Kiara Bikini and A for Coolie scare Family / Tamil protest- Bad Edits Hit Kingdom OTT

 War 2 and Coolie are in the same boat as far as censor certificate effect on public is considered. WAR2 promotions going overboard with Kiara’s bikini shots is scaring family to go together to theatres. Coolie A certificate and talk of bloodshed is also a deterrent. Now Coolie censor rating abroad for same print is made available to children above 15. Overseas, the film has received a PG15 rating in the UAE and a 15 rating in the UK. Coolie will be released in several international territories including North America, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom. Ahead of the film's release, an overseas review, talking about Rajinikanth's new avatar, went viral on social media. "Uncut. Unstoppable. Unleashed. #Coolie is officially BBFC certified 15 in the UK - with ZERO cuts. Experience #SuperstarRajinikanth in his rawest, boldest form - just the way it's meant to be! The big screen is about to explode! #CoolieStorm (sic)," the tweet read. The overseas review tweet claimed that Rajinikanth will be seen in his 'rawest and boldest form' in the movie.

But now, Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie’s real plot has been revealed. Reportedly, the film deals with organ smuggling and trafficking, which is run by Nagarjuna, and Soubin is his right-hand man.

Shruti Haasan will play a key role in the film, as she finds out the truth about Nagarjuna and his gang, and then meets Rajinikanth, who saves Shruti and fights against organ trafficking

War 2 Completes Censor Formalities: 3 Hours 3 Minutes Runtime

The Censor Board gave the film a U/A rating, and with the runtime of nearly 183 minutes, the movie ends up being 3 hours and 3 minutes long.

Vijay Devarakonda Kingdom release on OTT is facing issues technically an d also the agitation from Tamil Nationalist NTK. Some viewers, including members of Tamil nationalist groups like Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), alleged that the movie shows Sri Lankan Tamils in a bad light. They claimed the film portrayed Tamil characters as villains, which they found offensive and disrespectful to Tamil identity and history. Following the protests, the producers have now come forward to clear the air. In their official note, Sithara Entertainments said, “We want to assure everyone that we respect the sentiments of the Tamil people. There are no scenes in the film that were made to insult or hurt anyone.”

They also reminded audiences that ‘Kingdom’ is a completely made-up story. “It is a fictional tale. This has been clearly stated in the disclaimer at the beginning of the movie,” the producers added.

However, acknowledging the concerns raised by some groups, the makers expressed regret. “If the sentiments of any people have been hurt, we sincerely apologise. We kindly request you to support the movie,” the statement read.

Most of the people who have watched the film felt that the movie had a very good story, as it deals with strong emotions, but a lot of scenes that connect to the main story have been removed, as the team goes for a shorter runtime for theaters, which has heavily backfired.

So if the makers release the extended version on OTT, then there is a chance of people connecting with the film. If that happens, the response from the viewers can change the film’s impact, which will prompt the makers to go ahead with Part 2.

Kamal Haasan B'Day wishes to Shobana / Yash TOXIC Release Date/ Keerthy in Nithin film

Kamal Haasan after wishing Shobana on her 55th birthday has left for an unknown destination abroad and will be back on April 1st. Meanwhile Madras Talkies has announced that first single from Thug Life will be out Shobana and Mohanlal are working together in Thudarum the Malayalam film.

We had reported that Sai Pallavi does not have dates for Nithin’s Yellamma ( read; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2025/03/mahesh-babu-allu-arjun-shifts-to-dubai.html. Now Keerthy Suresh has stepped in. Yellamma will go on sets this May. The film will be made on a remarkable budget by Dil Raju

Dil Raju and Marcos Director Haneef Adani for a Telugu film. As everybody is saying that Dil Raju is planning a Pan India film and we don’t know whether Adani is the guy. Taran Adarsh wrote, "MARCO DIRECTOR HANEEF ADENI TO DIRECT DHARMA'S HIGH-OCTANE ACTION ENTERTAINER... #HaneefAdeni - the director of the recent commercial and critical #Malayalam smash hit #Marco - will direct #DharmaProductions' next film [untitled]. A high-impact action spectacle, the film will be made in #Hindi and multiple other languages.". Raju has bought the two Telugu States distribution of Empuran and he has posted that first day shows have al been booked.

Yash took to social media to announce the new release date of his upcoming action thriller Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups, directed by Geetu Mohandas. The film is set to release on March 19, 2026. Yash Announces Toxic's NEW Release Date; Film To Clash With SLB's Love And War Ft Ranbir, Alia, Vicky KGF star Yash is gearing up to set the screen on fire with Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups, is an intense action thriller directed by Geetu Mohandas. Shot in Kannada and English, the film is designed for a global audience. Initially set for April 2025, Toxic will now hit screens on March 19, 2026 - confirmed by Yash himself with a power-packed poster drop on Instagram. The announcement of Yash's upcoming film Toxic release date implies that the film will almost clash with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film Love And War featuring Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal. The film dives into Goa’s drug underworld, with Yash leading the charge. Kiara Advani plays his love interest, Nayanthara his sister, and Huma Qureshi the villain. An insider close to the project said to journalist Subhash K Jha, “Kiara is certainly not being paid Rs 15 crores. It’s ridiculous to even suggest such a figure.”

Walt Disney to sell Star India channels - Nayanthara role revealed and Kiara in Jawan

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Jio Cinema's entry into the streaming market has compelled Disney + Hotstar to explore options such as sale or joint venture. Star India, a subsidiary of Disney, has reportedly incurred a loss of Rs 2000 crores due to Jio Cinema outbidding them for the IPL match telecast rights. Jio Cinema, a free app, streamed the matches for free and has now started offering new movies for free as well. Disney, which acquired the IPL rights until 2027 for $3 billion, is concerned about how to recover their investment. In 2011-12, Disney purchased UTV in a deal worth approximately Rs. 2,600 crore but subsequently closed down all business verticals, including the broadcast division. Star India, acquired by Disney from 21st Century Fox in 2019, was a key asset for Disney's expansion in the Indian television market. K Madhavan, the President of Walt Disney India operations and Star India TV channels, has a background in the banking industry. He played a pivotal role in the growth of the Malayalam channel Asianet and continues to serve as its Managing Director. He was later promoted to head the Star Channels South division and eventually became the country manager. Following Disney's acquisition of Star India, he assumed the position of President. Star India has 60 channels and in South it has Asianet ( Malayalam) Star Vijay ( Tamil) Suvarna ( Kannada) and Star Maa in Telugu. Asianet News and Suvarna News is owned by Rajeev Chandrasekar MP from Karnataka.

Following the preview of the film "Jawan" on the internet, new information has emerged. Kiara Advani will be featured in a special song with SRK, while Nayanthara will play SRK's love interest. SRK sports a tattoo on his bald head that reads "Maa Jagath Janani," meaning Mother of the World. Additionally, Deepika Padukone will make a cameo appearance in the film. There is a scene featuring a man tipping his hat, which fans believe is Thalapathy Vijay' as it was his famous pose in "Mersal." Nayanthara's husband, Vignesh Shivan, inadvertently revealed that Nayanthara is SRK's love interest. In a tweet, he mentioned hearing about the many romantic moments she shares with SRK and how she has learned a lot from the King of Romance. This was in response to SRK cautioning Vignesh to be careful as his wife has now learned punches and kicks, referring to her training for the film. There were reports that suggested that Nayanthara was playing an NSG commando on trail of SRK and was not the love interest.

Boney Kapoor legal victory ends Shankar - Ranveer 's Anniyan Hindi remake bid ?

 

Boney Kapoor getting a court order  that it is the producer who has the copyright over the film content and not the director ,will probably end the legal fight by  Producer Ravichandran that his film `Anniyan' cannot be remade by Shankar in Hindi without his permission. Shankar was to remake the Hindi version with  Ranveer - Kiara Advani in lead and Gada of PEN to produce it.

S J Suryah directed film Vaalee which had Ajith in dual roles was a runaway hit. It took Ajith to stardom and Suryah got a name as director. The film was released in 1999. Ajit got the best actor award from Cinema Express and Filmfare , NIC Arts Chakravarthy the producer had inked a deal with Boney Kapoor and sold the remake rights of all languages ( except Kannada)/  In Kannada it was remade with Sudeep and Sadhu Kokila . Director S J Suryah had sent a notice to Producer and Boney Kapoor that it cannot be remade without his concurrence. The matter went to court.

 Suryah moved the Madras  High Court  single bench to stake his copyright claim on the story and screenplay and showed the film credits that acknowledged it and wanted a stay order but it was turned down. He then moved the Division bench.  Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu mentioned, “Merely because the producer gave credit to the appellant herein as the author of the screenplay or the dialogue would not amount to an acknowledgement of the appellant’s copyright therein.”

“There can be no dispute that in respect of a cinematograph film, it is the producer of the film who is the owner of the copyright in the cinematograph film itself… Insofar as the copyright in the original story or the original screenplay or dialogue is concerned, to the extent the same is used in the film upon due consideration therefore being tendered by the producer, the producer is also deemed to be the owner of the copyright therein” the bench added.

Aascar Ravichandran on hearing that Anniyan was getting remade in Hindi by it's director Shankar without getting any permission moved the court. He claimed that the story was bought from Late Sujatha by him and apart from that as producer he has all copyright on the content being producer. The verdict in Boney Kapoor case when applied to Shankar means that the latter will have to drop the project. Ravichandran announced that he himself is going to remake the film in Hindi and said that Jackie Chan with a Bollywood actor would act in it. Ravichandran is distributor of Jackie's films in India and even got him to come for the audio release of Kamal Haasan's Dasavathram produced by him.

S J Suryah said that he would challenge the verdict in Supreme Court. Boney Kapoor, meanwhile, is also remaking Tamil hits Comaali, Kolamaavu Kokila, and the Malayalam film Helen in Hindi. About the making of the film, Ajith mentioned that Vaali "was very close to my heart and I gave it everything I had", revealing that he had initially received a lot of bad publicity and scepticism for doing a dual role too early in his career. In Hindi, Vaali was remade  as Sheesha where the wife has a same-face sister. In Tamil, It tells the story of Deva and Shiva, two look-alike siblings with Deva being deaf and dumb. When Shiva marries his sweetheart Priya, Deva becomes obsessed and has a lust towards  Simran played the wife and Jyotika an imaginary charcter Sona. The soundtrack was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu with songs like "Oh Sona" and "April Madhathil" being popular. The cinematography was handled by Jeeva

No South celebs in top 10 list of celebrity endorsed advertisements on TV

No South celebs figured in the most visible top 10  celeberties who endorsed brands , according to TAM index for first 6 months of 2021. Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani topped the list among film stars whose advts came on TV, Virat Kohli and M S Dhoni from Sports category topped the list.

Kiara Advani who had made her Telugu debut with director Koratala in Bharat Ane Nenu opposite Mahesh Babu and acted in Vinaya Vidheya Rama starring Ram Charan. On Aug 12th, Sherashaah, the biopic on Capt Vikram Batra is releasing on Amazon Prime. Kiara plays Dimple the fiancee of Vikram in the film. The director Vishnuvardhaan of Sherashaah has directed 9 Tamil films and hits were Billa and Arambaam, both starring Ajith.

The visibility factor increased as Akshay and Kiara added 10 more brands than last year and the visibility time on TV was more. Whereas Hrithik Roshan and Dhoni had cut down on brands. Film couples were the favorite and Akshay Kumar-Twinkle Khanna with 39 brands and Saif-Kareena with 19 brands. Virat-Anushka and Deepika-Ranveer were next in line with a total of 30 and 32 brands respectively

In the sports celebrities category  there were 45 celebs who appeared whereas only 8 female Sports celebrities were seen during Jan-Jun '21. Out of 8 female sports celebrities, Mithali Raj topped the list followed by Saina Nehwal. Celebrity endorsements were mainly for food and beverage and followed by personal hygiene care products.

Update l Laxmii in single screens defying ban as it breaks Dil Bechara records on OTT . despite bad reviews and piracy

 

A distributor has been quoted as saying by the trade portal, “These are regular cinemas who come to us for buying the screening rights of films distributed by us and by the other distributors like us. If the terms demanded by us don’t suit them, they go away without striking deals but they then screen the film illegally and pocket the collections cent per cent.”

Disney- Hotstar the OTT that released Laxmii has said that " #Laxmii breaks all records to become the biggest opening movie ever on Disney+ Hotstar VIP! Thank you for all the love. Subscribe now to watch the entertainment blockbuster of the year.”. The previous record was Sushanth's Dil Bechara. The film Laxmii was produced by FoxStar for Rs 65 cr  and bought by Hotstar for Rs 150 cr excluding satellite rights. Star Gold ,the parent company bought the satellite rights for an undisclosed amount. Fox ' Star has to share the OTT rights amount with Akshay Kumar. By a rough estimate, producer makes Rs 85 cr as profit.Overseas the film released in UAE, Australia, New Zealand -Fiji. The film did a business of 15,886 USD [Rs. 11.78 lacs] from 43 screens in Australia. While in New Zealand the film collected 14,897 USD [Rs. 11.05 lacs] from 29 screens.Tamilrockers which was lying low bounced back with it streaming the film as it was available to only VIP subscribers.

The critics verdict is  Laxmii is till date the worst film of 2020 and beats Sadak 2. The film’s plot and screenplay that was created in 2011 and delivered as is it is in 2020 and taking away some points that appealed to the Tamil audiences then was bound to be a disaster. By just having the new equipments and technology is not enough but the script too needs a massive change. No wonder the producer’s wanted to dump the director and take the story alone In fact, as a film critic from the South, I would say that the subject does not have anything in it for a remake. It should have been left alone.

The story was set in a time which is much different from today. The transgender role had created a lot of curiosity as for one it was played by a macho top selling actor Sarath Kumar. The novelty of this had created an interest in the audience then. Today, we have a film Super Deluxe in Tamil with a BO saleable actor Vijay Sethupathi playing a transgender taking the role to another level. Secondly, Raghava Lawrence ,the director played the meek guy afraid of ghosts and this went well as he did not have any baggage of an onscreen image to carry. Here , the problem is that Akshay Kumar is totally miscast. The jump scare and so many other outdated elements has got a nod from Akshay is surprising. Lawrence has not moved an inch further than his first Kanchana  and every two- three years he keeps coming up with a sequel that caters to an audience that keeps their brains at home.

If at all there is something that one can say well is the Bumbholle song towards the climax. Sometimes everything goes wrong for a film. Apart from the content, you had many who launched a ban LaxmiiBomb hashtag and then another set saying that it is Hinduphobic and whole new group saying that Akshay ,a BJP supporter did the most bravest thing by playing a Muslim married to a Hindu. Some good actors like Kelkar got drowned in this messy film. Kiara is obviously in it for the money.