Mookuthi Amman 2 Pooja costs Rs 1 crore ? / Anna Ben in Yakshi Hindi film

In recent times , film poojas are rarely conducted spending huge amounts. Reminding of glorious old times of Kollywood , Mookuthi Amman 2 invite cost Rs 6000 per piece. 20 lady social media influencers were given a diamond mookuthi ( nose ring). Opening day set designed for film promo alone cost Rs 1 crore. After discarding her Lady Superstar tag, Nayanthara, who rarely attends the pooja ceremony of her films, has made an exception by gracing the launch of her upcoming movie Mookuthi Amman 2. Her banner Rowdy Pictures is co- producer along with C Sundar- Kushboo Avni Cinemax. Directed by Sundar C, the film is a sequel to Nayanthara and RJ Balaji's Mookuthi Amman which released in 2020.

Before she walked on stage, Nayanthara got a roaring welcome at the venue enterance. She then went on to greet other noted celebrities at the event. Dressed in a bright red saree, Nayanthara showed her devotional side, by folding her hands in front of the Amman deity in front of her for the first shot. Talking at the event, producer Ishari Ganesh spoke about Nayanthara's preparation for the role. He said "Mookuthi Amman is a divine role. So, she went on fasting for a month. Her children have been fasting for the last week" he said.

Ahead of the event, Superstar Rajinikanth has extended his wishes to producer Ishari K Ganesh for 'Mookuthi Amman 2', showing his support for the film. The makers posted "Our very own thalaivar Superstar #Rajinikanth's blessings & wishes for #MookuthiAmman2 ". Iconic actor Kamal Haasan also shared his wishes to the producer. The post read "An exciting chapter 2 begins! #KamalHassan ❤️ wishes for the grand beginning of Mookuthi Amman 2! " The event saw director Sundar C, his wife actress Khushboo as well. Regina Cassandra, Duniya Vijay, Meena, Yogi Babu and Ravi Mohan were also in attendance. Ishari Ganesh announced that Vels Film International has been listed in the stock exchange and soon a list of other projects will be made.. Actor Nayanthara, Madhavan and Siddharth's much-awaited film Test has got a release date. The makers have taken to social media to share the details. Test On OTT It has been announced that Test will release on Netflix from April 4.

Anna Ben, celebrated for her roles in Kumbalangi Nights, Helen, Kottukali, Kalki ,took to social media to announce the exciting project, Yakshi in Hindi . Written and directed by Karan Sunil, known for his work on the series Code-Switched, Yakshi is an Indo-American co-production backed by Lambe Log Productions and Full Spectrum Features. Babil Khan, son of the late Irrfan Khan, is playing the lead. The details of the plot for Yakshi remain undisclosed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Malayalam Actress Anna Ben in Sivakarthikeyan film- Ram Charan in Hollywood film

 Anna Ben in Sivakarthikeyan Productions

The upcoming film Kottukkaali, produced by Sivakarthikeyan Productions and co-produced by Kalai Arasu under the Little Wave banner, marks Anna Ben's debut. The film is directed by P S Vinothraj, the director of the acclaimed film Koozhangal, which was India's official entry to the Oscars and won the IFFR Tiger Award in 2021. Soori, who is awaiting the release of his first lead role in the film Vidhuthalai directed by Vetrimaaran, plays the lead in Kottukkaali. The announcement of the film's cast and crew was made through a poster shared by Kalai Arasu. Anna Ben, who won the Kerala State Award for Best Actress in 2020 for her role in Kappela, is also filming for Ennittu Avasanam and Anchu Centum Celeenayum in Malayalam. Her debut film Kumblangi Nights was a hit, as was her subsequent film Helen, which was remade in Hindi with Jhanvi Kapoor in the lead role.

---------

RRR fame Ram Charan confirms Hollywood Project and Junior NTR to walk Oscars Red Carpet'

During a podcast interview with Sam Fragoso, Ram Charan confirmed that he has a Hollywood project in the works and that an official announcement will be made soon. He stated that discussions are ongoing and that news of his involvement in the project will be released in a few months.

Charan also expressed his desire to collaborate with Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt. During a recent talk show appearance, he was even referred to as the "Brad Pitt of India," but he humbly stated that he admires Pitt but does not believe he resembles him.

As the blockbuster track Naatu Naatu gets nominated for the Oscars, Jr NTR has initiated promotions for RRR. During an interaction with KTLA, an American news channel, the actor expressed his excitement about his first-ever red carpet experience at the Oscars. He emphasized that it won't be just Jr NTR or Komaram Bheem, but the entire nation of India that will be walking the red carpet.

Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava are set to perform Naatu Naatu live on stage. Jr NTR expressed his excitement and anticipation for their performance at the Oscars, and the world is eagerly anticipating Naatu Naatu's appearance on the Oscars stage.

On March 1, the movie featuring Jr NTR and Ram Charan was re-released in the US as part of an Oscars 2023 promotion, in the world's largest screening. The screening was completely sold out with over 1,600 tickets purchased, and many people had to wait in lengthy queues to catch a glimpse of the stunning visuals on the big screen.

Night Drive (Malayalam) review : Engaging thriller

 Night Drive is an engaging thriller from Vysakh . Combining the hot topic of gold smuggling by a minister through diplomatic channels that is current and topical, director has woven a engaging thriller that happens as the title says starts with a night drive by the lead pair Roshan Mathews and Anna Ben. The first half is a bit slow and in the second half become racy. Vysakh who attempts a film without a STAR has pulled it off with the young pair.

The Vysakh style of  the so called MASS elements that he puts in this film is what makes it stand out like a sore thumb. The climax  action does not suit Roshan and the overall mood of the film so far.  Indrajith could have told to go at these action portion. BGM is atrocious as the idea is to create again a MASS effect. Some technical flaws in cinematography is evident. On the whole the film can be seen for the engaging story line and the chemistry between Roshan and Anna Ben. Wonder why Anna who works for a top channel does not ask for help from her colleagues when she is in trouble ?. Such questions should not be asked in a Vysakh film. Sorry.

Naradan Review : A boring take on TV's TRP chase

At the outset, thanks to director for a dialogue - I told him not to use name CP and bring disrespect to C P Ramachandran. If the idea was to put across the view that trial by media is a violation of an individual privacy and that the Big Boss of the No 1 channel is himself a man with no moral standing and hence cannot be the moderator of such media trials , director Ahshiq Abu bores you for close to two hours with so many real life incidents that any TV news channel viewer knows and finally gets to the point. If you are no TV news channel viewer  and interested in only local news and obit pages in newspaper, this film will go over your head..

You have a guy who jobwise is  in shoes of Arnab Goswami and  he is called CP. His mannerisms like holding the pen makes you think he is JB of  JB junction. Then you have the Kerala minister stepping down due to a honey trap laid by a channel to moral policing being done at instance of media to get TRP. You get the Kunal Kamra heckling and  a background news playing on manipulating TRP and so on. Finally, the movie shifts to top gear in court and then you get filmy scenes like senior lawyer telling junior lady lawyer to do her home work and she giving it back to him etc. So the  media  is told that like good old days, you just report court hearings and verdicts and do not conduct any trial in your studio by bringing in any evidence on your own.  Just report the FIR details and wait till it reaches court - this is the  Judge order to media. Luckily, the Judge did not say that those watching such breaking news and media discussions will be prosecuted for being abettor of violation of individual freedom. Something like, watching porn is illegal .

Tovino does carry the role well and there is hardly any one character that stands against him in the story till the court room drama. So when Anna Ben as lawyer gives all the punch lines , you see that Indrans takes away her space.  The most filmy and hilarious  part was CP asking the rival channel Editor to stop the telecast of spy cam clip if he does not want to see her daughter in the nude.