WCC. The somersault had even baffled the committee members. Even while the Dilip case reference was put forth to this actress, she termed it as fall out between the actor and actress concerned and termed it as an isolated incident. On hindsight, those in the know say that the actress had backtracked before the committee as she would have been told by `power group’ to not precipitate the matter. This actress despite her tough stance on the sexual assault case , had no dearth of work in Malayalam films. B Unnikrishnan of FEFKA the film trade union body says that Hema committee should taken statements from members of the body and had relied on mostly those from WCC or those aligned with them. It seems one section of the AMMA is planning to form a parallel body and seek trade union status. On the other hand, a move is on to group members around to retain the charitable societies status of AMMA.