Is sexual allegation reason for Vijay Sethupathi film drop ? / Fans warn Tovino about Telugu entry ?

Has the sexual exploitation of a actress by Vijay Sethupathi affected the collections of Thalaivan – Thalaivi ? The film after impressive opening figures in the weekend and covering up the budget has posted on Monday a drop of 65% and after an average of 15- 2-% drop and today the figures have touched  Rs 67 lakhs from Wednesdays Rs 2.25 cr.  Ramya Mohan’s explosive accusations against Vijay Sethupathi rocked X—but her post vanished soon after, and now her account’s gone too. Vijay slams the claims as “filthy” and files a cybercrime complaint. Vijay Sethupathi has strongly denied the allegations in a statement to Deccan Chronicle. "Anyone who knows me, even slightly, would find this laughable. I know who I am. Such vile accusations don’t rattle me,” he said. Acknowledging that his family and close friends were upset, Sethupathi added, “I tell them, ‘Let it go. This woman is clearly seeking attention. She’s having her few minutes of fame, let her have it."" VS said that such campaigns had not affected his film collections as viewers would not fall for it.

Day 1 [1st Friday]	₹ 5.2 Cr	-
Day 2 [1st Saturday]	₹ 7.85 Cr	50.96%
Day 3 [1st Sunday]	₹ 9.7 Cr	23.57%
Day 4 [1st Monday]	₹ 3.35 Cr	-65.46%
Day 5 [1st Tuesday]	₹ 2.65 Cr	-20.90%
Day 6 [1st Wednesday]	₹ 2.25 Cr	-15.09%
Day 7 [1st Thursday]	₹ 0.67 Cr **	-
Total	₹ 31.67 Cr

 

According to media reports, Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas is all set to make his Telugu debut in Dragon, a big-budget pan-India film directed by Prashanth Neel of KGF and Salaar fame. With Jr NTR in the lead, the film is already drawing attention, and Tovino’s casting has only added to the growing anticipation. His entry is seen as a major boost, especially among South Indian audiences. Tovino, known for his emotional depth and commanding screen presence in Malayalam cinema, brings a layer of intrigue to the project. His addition is expected to significantly increase the film’s appeal in Kerala and enhance its multi-regional reach. Dragon is currently in active production, with Jr NTR reportedly undergoing a major physical transformation. The film’s scale and action-packed sequences continue to keep fans talking.

 

 

Prithviraj Direct OTT Release lukewarm / Casting Managers of Kollywood

 Sarzameen, in its debut week, garnered a lukewarm viewership of 4.5 million, taking the top spot in the list of the most-watched streaming originals in India for the week of July 21 – July 27 as per Ormax data. It surpassed Tourist Family, Bhool Chuk Maaf and others. It will be interesting to see if Prithviraj and Ibrahim Ali Khan’s film will enter the top 5 most-viewed films of 2025 (excluding Netflix). Currently, the 5th spot is owned by Test, which garnered 6.5 million in its lifetime.

Prithviraj Sukumaran, Ibrahim Ali Khan, and Kajol have managed to bring the second biggest debut for a film on OTT. However, it is the biggest debut week viewership for an original film on OTT other than Netflix. Surpassing every single Hindi film of 2025 except for Kesari Chapter 2, it is roaring with its numbers!

 Dharma Productions rule the OTT game owning the top two spots for the biggest debut for a non-Netflix film. Kesari Chapter 2, was a theatrical to OTT release, with a viewership of 5.7 million. This is followed by Ibrahim Ali Khan and Prithviraj’s film, which is also produced by Dharma Productions.

Suresh Chandra Ajith Manager with Vijay's son Jason.

SouthBay is Rana’s  latest venture in South India, focusing on PR/Marketing and Talent pool management.

Some stars who're using SouthBay services are Priyanka Mohan, Aparna Balamurali, Aishwarya Lakshmi, and Pradeep Ranganathan.

Rana owns several dozen companies and has made massive investments in startups. Most are in AI and VFX companies. Some are Ikonz, Anthill Studio, and Kwan Entertainment. He founded Spirit Media, a VFX company, in 2005, which was closed in the 2010s due to failure. He has now reactivated it. Besides that, he owns his family's businesses, including Suresh Productions, RamaNaidu Studios, and RamaNaidu Film School Management, among others.

Jagadish (Vijay's Manager) and "The Route" are handling the dates and PR work for Thalapathy Vijay, Samantha, Atlee, Lokesh Kanagaraj, Keerthy Suresh, Rashmika Mandanna, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Krithi Shetty, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Kathir, Arjun Das and Monisha Mohan Menon.. Now  H. Vinoth is a new entry to this list.

Ajith Kumar's manager is Suresh Chandra. He is also the CEO of Done Channel1, a PR agency, and is a film publicist. He is known for announcing news related to Ajith Kumar's projects and racing team on social media. He is project designer of Ajith’s forthcoming film with Adhik as Director. His agency does PR work for film companies but actors and directors do not seem to be on their list. 

 

Coolie Edge over WAR 2 / After Success Meet Now FLOP MEET

 A section of viewers even joked that Coolie’s trailer announcement poster is more exciting than the War 2 trailer itself. However, some online critics claim the poster bears a strong resemblance to a previously released Madame Web promotional image featuring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney.

Despite this, the buzz and fan anticipation around Coolie continue to grow stronger. Whether this hype translates into box office success remains to be seen, but as of now, Coolie clearly has the upper hand in the pre-release hype battle against War 2.

HHVM was the first movie that held a success meet on Day 1 of release and joins the list of movies that can be categorized as DISASTER after the Monday collections. Read on to know about the impact of the flop on Producer A M Rathnam and distributors and Pawan Kalyan’s stardom.

Pawan Kalyan’s  Hari Hara Veera Mallu sees a poor opening weekend with 103 Cr gross worldwide and 63 Cr share (including GST) with a recovery of 52%. Looking at the trend, Hari Hara Veera Mallu is declared a disaster.

The makers have already released the film in deficit, and they needed huge overflows to be in a safe position. But sadly, the distributors themselves are now facing huge losses because of the poor performance of the film.

Now, that is another burden for the producers of HHVM, to compensate for these losses of buyers. After a poor first weekend, the period action drama completely crashes on Monday. The shocking thing is that the share falls below 1 Cr, as most theaters saw deficits. These numbers indicate the movie almost ended its theatrical run, and that is why Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu can be declared as a disaster. 

After Attarintiki Daredi, Pawan Kalyan did not see his range of success, and due to that, he and his films are not in the top list of recent box office stats. Also, Pawan said he may not continue the films after current commitments due to political activities. So OG and Ustaad Bhagat Singh are most probably his last films, and both films’ directors are his hardcore fans. We can say that Pawan Kalyan’s stardom is now in his fanboys’ hands, Sujeeth and Harish Shankar. 

Fahadh Faasil career low opening- Maareesan / Lal 's Mathew to Join Rajini Muthuvel

 

FaFa or otherwise  Fahadh Faasil has recorded the second-lowest opening for the actor in the post-COVID era. It just surpassed Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum’s 55 lakh. See Maareesan 4 day collection.

Day 1 [1st Friday]	₹ 0.75 Cr * rough data	-
Day 2 [1st Saturday]	₹ 1.37 Cr * rough data	82.67%
Day 3 [1st Sunday]	₹ 1.39 Cr * rough data	1.46%
Day 4 [1st Monday]	₹ 0.15 Cr **

 

Overall, Maareesan had an occupancy of 18% on day 1, which resulted in a collection of 75 lakh net at the Indian box office, as per Sacnilk. Adjusting for GST, it stands at 88 lakh gross.

Take a look at the openings of Fahadh Faasil’s post-COVID releases:

1.     Pushpa 2: The Rule – 179.25 crores

2.     Pushpa: The Rise – 45.78 crores

3.     Vikram – 32.05 crores

4.     Vettaiyan – 31.7 crores

5.     Maamannan – 8.5 crores

6.     Aavesham – 3.65 crores

7.     Bougainvillea – 3.3 crores

8.     Malayankunju – 1.5 crores

9.     Dhoomam – 90 lakh

10.Maareesan – 75 lakh

11.Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum – 55 lakh

Apart from Fahadh, the film also features Vadivelu. Released yesterday (July 25), the Kollywood comedy crime thriller opened to mostly decent reviews from critics, with the leading cast getting praised for their strong performances. Even among the moviegoers, word-of-mouth is mainly on the favorable side. Many felt that the the film started as road movie shifted gear to a thriller and probably as somebody told the Director to do so as Tamil audience do not go solely by road stories and want action. What helped Maaman was the political story in it.

Fa Fa revealed his retirement plans in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India as part of the promotional campaign for his film Maareesan. He disclosed his retirement plans only after the interviewer asked him about his idea of becoming an Uber driver in Barcelona. Fahadh responded, “Ya ya, of course.” The interviewer was persistent and wanted to know the specifics. So Fahadh explained his plan: “No, I think it’ll only happen after people are done with me here, you know?” But the interviewer was confident that people were not going to get bored of their beloved FaFa.

Finally Mohanlal as Mathew is all set to join Jailer Muthuvel Pandian in the sequel. Set work is on at Attapadi in Kerala.

SHOCKING :Inside Story of Kingdom Trailor Launch / Coolie no TIME TRAVEL BUT WATCHES YES

 Navin Nooli, arguably the best editor in Tollywood—and currently among the top in the country—gave sharp trailer cut visuals to Anirudh for scoring and mixing. And this was handed over either last night or early this morning. That itself is shocking.

This trailer launch was announced days ago. A huge event was planned, with Anirudh expected to travel from Chennai to Tirupati—by road or air. All they needed from him was to finish the BGM, send it for final mixing, and attend the event.

But  the final trailer mixing didn’t come from Anirudh’s end.

Now to be fair—he’s been juggling two major releases within a 15-day gap. And naturally, he seems to be prioritizing "Coolie", as he should. Also, Gowtam Tinnanuri, being a perfectionist, was fine-tuning visuals till the last minute. That too delayed Ani’s timeline.

Result? For the first time ever, a trailer launch event happened with raw, unscored visuals—no BGM done. Just rough edits. Disgusting.

With only 5 days left for release, the team was already behind schedule. But to add to that, this kind of mismanagement .

It reflects poorly on everyone:

• Producer Nagavamsi, who often boasts of understanding how to work with Anirudh.
• Director Gowtam Tinnanuri, who made a national award-winning film like Jersey.
• Even Anirudh, for continuing the habit of last-minute deliveries, risking reputations.

Lokesh has said that Coolie is not about Time travel and the trailor on August 2 will clear all doubts. He said that the plot does deal with luxurious watches and watch factories but the story going around that Rajini gets a watch that takes him on a time travel is fake. Coolie has nothing to do with LC.U “Right after Coolie’s Release, I’ll resume the work on LCU (Lokesh Cinematic Universe) Origin. It’ll have all the connections for Kaithi and Vikram. It’s a 10-minute short film, but it has Anirudh’s music and Anbariv Masters’ work as well.”,  said Lokesh.

Coolie Premieres Storm USA with 350K Pre-Sales now.

Coolie USA Premieres Pre-Sales—Excellent Trending

Gross – $349,045
Shows – 718
Tickets Sold – 12875

Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie premieres storm the USA with 350K pre-sales, and the film is all set to cross Kabali’s openings and become the biggest opener for Tamil films in North America 

What is in Rajini's Autobiography ? / FaFa on Kamal/ Rajini/ Prithviraj- Kajol Parents Co-Stars!

Rajinikanth revealed many personal secrets to Lokesh

Director Lokesh Kanagaraj, who is currently promoting Coolie, his upcoming film with Rajinikanth, recently revealed that the veteran actor is in the process of writing his autobiography. In an interview with Galatta Plus, the Vikram director mentioned that he has been writing a few pages everyday during the last two schedules of Coolie.

"Every day, I would ask him, 'What episode are you in?'" the director continued. "In which stage are you?" After that, he (Rajinikanth) would inform me that this was what occurred in his 42nd year and that this was what happened thereafter."

Lokesh revealed that the superstar confided in him stories he hadn’t shared with anyone else, making the experience deeply personal and memorable. "It’s something I’ll always hold dear. What stays with you is the journey that man has lived through. The one thing that binds not just me, but everyone in our state to him, is the many challenges he has faced and overcome," he said.

Kamal Haasan and Fahadh Faasil's bond

"When Kamal sir and I meet, we crack jokes for like two, three hours. It’s nothing to do with cinema. It’s mostly about what’s going on and around," Faasil said in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India, underlining the simplicity and depth of their bond. Rather than indulging in film talk, the actor prefers to understand Haasan through presence and observation.

"There has never been a moment where I could ask him: ‘Sir, how did you do that shot?’ But spending time with him, I understand how he did it. I totally understand how he took a call, why he didn’t do it and why he did it." Faasil believes that these decisions stem not just from craft, but from character. “It has a lot to do with the individual you are,” he added.

Speaking about Rajinikanth, Faasil shared, "Every time he comes in, he asks the director: ‘Sir, what should I do?’ That’s awesome, to ask that." "You just have to crack their functioning method, then you’ll easily be able to connect your dots,” he concluded.

Prithviraj Dad and Kajol Mom Tanuja acted together
Did you know that Prithviraj and Kajol coming together in Sarzameen is a second generation team up ? Prithviraj's father Sukumaran and Kajol's mom Tanuja has acted together in Malayalam film Thaliritta Kinakkal. P Gopikumar directed the film from a P Chandrakumar screenplay. The film stars Tanuja as a widow, whom Sukumaran's character marries. She suspects whether her daughter (Madhu Malini) and her spouse are in love but soon realises that it is only her delusion. Thaliritta Kinakkal is the only Malayalam film with a Hindi song, titled 'Shabab Leke', crooned by Mohammed Rafi. The makers wanted Rafi to sing a Malayalam song but the singer said that he would have to learn the language. Music Director Jithin Shyam scored the music for the song to lyrics by Aayish Kamal, Pratap Pothan was one of the actors in the film. Film was released on June 27 1980.

In a recent interview with Just Too Filmy, the actor revealed that he told Kajol that their parents collaborated on a film but is unsure of it as well as that he got photographs and videos cut from Thaliritta Kinakkal.

Zarzameen also stars Ibrahim Ali Khan as Prithviraj and Kajol's son. The film is streaming on JioHotstar

Prasanth - Thiagarajan - Devyani Daughter in remake- Chiyaan wants TN Rights -Ani COPY CAT

 Post Andhagan success, Thiagarajan is on to remake of Telugu film Court; State v/s Nobody. Prasanth would essay Priyadatshi role and Producer 5 Star Kathiresan’s son Krithik and actress Devayani’s daughter Iniya play the other lead roles. Thiagarajan is expected to reprise Saikumar’s character.

Devayani, the actress, has a daughter named Iniya who recently made her debut on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Seniors Season 5. Iniya performed the song "Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu" during the blindfold auditions and received praise from the judges. Devayani surprised everyone by joining Iniya on stage during the performance. Iniya's performance was well-received, and she has been encouraged by her mother and the judges. The judges, including T. Rajendar, Sujatha Mohan, Vijay Prakash, and Srinivas, were impressed by Iniya's singing and her stage presence. 

Vikram is in talks with Sandeep Vanga to play the antagonist in Prabhas Spirit. He had backed out of Mahesh Babu film directed by S S Rajamouli as his role had too negative shades and could affect his hero iamage and secondly , he needed to give up on many films as it required him to give bulk dates. The role offered is meaty but Vikram has asked for Tamil Nadu theatrical rights as his fees. The producers of the Telugu movie "Spirit" are Bhushan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga, and Sandeep Reddy Vanga, according to IMDb. The film is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and stars Prabhas and Triptii Dimri. It's a PAN-India action entertainer being produced under the T-Series banner. Earlier Deepika had turned down the heroine role citing long working hours and instead signed Allu Arjun film.

Social media users were quick to point out the striking resemblance between “Power House” and American rapper Lil Nas X’s 2021 hit “Industry Baby.”

Many listeners noted similarities in the beat, overall tune, and rap structure. As comparisons spread across platforms, some began accusing Anirudh of directly copying the American track.

“Coolie,” directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, is slated for release on August 14, 2025. Neither Anirudh nor the filmmakers have responded to the allegations at the time of writing.

Jailer BGM was said to copy from the Industry Baby.

Makkal Selvan Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menen’s romantic family drama Thalaivan Thalaivii hits theatres today. A Telugu version, titled Sir Madam, was announced with plans for a simultaneous release. However, there’s still no confirmation from the makers, and tickets are not available yet in Telugu-speaking regions.

It’s possible the team chose to avoid a clash with Hari Hara Veera Mallu, or they might be planning a delayed theatrical release or a direct OTT premiere. As of now, there’s no official word from the makers, Directed by Pandiraj and produced by Sathya Jyothi Films, Thalaivan Thalaivii also features Yogi Babu in a special role, with Santhosh Narayanan delivering the music. Thalaivan Thalaivii is a rugged family drama that works in moments, mainly due to the strong performances of Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menen. However, the film is brought down by a weak, repetitive script and loud, tiring narrative choices. It offers glimpses of honesty and humour, but not enough to make it a consistently engaging watch.

Pawan Kalyan film Success Meet on Release Date - A FIRST / Coolie USA cross Jailer Sales

 On the release date itself the makers of Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1-Sword vs Spirit has announced sauces meet. The makers are delighted with the audience’s response and, to express their gratitude, have scheduled a success meet. The event will take place today at 4 PM at Daspalla, Hyderabad.

Along with the rest of the movie team, lead actor Pawan Kalyan will also attend the celebrations. Fans are eagerly waiting to hear his remarks following the film’s release.

Day 1 collections are expected to be sensational. The premiere shows alone have reportedly collected close to Rs. 13 crore

Track Tollywood has a different view on this ; Read on

Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu Day 1 Affected By Premieres

The advance bookings for the film’s premieres were superb, and it delivered very good numbers. But due to the premieres, day 1 advances saw a very big impact. The advance occupancies are not even 50% for the opening day.

Also, the WOM and reviews are unanimously negative for the film, which affected the opening day and weekend collections too. Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu’s premiere misfires big time.

Releasing on a weekday with premieres before release night is very risky, and the movie opens with bad WOM, so definitely pulling the numbers is not an easy task.

While the first installment is titled Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 – Sword vs Spirit, the sequel’s title was officially revealed during the climax. The second installment will be called Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 2 – Battlefield (Yuddhabhoomi in Telugu).

Here is another case of a Premiere .Jailer’s USA premiere pre-sales closed at $802,000, and with three weeks still to go, Coolie is almost certain to cross that milestone.

Anirudh debuted the PowerHouse song in Hyderabad while promoting the film there at an event held by the film’s team. What caught everyone’s attention was the song's use of the phrases ‘say my name’ and ‘goddamn right’. Fans soon realised Bryan Cranston’s Walter White says these phrases in Breaking Bad. Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) soon began posting videos overlaying the songs onto scenes from the show.

 Jailer, grossed close to $6.8 million (Rs. 59+ crore) in the US, setting a new benchmark for Kollywood films. The pre-release buzz for Rajinikanth’s Coolie in the USA is nothing short of phenomenal. Early advance booking numbers have already crossed $180,000, and this is just the beginning. According to trade analysts, over 5,000 tickets have already been sold within just a few hours of advance bookings. Currently, around 250 premiere shows are listed across 110–120 screens, and these numbers are expected to rise as the release date draws closer. The premieres are set for August 13, a day before its global release.

Will Nithya Menen ego clash with Dhanush be solved with Idly Kadai Promotion ? Kuberaa Box office

 Will Dhanush and Nithya Menen keep apart their creative differences that cropped up during the shoot and come together  to promote Idly Kadai ? What started as creative differences led to afull blown ego war between Dhanush the Director and heroine Nithya Menen is what we hear. He hasn’t given a hit besides Karnan, Thiruchitrambalam, and Raayan post COVID, and this film being a feel good drama has a great chance of breaking into this category. As an actor Kubeera saw him excel but the beggar act did not go well with the Tamil audience. The poster has a Their rssemblance. It looks like the Theri opening police song, in the way it’s positioned with the children and colorful sunglasses. Music wise GVP is not his nest now and so will he give us a gem ? Dhanush last outing Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam (NEEK)  (2025): Dhanush took the director's seat  for third time again for this film. It was a disaster.

 

Kuberaa on OTT is receiving flak and many are asking for actual Box office regarding two Telugu States and Tamil Nadu. In Andhra it was a profit but so so in Nizam and Ceded areas. A Rs 1 crore loss in Telangana. IN Tamil Nadu- Karnataka the film is a loss. See the budget and Box office L

Budget - 130 cr

Dhanush - 30 cr

Nagarjuna - 15 cr

Rashmika - 5 cr

Rest of cast - 5 cr

Shekhar kammula - 6 cr

DSP- 6 cr

Rest of the crew- 8 cr

Production budget- 50 cr

Prints and Publicity - 5 cr

---

Pre release business -

OTT (Amazon) - 50 cr

Satellite deals (Not closed estimated) - 33 cr

Audio and digital rights- 15 cr

Theatre-

Nizam (Telangana) - 15 cr

Andhra & Ceded (AP) - 25 cr

Tamil Nadu - 20 cr

KA+ ROI - 10 cr

Overseas - 10 cr

Overall - 80 cr

Table profits for producers based on Satellit deal closing - 48 cr (Adengappa)

---

Collections:

Telugu states - 70 cr gross or 39 cr share

Verdict- Hit in AP, Breakeven in Nizam and Ceded .

Tamil Nadu -21 cr gross or 11 cr share

Vedict - Mega flop

KA+ROI : 17 cr gross or 8 cr share

Verdict- Average

Overseas- 30 cr gross or 15 cr share

Verdict - Blockbuster

Overall - 138 cr gross or 73 cr share

Recovery- 90%

Verdict- Above Average overall.

Loss for Distributors:

TN - 9 cr

Telugu states- 1 cr

KA+ROI- 2 cr

Profit for distributors

Overseas - 5 cr

Producers sold TN and Overseas outright so not liable cover losses for TN

They covered losses for Telugu and KA distributors.

So Overall a successful venture for producers and heavy loss for TN distributors.

 

No SK v/s Thalapathy Clash / Rana Joins SK/ Kantara 1 to cross KGF 2 after video release

  It seems that Parasakthi of Sivakarthikeyan and Thalapathy Vijay’s Jana Nayagan are releasing for Ongal no doubt but they are not clashing. On January 9^th, Jana Nayagan will release and on January 14^th, Parasakthi will release and a gap of 5 days. Sivakarthikeyan is currently busy shooting for his film with Sudha Kongara, titled Parasakthi. The film also stars Atharvaa, Sreeleela, and Ravi Mohan in prominent roles. The Pollachi schedule of shooting for the film has recently commenced, and videos of the abovementioned actors from the sets have been making rounds on social media. Interestingly, one of these videos features Telugu actor Rana Daggubati, creating curiosity around his involvement in the film

A political period drama, Parasakthi also stars Dev Ramnath, Prithvi Rajan, Guru Somasundaram, Basil Joseph, Ranjan Ramanayake, and Papri Ghosh. Based on true events, the story revolves around the Anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu that happened in 1965.

Rana Daggubati recently had the release of Rana Naidu season 2 on Netflix. He was last seen in Rajinikanth-TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan in Tamil. He played the role of a narrator in Keerthy Suresh and Suhas’ Uppu Kappurambu, which premiered on Prime Video recently.

Hombale Films making video of Kantara Chapter 1 leads to buzz that it will surpass KGF 2 collections. Hombale Films, the acclaimed production house behind landmark films like Rajakumara, KGF,Salaar, and Kantara, Yesterday released the much-awaited making video of Kantara Chapter 1,offering audiences a spectacular look into the epic scale and effort behind the film.The video, released as a wrap-up celebration, marks the culmination of over 250 days ofshooting, the result of more than three years of unwavering dedication. With thousands of crew members working tirelessly through each phase of production, the making video stands as a tribute to the passion and precision that define Actor and Director Rishab Shetty’s storytelling.

‘Kantara Chapter 1’ is one of the Hombale films’s one of most ambitious undertakings. The creative team behind the film includes music director B. Ajaneesh Loknath, cinematographer Arvind Kashyap, and production designer Vinesh Banglan all of whom have shaped the film’s
powerful visual and emotional narrative.

Scheduled for a worldwide release on October 2, the film will be launched in Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam,  Bengali, and English reaching audiences across languages and regions, while staying rooted in its cultural core. With Kantara Chapter 1, Hombale Films continues to push the boundaries of Indian cinema,
promising a deeply immersive experience that celebrates folklore, faith, and cinematic
excellence.

Kantara The Legend collections crossed Rs 400 crores but KGF 1 did not, KGF 2 crossed Rs 1200 crores and trade expects Kantara Chapter 1 to out beat KGF 2.

Prabhas Rajasaab Hindi gets BIG OTT DEAL / Mahesh Narayanan Tamil Debut on Car Racer Narain

According to Cinejosh, the Hindi version of The Raja Saab’s post-theatrical streaming rights have been sold to Netflix for 100 crores.

This isn’t a surprising amount, as Kalki 2898 AD’s Hindi version was also purchased by Netflix for 175 crores. You might be wondering why Kalki 2898 AD fetched a premium compared to The Raja Saab, because Kalki 2898 AD was a big-budget mythological epic with a dystopian science-fiction setting. Besides Prabhas, the film also starred top actors from several industries, including Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan, so fetching that amount was only natural.

As per the live data, around 140.2K users have showcased their interest in watching The Raja Saab on BookMyShow. It currently ranks at #3 in BMS interests among upcoming Indian films of 2025. Maruthi’s directorial has surpassed every Indian film except two.

Prabhas starrer may soon surpass Jr NTR and Hrithik Roshan’s War 2 in BMS interests. Ayan Mukerji’s directorial has garnered 159.2K likes so far. With around a 13% jump, The Raja Saab will steal its #2 spot.

Pawan Kalyan’s swashbuckler action film Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 – Sword vs Spirit conquers the top throne. Set to release in theatres on July 24, 2025, it has gained a massive interest of 258.6K on BookMyShow.

Take a look at the top 5 Indian films with the highest interests on BookMyShow:

Hari Hara Veera Mallu: 258.6K
War 2: 159.2K
The Raja Saab: 140K
They Call Him OG: 128.3K
Vishwambhara: 115.4K

Mahesh Narayanan and Shalini Usha Devi team up for biopic on India’s first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan

The upcoming Tamil film will chart Narain Karthikeyan’s remarkable rise from the streets of Coimbatore to the elite world of international racing

Writer-editor-director Mahesh Narayanan, best known for helming critically acclaimed Malayalam films such as Take Off, Malik, C U Soon, and Ariyippu, is set to direct a new biographical feature on the life of Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula One driver. The upcoming Tamil-language project, tentatively titled NK 370, was announced recently and is currently in development under Blue Marble Films. The film will chart Narain’s remarkable rise from the streets of Coimbatore to the elite world of international racing.

The screenplay is being penned by writer-filmmaker Shalini Usha Devi, who earlier co-wrote the Suriya-starrer Soorarai Pottru—a film that earned her the National Award for Best Screenplay, an honour she shared with director Sudha Kongara. Reflecting on the prestigious opportunity to spotlight a subject rarely explored in Indian cinema, Produced by Faraz Ahsan, Vivek Rangachari, and Pratik Maitra, with Amish Shah and Nilaanjan Reeta Datta attached as associate producers, NK 370 is being developed for a global audience with a focus on underdog stories that transcend national and cultural boundaries.

“People understand what F1 is now after Drive to Survive (documentary series on F1 championships) on Netflix, and now the F1 movie as well. So it’s great to tell the story about India’s first F1 driver. To break all the barriers to get there coming from India, there is a lot of drama in it,” said Narain in a chat with Sportstar.

Narain revealed that the project has been in the works for the last 18 months, and he will be involved in ensuring the on-track action is filmed realistically, which will include training the lead actor in the basics of racing.

Mahesh is currently busy directing his ambitious multistarrer Patriot, which is reportedly an espionage thriller featuring a stellar ensemble that includes Mammootty, Mohanlal, Fahadh Faasil, Kunchacko Boban, Nayanthara, Darshana Rajendran and Zarin Shihab, among others. Shalini is awaiting the release of her latest directorial Ennennum, a dystopian science fiction film featuring Santhy Balanchandran and Anoop Mohandas