Prabhas Film Producers - Directors Target Deepika

 Real Reason Behind Deepika exit from Kalki

 June 5, a post was uploaded on an Instagram handle, speculating that Deepika Padukone may be dropped from the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD (2024). The report further stated that ‘her demand for shorter work hours post-motherhood is reportedly causing friction on sets. Kalki 2 makers are considering reducing or removing her role’ Now offivailly she is out of Kalki 2. Even before shooting started this report came and it had given an inkling of the Producers to drop her after she walked out Prabhas film Spirit.

 Vyjayanthi Movies team is said to have cribbed about Deepika asking that 26 of her personal staff be given the 7 Star treatment given to her and a luxury vanity van at her disposal, this far from true. Such issues never cropped up as the production company has worked with Deepika before. The point which the production company wanted a rethink was 7 hour schedule and every hour after that to be charged pro rata the salary of the actor. It means that as doing VFX might prolong a call sheet the production team will end up paying more than double. As compromise could be woeked out the option was to say goodbye. Apart from this no issues has been raised, Atlee camp sources say that Deepika has put same conditions and they have agreed, However Vyjayanthi Movie has a point when they say that Priyanka Chopra does not have this clause in her deal with Rajamouli- Mahesh Babu team and that she coming from Hollywood has not pitched this 7 hour work clause. Producers had no issue with 25 % fee hike and reports said that they wanted her to stick to Kalki Part 1 fee as Prabhas had not asked for a hike, Prabhas takes an advance and gets a share of the profits.

Back in May, Deepika was replaced in Spirit, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Reports suggested the fallout stemmed from scheduling and contractual disagreements. As a new mother, Deepika had reportedly requested an 8-hour workday, which translated to about 6 hours of actual shooting time. Questioning the actor's sense of feminism, Sandeep Vanga wrote on X: "When I narrate a story to an actor, I place 100% faith. There is an unsaid NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) between us. But by doing this, You've 'DISCLOSED' the person that you are... Putting down a Younger actor and ousting my story? Is this what your feminism stands for?

He then criticised what he called dirty PR tactics: "As a filmmaker, I put years of hard work behind my craft & for me, filmmaking is everything. You didn't get it. You won't get it. You will never get it.

Producer Ramesh Taurani in 2012 complained about Deepika as she  walked out of Race 2 . She shot for 6 days and quit as she got a Hollywood project.

Rajinikanth Coolientiment and Record Telugu deal / Rajamouli- L3 Empuran title updates

 Jailer 2 release date has a flashback. In 1975 on August 15^th Rajinikant first film Apoorva Ragangal was releasd. Now in 50 year in filmdom, his 171 film release takes place on same date. The theatrical rights of Coolie in the Telugu states have reportedly been sold for 40 crores, creating a new benchmark for Tamil dubbed films.  Yesterday we had said that WAR 2 on same day with NTR Jr will not do any harm to Coolie in South States except two Telugu States but now trade feels that Coolie is the best bet than the Hindi dubbed.

Earlier Suriya’s Kanguva sold for 25 crores, Vijay’s Leo for 20 crores, and Rajini’s own Jailer for 17 crores were sold. This means Coolie needs to collect a minimum gross of 75-80 crores in Telugu to breakeven for the buyers . Read; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2025/04/coolieis-clear-winner-in-war-2-clash.html

Ashwin shared that Kalki 2 will delve deeper into the arcs of Karna and Ashwatthama, bringing these two mythologically rooted characters into the spotlight. He revealed that the sequel will primarily focus on these characters, giving both significantly more screen time  on Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan’s characters. In addition, Kamal Haasan’s mysterious character, Supreme Yaskin, will also be one of the major highlights of the sequel. While audiences only saw a glimpse of him in Kalki 2898 AD, the sequel will delve deeper into his dark persona.

Additionally, the sequel will involve heavy VFX work and elaborate world-building, which means post-production could take time. 

Rajamouli’s upcoming film SSMB 29, starring Mahesh Babu, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Priyanka Chopra, has been making headlines ever since its announcement. While initial reports suggested that the movie would be a two-part spectacle, fresh updates reveal that Rajamouli has opted for a single-film narrative. The film, set against the backdrop of Kashi, is a high-octane forest adventure that promises to push the boundaries of Indian cinema. With production already underway, the team has an extensive shooting schedule planned until mid-2026, aiming for a grand release in the summer of 2027.

Renowned composer Deepak Dev has sparked speculation about the title of the much-anticipated third installment in the Lucifer trilogy, starring Mohanlal, following his recent revelations in an exclusive interview with Club FM. Deepak Dev, known for his distinctive musical contributions to Malayalam cinema, hinted that “Azrael” could potentially be the title for Lucifer Part 3. The speculation arises from a pivotal song in the climax of Empuraan, the second part of the trilogy, featuring the resonant vocals of Usha Uthup repeating the word “Azrael.”

In the interview, Deepak Dev reflected on the creative process behind the trilogy’s titles, noting that similar organic developments occurred with the naming of Empuraan after a significant song in the first installment, Lucifer. He recalled discussions with director Prithviraj Sukumaran, who sought a commanding voice for the song, which inadvertently led to the title reveal for the subsequent film.

Ajith Visamuyurchi picks up after Day 2 lull / Alanceir calls Big B and Rajini Bad actors

Ajith’s Vidaamiuyarchi is facing a tough situation at the box office on the second day itself. Ajith and Magizh Thirumeni’s action thriller was released in theaters this Thursday and emerged as the career biggest opener for Ajith with around 50 Cr gross. Even getting 20 Cr gross itself looks very tough on day 2, which is definitely a bad sign for the film’s box office. The movie must see a big jump in the two days to get a good total at the box office. on 2nd day the film saw a big drop in numbers and collected around 20 Cr gross worldwide. The positive sign for the film is after the drop in the morning, matinees and other later shows had a good jump, and today, the film is trending better than yesterday. Vidaamuyarchi 2 Days Box Office Collections are out now, and to achieve the breakeven, Ajith’s film should collect around 225 Cr gross, and the recovery is just around 30%. The film needs to have a huge jump over the weekend.

Alencier Ley Lopez is two time Kerala State Award winner and twice Filmfare Award winner. A film Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal has released and he acts alongside Joju George and Suraj Venjaramood. As part of the promotion , He spoke about his experience working with Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan in Vettaiyan. Reflecting on his one day of shooting, Alencier who played Judge described Rajinikanth’s performance, saying, ‘He (Rajinikanth) does his stylized form of acting, where he performs with his body language and walks out of the courtroom, and then Amitabh Bachchan’s character would roar like a lion. The judge sits there shocked after this.’ He went on to say - ‘Neither do I know the kind of stylised acting nor do I have a booming voice. All I can do is act in films of Dileesh Pothan, Sharan Venugopal, and Rajeev Ravi. That’s when I got to know that these two cannot act.”. The actor explained that he was simply being honest, saying he took the role only to witness their performances firsthand and has no intention of becoming active in the Tamil film industry. If you know about his background then you will understand the above comment on the two iconic actors. Read on : Actress Divya Gopinath alleged that Lopez sexually harassed her on the set of his film Aabhaasam. The director of Aabhaasam claimed that Lopez came to the set drunk and messed up many of the shots which affected the shooting. Another American woman claimed that Lopez harassed her while he was in the United States filming for Monsoon Mangoes.

Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh grandchildren ready / Nepo kids face BO rejection/ Bottle Radha Sanchana

Two South remakes flop in Bollywood and two Nepo kids stare at a flop. Yet another nepo kid ready for launch. Hindi remake of Love Today the Tamil film is Loveyeappa and first reviews are bad. Despite high profile publicity, the film opening is lukewarm. Even a re-release Sanam Teri Kasam has a bigger opening. Junaid Khan son of Aamir Khan and Sridevi daughter Khushi debuted on OTT and this is their first theatre release. Loveyapa is an official remake of the Tamil romantic comedy Love Today, which arrived in 2022 and was a super hit. Mounted on a budget of 6 crore, the film earned 66.57 crore in its lifetime, almost 11 times higher than its budget. Love Today, churned out a profit of 60.57 crore, making an unbelievable 1009.5% return on investment! Malayalam film Mumbai Police remade as Deva by Roshan Andrews who directed the original is struggling to get decent numbers at box office. Andrews made a few crucial changes and for Shahid Kapoor it got him good reviews but the box office is weak. Film has total of 29.05 crore net and it will finish with 35 crore net domestic lifetime. Film collected 34.01 crore gross worldwide over the weekend and approximate 50 crore worldwide gross in 1st week. Naomika daughter of Rinkie Khanna d/o of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple is expected to share screen space with Agastya Nanda (grandson of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan). Agastya acted in Netflix The Archies. With this fresh pairing, all eyes will be on how the film unfolds. Will Naomika and Agastya live up to their iconic family names? Only time will tell.Naomika 21-year-old recently made headlines for her striking resemblance to her grandmother Dimple Kapadia at a film screening. Bottle Radha wife Sanchana thanks letter

From the Desk of Actress Sanchana Natarajan I am truly overwhelmed and grateful for the love and appreciation pouring in for my recent film, Bottle Radha. Portraying ‘Anjalam’ has been an incredible journey, and I owe my heartfelt thanks to my director Dhinakar Sivalingam, for trusting me with such a beautifully written role. A big thank you to my producers Pa. Ranjith (Neelam productions) & Arun Balaji (Balloon Pictures), for believing in me and bringing me on board for this special film. It has been an honor to be a part of their vision. Sharing screen space with the immensely talented Guru Somasundaram has been an insightful experience, and I deeply appreciate his support throughout this journey. I also extend my sincere gratitude to the press and media for recognizing and amplifying my work and most importantly, to the audience for embracing Bottle Radha with so much love. Your encouragement fuels my passion, and I look forward to being part of more content-driven and high-quality cinema in the future. With gratitude, Sanchana Natarajan Sanchana Natarajan as the caring, but hopeless wife provides appropriate support to the narration with her powerful performance said Thinkal Menon in SouthFirst. Shot to fame with As I am suffering from Kadhal.

Prabhas Salaar 1 trending even now : Future projects

Salaar Part 1 streaming on Disney+ Hotstar expanded its reach, leading to yet another extraordinary achievement—and is continuously trending for an unprecedented 350 days on one of the biggest OTT platform. The film is also continuously trending in top 10 on OTT platform. The fact that it has been continuously trending for an incredible 350 days on Disney+ Hotstar is a testament to its grand success. This has undoubtedly laid a strong foundation for Salaar: Part 2 – Shouryanga Parvam, because if this is the craze for the first part, director Nag Ashwin revealed that the script work on Kalki 2 has been completed and the makers are waiting for the bulk dates of Prabhas, Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan, who played the main roles in the film, to start shooting which is expected to commence in mid of this year. Prabhas is all set to start shooting for Spirit from May 2025. Prabhas will sport a lean look in Spirit and has already started to train to get into the world of Sandeep Reddy Vanga. “It’s going to be Prabhas like never before in Spirit. He is committed to get into a certain physique to play the part of an honest yet twisted cop. The film will be the third directorial of Sandeep Reddy Vanga with Bhushan Kumar after Kabir Singh and Animal.

Vettaiyan ; A Director's Film - Like Rajini - Udhayam will continue

 

Udhayam theatre is not closing and Vettaiyan is not the last film. Theatre Manager has said that it will take time to close shop and it could be possibly after Sivakarthikeyan'a Amaran. Usually as I do not review a film.  I feel that though mine is a blog, I should not give my personal opinion on a film and exception being if the content is such and that it merits a public debate.

However as the Manager dashed my idea to preserve my ticket for  Vettaiyan since it was supposed to be last one in this iconic theatre and having seen it , I write about it. This is a T J Gananvel film. He has stuck to the subject as much as possible. The subject is about a encounter killing v/s arrest and conviction. Though the subject has been handled before and you expect TJ to take the Jai Bhim approach, he takes a new theme along with it - online entrance exams scam and kick starts with a murder of a teacher who stumbles upon a drug racket.

The problem with a Rajini film is that the Director fills in what is called Fan moments and this makes a non Rajini fan squirm and as a reviewer you write that the film is strictly for the fans. Here, I found only one or two moments like that and otherwise, if you look at it as a movie goer with no membership in any Rajini fan club, it is appealing. The message that one gets through Rajini character is that the cop in you should first do a soul searching before pulling the trigger and in short not be trigger happy.

Having seen all Rajini films as part of my job as a film journalist and a person who scripted for a documentary telecast on Japan official TV, I do not think any character in a Rajini film has stolen the limelight and that too in a role that is not an antagonist. In Vettaiyan, Fahadh Faasil does it and backed by a strong writing, he gets his teeth into it. No wonder Rajini said that he will wait for him till eternity.

Best actors in a Rajini film can do is that speak to all and sundry about and gush about Superstar before release. For Manju Warrier, this is yet another Tamil film and nothing more. Here however , she has a song to take home as a memento. Anirudh and his BGM is said to be heart of any film but I am no expert on this. If you ask me whether the BGM intensified Rajini on screen as  I think even otherwise, it would pass muster as Vettaiyan is not that dependent on BGM as Jailor.

To my generation the coming together of Rajini and Big B in one frame is memorable. But as I or my gen do not decide a film's success , TJ has kept it to the level it deserved. Rana Daggubatti compared to the bad guys in Rajini film is no great shakes. I am not an expert on technical aspects- I did not disturb me. A sensible film . Box office ? What till Monday fright .

Vettaiyan review; Acting and Super theme

 

MJ Cartels

@Mjcartels

#VettaiyanReview: First reports are Super theme, Acting based Movie - #Rajinikanth #AmithabBachan dominated the film - #FahadhFaasil #Rana are Good - Talk is Interval, 2nd half Highlight of the Movie - Good twist with message #Vettaiyan #Anirudh #Coolie #Ritikasingh

Second single in Telugu- Kannada and Hindi trace out Rajini 50 years. Hunter Ka Avataar title in Hindi. 5 shows on First Day in Tamil Nadu. Buyers expect Rs 125 crore on opening and extended weekend Dushera holidays to give Rs250crores.

Kalki 2898 AD trailor gets less views on YouTube and X slams content

Kalki 2898 AD trailor response has the makers worried and also elated. First reason is that in 24 hrs after release, it has not become the number one in views as far as a Telugu film is considered. The figure is at 14 million views and that is less than Mahesh Babu Guntur Kaaram and Prabhas Salaar. In fact, if views taken across all languages, Salaar holds the record with 112.3 million. In fact, the second trailor of Salaar was 72 million. Both figured in the top 10 most viewed trailors on YouTube. In top 10 is Prabhas Radhe Shyam with 57 million views. After 24 hours, the Kalki language wise breakup is Tamil: 2.3 million views – Kannada: 949K views – Telugu: 14 million views – Hindi: 16 million views – Malayalam: 1 million views. As it shows that the viewership is only one fourth of the earlier films of Prabhas. Now yet another factor that brings cheer is that Hindi viewer response is the most positive. Going by response, the VFX and Prabhas and Disha looks have come under fire by Hindi reviewers, largely it has got positive response. One reason is that the Director Nag Ashwin is not a name that audience expect much and also Amitabh and Kamal looks have been talk of the town in North India. This in terms of advance booking has resulted in massive jump for Hindi version in North America. The Mahabharat tale if told without any complexties would click and VFX , fun elements and technical gloss as well comic interludes will not click. Lord Krishna, Arjuna, Ashwathatma and other characters that public identifies with epic war has to well depicted. Kartikeya 2 and Kantara clicked in North as the religious content struck a chord. Kamal look is a blessing for the makers as it drove viewership but it has only 10 minutes screen space might be disappointment to viewers. It could rebound. Though Hindi YouTubers have by large given a positive response, on X the response has been mixed and more negative. From trade point, AAA has bought North India for Rs 100 crores, a record for any film with South hero. An opening of Rs 20-25 crores in North is what trade expects.

Sex - sleaze - Bribes rock Mohanlal Bigg Boss - Rajini- Amitabh intro song - Prabhu Deva apology

As we reported that Indian 2 is not coming in June, many reported about an audio launch of the film to take place on May 2 and that Rajinikanth and Ram Charan are coming for it. Nothing happened and now we hear that Rajinikanth and Big B are in Mumbai filming for Vettaiyan. Our sources say that the shoot was an intro song of Rajinikanth along with Amitabh. As we are informed that Amitabh and Big B are officers of a Customs squad that has employed them on a contract basis to break the gold smuggling racket that has shifted from Mumbai to Chennai and Trichy airports. The duo are ex Customs official now posing as gold smugglers. This song sequence is a major chunk that was waiting for the shoot to finish.

As heat wave conditions prevail in Chennai, an organization decided to get 100 kids assembled at a city stadium for a feat that will enter Guniess Book. !00 hours of dancing to Prabhu Deva songs is the feat. Chief Guest Prabhu Deva did not turn up and many kids standing in the heat wilted and some were taken sick. A heavy backlash took place and finally Prabhu Deva put out a video saying sorry and that he was caught in a shoot at Hyderabad. Speaking about heatm Ram Charan and Shankar were shooting in Chennai city for Game Changer.

Bigg Boss franchise in Malayalam has entered sixth season. For the first time in history of Bigg Boss conducted across Hindi -Tamil – Telugu and Malayalam , a contestant jaw bone was broken by a left hook by a co- contestant. A previous winner of the contest says that two officials of the channel that airs the programme had struck a deal with contestants that they should give a major cut of the weekly wages to get a place and in some cases, the women aspirants were asked to spend a night. A contestant send out saying that he had a mental collapse has gone on record saying that he recovered from it and was told that he will e back in the show but was abruptly packed off by the show director. The ex-winner claims that the contestant who was diagnosed of mental disturbance was given medication for bipolar disorder that he was not suffering from. Two contestants Jasmin and Gabbri closeness both physical and emotional and the open show in the 24 x 7 Hotstar platform has angered family audiences. To top it, Host Mohanlal is appearing to be soft on the lovers. The controversy has affected the credibility of the reality show and the host Mohanlal is blamed for it. Though Lal defenders say that he is only a host that does what the show Directors say, many have put the blame on the actor and wants him to take an intervention role and bring it back to course.

Ajith May B'Day details - Kamal Haasan Kali look in Kalki

We had informed you that Sreeleela was tipped to be Ajith heroine in next with Adhik. Now we are told that Sreeleela is offered a huge price for a special song in GOAT. Similarly, a source says that Dulquer has not come back to Thug Life as we said so and adds that STR has shot a few scenes in Rajasthan already. Today morning newspaper confirmed our story of yesterday that Mani is shooting in Delhi for Thug Life. Ajith birthday on May 1st will see producers announce Vidamuturchi release date and Adhik will release his film First Look. This is Wishlist of fans and we on our part want Vidamuyurchi to be a Diwali release. By June, Ajith starts on Adhik film. Meanwhile a source says that Mankatha that was released on August 31 2011 is releasing on May 1st. In fact the film release was facing issues then as it was a Jayalalithaa ministry and producer was Dhayanidhi Alagiri. AMMA probably due to Ajith, gave a green signal. In fact the release was low key by Sun Pictures. Despite this the film was a blockbuster. While we are on a re- release subject and that Ghilli of Vijay created records and made Producer Rathinam happy, we are told that Pokkiri too was released in Mini Udhayam on same day and was taken out as there was no audience. Mankatha is Venkat Prabhu film and so is upcoming GOAT.

Amitabh Bachchan takes on the role of Ashwatthama in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, Character unveiled in a monumental projection in Nemawar, Madhya Pradesh. This was the major highlight and Big B too took to social media about the vision behind it. Amitabh Bachchan took to social media to share a glimpse of his character with a note saying, “It's been an experience for me like no other. The mind to think such a product, the execution the exposure to modern technology and above all the company of colleagues with stratospheric Super star presence ..”Not spelt out is that the use of de aging technology in creation of Amitabh from the 80’s. especially the clip showcasing young Ashwatthama fighting a battle mirrors Bachchan’s 80s look, indicating the use of this technology. Moreover, attention to detail is seen in the facial marks of Bachchan’s character, that show battle scars on the left side, further making it authenticity. Now we hear that Kamal Haasan plays Kali. Kali is is the being who reigns during the age of the Kali Yuga and acts as the nemesis of Kalki, the tenth and final avatar of the Hindu preserver deity, Vishnu. So when we can see Kamall Haasan in the younger avatar from Kalki ?. Hollywood uses this technology in flashback scenes.

Why Kamal played baddie in Kalki - Malavika in Prabhas film - Nadigar Sangham building to be Vijayakanth Hall

Amitabh will play mentor and Kamal Haasan will be the villain to Prabhas character in Kalki revealed Nag Ashwin. The trailer of Kalki will be hit the public in 93 days from yesterday and that means April first week. After Salaar going neck to neck with Dunki in North and breaking North America collections, Prabhas has become hot property. With two Pan Indian actors, the film Kalki is most expected. Nag says that Prabhas plays a person who has to save the planet in 2998 AD and Deepika is his partner. Why did Kamal who plays a Mass hero accept the negative role ?. Nag says that it was nothing but the love for cinema that made Kamal accept it. Yet another revelation is that Disha Patani the glam Diva whose bikini photos have got 60 million followers in Instagram is playing a plain Telugu girl in Kalki. So is Deepika providing the oomph but no says Nag. She too is plain Jane. Nag said that making a film with VFX was a challenge for any Indian film.

Usually Stars after hitting big time do not have time for Directors who are flops and even if they have big story ideas. Prabhas has given dates to Director Maruthi and it has been a secret as People Media the producers have ben told to keep it under wraps . Prabhas has now agreed to make it public and producers tweeted People Media Factory proudly unveils the Dinosaur transformed into an absolute DARLING. First Look and Title will be unveiled on Pongal,”. From what we known this is Malavika Mohanan’s Telugu film and has Niddhi Aggarwal and Ridhhi Kumar for company.

There is move from various quarters to name the Nadigar Sangham building after Vijayakanth. It was wrongly reported that Nadigar Association is going to be named after the actor. As per the registration norms, the organisation affiliated to apex body South Film Chamber and Film Federation cannot be renamed. A move was made when Tamil Film Producers Council wanted such a move. Right from FEFSI to Nadigar Sangham remained the same. Tamil Directors floated a separate outfit. Vijayakanth through star nites cleared Rs 4.5 crores debt mainly incurred during the tenure of Radha Ravi as President. He also left a surplus of Rs 1 crore in the account before stepping down to take to politics full time. The move to give the land of the association to Sathyam Cinemas to build a multiplex and also a hall and other amenities was shot down by Vishal and group.

After 35 years ,Amitabh and Kamal Haasan on screen in `Vikram' and Baby Nayanthara in Gentleman 2

 

After 35 years , Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan are coming together on big screen. They last acted in Giraftaar released on September 1985. Amitabh Bachchan came down to Chennai for half a day and shot for Kamal Hassan's Vikram  says a report in DTNext. As per the report Big B came on board after many actors were not available and one was down with Covid. It is a cameo role. Kamal and Amitabh had worked in Giraftaar in 1985. Rajinikanth played a cameo in this super hit film.

Reports said that  Nayanthara is said to have been approached to play the lead role in Gentleman sequel produced by K T Kunjumon. The film had launched the career of director Shankar. Baahubaali music director Keeravani is scoring the music and the details of other crew nd cast have not announced. Nayanthara's BF Vignesh is to direct Ajith next film some time next year. Another report says that Nyanthara and Vignesh who got married recently will take the surrogacy route.  Thea actress has finished all her acting assignments and has only Connect directed by Ashwin Sarvanan. 

Now it turns out that it is Baby Nayanthara who has been approached for Gentleman 2. She acted as daughter of Nayanthara in Kuselan ( Tamil) and it's Telugu version. She has done many films in Malayalam and her last was Marupadi with Rahman and Bhama in 2016, After that she stayed away from films to finish her final year schooling. Recently she posted the photos of her recent shoot. Her father is Manimath Chakravarthy and Nayanthara is her real name and not screen name. She is residing in Kochi.

K.T.Kunjumon

@KT_Kunjumon

·

54m

Happy to Introduce #NayantharaaChakravarthy as the lead actress in #Gentlemen2