Nagarjuna 100 title / Kantara Chapter 1 behind Coolie / LOKAH OTT DATE

Director Ra karthik is getting ready to shoot Nagarjuna King 100 and the title is Lottery King. It has three heroines and music by Rockstar DSP.Rumours suggest that it could Sasikumar film Ayothi remake and instead of Rameswaram the location could be Tirupati.The film has family sentiment backdrop but it will be commedy film with oriented and Nags will be doing the comedy part after a long time. His last two outings - KKubera and Coolie had him in serious roles. Karthik has completed a webseries,

Rajinikanth’s Coolie is the biggest opener at the Indian box office with 150 Cr+ gross worldwide, and OG comes closer with 140 Cr+ gross, and Kantara Chapter 1 did not even come closer, as it collected just 85 Cr gross on the opening day. Even for the 1st weekend (4 days), Coolie is the biggest film this year with more than 380 Cr gross collections, and Kantara Chapter 1 also had a 4-day weekend, but the movie falls short of Coolie, as it collected around 320 Cr gross for the 1st weekend. Kantara Chapter 1 First Weekend: Falls Short of Coolie – Can it score in the full run? But the Rishab Shetty directorial can cover the difference in the coming days, as after the first weekend, Coolie did not hold strong at the box office and managed to get average collections only.This is the reason Rajinikant’s film failed to set the No. 1 position in its full run for 2025. Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava, with 800 Cr gross collection, is the number one grosser for the Indian film industry in 2025, and we need to wait and see whether Kantara Chapter 1 can beat this.

So, it is confirmed that the OTT streaming partner of blockbuster film, Lokah is Jio Hotstar, and the film will be available for streaming from 20th October in all languages. The film’s collections now stand at around 298 Cr gross worldwide, and it will do another 5 Cr from now at the box office. 2025 has been a remarkable year for Mollywood, with the industry achieving impressive milestones at the box office thanks to Mohanlal’s Empuraan, Thudarum, and Kalyani Priyadarshini’s Lokah: Chapter 1 Chandra. With Empuraan, Malayalam cinema sees the biggest opening ever, as the film opens with record-breaking numbers that Mollywood has never seen. Till 2024 Mollywood does not have a single 100 Cr film in Kerala, but this year Mollywood strikes with two films, Thudarum and Lokah. The Malayalam film industry also does not have a single 10M film overseas till 2024. But this year it struck with three 10M films: Empuraan, Thudarum, and Lokah. The year 2025 gave two industry hits for Mollywood. The two industry hits, or all-time highest grossers, are Empuraan and Lokah, while Empuraan, Thudarum, and Lokah all have crossed the 200 Cr gross mark at the box office.The female superhero film Lokah is all set to achieve the 1st 300 Cr milestone for Mollywood. So, the Malayalam cinema continuously sees big blockbusters at the box office this year, and the industry expands massively.

Nagarjuna in Ayothi remake / Know abour Lal's L365 Director / Bad Girls get U/A

 Nagarjuna's 100th film will be a remake of the Tamil emotional drama Ayothi, which featured Sasikumar and Preethi Asrani in the lead roles. The film which was set against religion and politics, went on to win critical acclaim at the box office, winning praise for portraying the story based on human emotions. News is that Nagarjuna was reportedly moved by the film’s story and is keen on bringing it to the Telugu audience. It is said that the discussions are currently underway with the original producers, Trident Arts, for the remake rights. An official announcement is awaited shortly.

As per reports, Nagarjuna's 100th film will be directed by Ra Karthik of Nitham Oru Vaanam fame. The film is likely to be an engaging drama, which will see Nagarjuna in a raw avatar with an emotionally strong story. This will be Nagarjuna's second collaboration this year with a Tamil film maker, right after Lokesh Kanagaraj who has directed Coolie.

The film credited L Ramakrishnan as writer but aanother writer Madhvaraj claimed that he had written the same story in his website after reading about the real life incident. Director arrived at a compromise by incorporating Madhavaraj name in the OTT version streaming on Zee5.

Two films Bad Girls and Manushi coming from Vetrimaaran Productions were denied censor certificate and no reasons or rather cuts were asked to be done, Finally Bad Girls got a U/A certificate and is releasing on September 5. High Court asked Censors to spell out the cuts and not just say it cannot be released in public and finally the cuts list was given, Touted to be a coming of age film, Bad Girl revolves around a girl as she goes through the setbacks of school-going teenager, whose choices are limited by the those around her.

The visuals from the teaser stirred a debate because the protagonist is reportedly from a Brahmin home, and the character’s identity is portrayed in an 'unacceptable' way.

The film's technical aspects are led by women. It has cinematography by Preetha Jayaraman, Jagadeesh Ravi and Prince Anderson, and editing by Radha Sridhar. The music score is composed by Amit Trivedi, enhancing the film’s thematic depth.

Bad Girl is also set for screenings at several international festivals, such as Karawan Fest in Italy and New Horizons International Film Festival in Poland.

The cast features Anjali Sivaraman, Shanthi Priya, Hridhu Haroon, TeeJay Arunasalam, Sashank Bommireddipalli, and Saranya Ravichandran. Their performances have been a key aspect of the film’s success on the festival circuit.

All about Mohanlal L365 Director Background

Know about Austin Dan Thomas Debut Director of L365 . He played Rajesh one of the three friend of hero Tovino in Thallumala. He was associtate to Mithun Manuel Thomas ( Anjaam Pathira), Vineeth Kumar (Dear Friend) He acted in Vijay Superum Pournamiyum, starring Asif Ali and Aishwarya Lakshmi, He was Aishwarya’s ex BF in the film. “ “With immense joy, I announce my next film. Directed by Austin Dan Thomas, Written by Retheesh Ravi, And produced by Ashiq Usman under the banner of Ashiq Usman Productions. Grateful to be part of this exciting new chapter," Mohanlal penned the caption. It a cop comedy film and not an investigative thriller. It is said that some time back Austin was to do the same story with Jaysurya and launch announced, Jaysurya got involved with the fantasy film Kadamatha Kathanar and backed out. The new screenplay is written by Ratheesh Ravi.

 

Akhil as LENIN the Communist Party Founder and Bhagyasree as Love Interest/ Kubera Tamil- Hindi Flop

 As per a report on Great Andhra, it is mentioned that the makers have roped in actress Bhagyashri Borse as the new female lead in Lenin. But an official confirmation regarding the same is still awaited , The role is of Nadezhda "Nadya" Krupskaya, a Marxist school teacher whom Communist Leader Lenin loved. She was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. She was a leader of the Bolshevik party  and was married to Vladimir Lenin. The Russian revolutionary leader, Vladimir Lenin, loved two women: his spouse Nadezhda Krupskaya, and the French-Russian communist, Inessa Armand. Despite the rivalry between the two women, all three enjoyed sincere and heartfelt relations, and were essentially a family. Armand's fateful first meeting with Lenin happened in 1909. In fact, thanks to his writings she became a socialist. For a number of years the two were living and working in Paris, and many contemporaries suggested that their relationship had grown into something bigger than friendship during that period. 

By the time he met Armand, Lenin had been married to Nadezhda Krupskaya for 11 years. Apart from being a devout revolutionary and Lenin's trusted assistant, Krupskaya was also his faithful spouse. Despite the natural rivalry for the affection of the Bolshevik leader, the two women managed to establish a friendship.

Lev Danilkin, the author of a recently published biographical work on Lenin, notes that there is no documentary evidence of an amorous link between Lenin and Armand; only the conjecture and gossip of contemporaries.

Nagarjuna, will also be co-producing Akhil Akkineni’s 6th film under the banner of Annapurna Studios alongside Naga Vamsi under Sithara Entertainments. He revealed the film's gripping and dramatic first look in April. Akhil look a lot different from his usual romantic image he carried in films such as Akhil, Hello, Mr Majnu, Most Eligible Bachelor and Agent. The film is like to be based on the life of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.

Kubera Tamil collections are very bad and Romeo Pictures who bought it for Rs 20 crores is set to lose at least half of the investment. Hindi version is a washout and had no takers in other South States, According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Kuberaa minted Rs 4.02 crore in India on Wednesday, bringing its total domestic collection to Rs 65.28 crore. Out of the Rs 4.02 crore earned on Wednesday, Rs 2.92 crore came from the Telugu version, Rs 93 lakh from the Tamil version, and Rs 18 lakh from the Hindi version. Kuberaa had an overall 22.52% Telugu occupancy, 13.65% Tamil occupancy and 8.82% Hindi occupancy on Wednesday.

Nag's son love story with older woman and marriage / Assam Actress and Martial Arts expert in Prithviraj film

 

Akhil Nagarjuna ‘s marriage to Zainab Ravdjee

 Who is 9 years older than him has send many searching to know who is this girl and how did this happen ?

Who is Zainab Ravdjee?

Zainab Ravdjee is far from just a celebrity bride. A celebrated contemporary artist and self-taught perfumer, she has steadily carved her path, independent of the film world. Known for her abstract and vividly expressive artwork, Zainab has exhibited in both domestic and international art spaces.

Her father, Zulfi Ravdjee, is a leading industrialist known for his pioneering work in the construction sector. Her brother, Zain Ravdjee, heads ZR Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd, a rising name in sustainable energy solutions. Zainab is widely recognised for her abstract and vibrant paintings, drawing inspiration from her time living in Dubai, London, and India. Her multicultural exposure has shaped a distinct artistic voice, one that blends traditional techniques with digital design and modern elements. Her work has been showcased in several exhibitions, including her acclaimed solo show titled Reflections in Hyderabad. Her creative journey even includes a brief but notable foray into acting. Zainab appeared in MF Hussain’s art-house film Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities, a rare experience that bridged her art with cinema.

Zainab's blog about skincare and wellness

Zainab’s creativity extends into the world of skincare and wellness. She runs a lifestyle blog and Instagram account under the name @onceupontheskin, where she shares beauty tips, product reviews, and skin nourishment advice. While she maintains a low personal profile online, her blog has become a quiet favourite among skincare enthusiasts who appreciate her thoughtful, results-driven recommendations.

4. Akhil and Zainab's love story

Zainab and Akhil Akkineni are known to have been in a relationship for a few years before getting engaged. Their bond is said to be grounded in mutual respect and shared values. When the couple got engaged, Akhil announced it with a heartfelt post on Instagram, saying, “Found my forever. Happy to announce that Zainab Ravdjee and I are happily engaged.”

Assam Martial artist & Actor Nabanita Chowdhary Joined in Nobody! Starring Prithviraj. Prithviraj Sukumaran and Parvathy Thiruvothu are starring in a new Malayalam film titled "Nobody," directed by Nissam Basheer and written by Sameer Abdul. The film, which started filming on April 9th in Ernakulam, is described as an emotionally charged narrative with mystery, according to a Times of India report. The cast also includes Ashokan, Madhupal, and others. 

Key Details about the Film:

• Title: Nobody
• Director: Nissam Basheer
• Writer: Sameer Abdul
• Stars: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Ashokan, Madhupal, and others
• Production: Prithviraj Productions and E4 Entertainment
• Music: Harshavardhan Rameshwar
• Other Details: The film was launched with a pooja ceremony in Ernakulam. It is described as a mix of suspense and strong character arcs.
• Filming Start: April 9, 2025, in Kochi. 

 

 

 

Santhanam- Nagarjuna in Jailer 2 / Dhanush Dad to sue Ajith Producer/ Ragini as Bad - Bold Girl

 

Latest buzz is that Santhanam has been approached to join Jaier 2. Balayya joining Rajini is not yet confirmed. Mohanlal and Shivarajkumar are confirmed. Telugu cinema icon Nagarjuna has been signed on to play the main antagonist in the film, reported Deccan Herald. Santhanam, a popular Tamil comedian, has a history of collaborating with superstar Rajinikanth in various films. They have previously worked together in "Enthiran" and "Lingaa". There are also ongoing discussions about Santhanam's potential role in "Jailer 2," the sequel to the Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer. 

His intense performance as Simon in Lokesh Kanagaraj's upcoming film Coolie has reportedly influenced this casting decision. The first Jailer had TK Vinayakan as the villain. Now, with Nagarjuna in the mix, fans are expecting an epic showdown.

The film's ensemble also includes SJ Suryah, who joins the cast, and Mirnaa Menon, who will reprise her role from the first part.

Shiva Rajkumar will return as Narasimha and has reportedly dedicated 15 days to shoot his portions.

Two major schedules have already been wrapped up in Chennai and Kerala.

Director Kasthuri Raja has come out strongly against the use of the folk song 'Oththa Roova' from his 1996 film Nattupura Pattu in the recent Ajith Kumar-Adhik Ravichandran film Good Bad Ugly without proper authorisation from him, its lyricist. During the promotions for his next film in Salem, the filmmaker discussed the rising trend of the reuse of old songs with no due authorisation.

Kasthuri Raja also revealed that his songs 'Panju Mittai', 'Otha Ruba Tharen' and 'Thoothuvalai Ilai Arachi' are used in the Ajith starrer with no permission. The filmmaker rebuked the use of old songs, calling it a case of being not creative or original. Describing the works of Ilaiyaraaja and Deva as "timeless music," he said that modern-day filmmakers appear to depend too much on nostalgia instead of their own creativity. He said that if filmmakers want to use such songs, they should seek permission from their original creators as a fundamental legal and ethical requirement. Reiterating the importance of respecting original music, Kasthuri Raja added that he would sue the makers of Good Bad Ugly. Earlier, Ilaiyaraaja's legal team sent notice to Good Bad Ugly makers.

Ragini Dwivedi’s most daring avatar in Kannada cinema is set to be showcased in the upcoming film, Jawa, which brings together Rajavardan and Ragini on screen. It also marks Rajavardan's debut production venture under his Barn Swallow Company banner. Directed by Devaa Chakravarthy, Jawa will be made in Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil, and is expected to blend mass appeal with intense storytelling

When asked if R Queen pays tribute to the present Kannada heroines like Ramya, Rakshita, Radhika Pandit, Rachita Ram, and even Ragini herself—Devaa nods. “This character is fictional, but she's born from the spirit of many. We’ve observed the industry, its highs, its shadows, and R Queen reflects that. She’s influenced by legends, but she’s her own woman. No one’s seen Ragini like this before.”

Devaa reveals that Ragini’s character will carry full-fledged grey shades. “Yes, she’s a superstar in the film. But more than that—she’s the antagonist - and I call her 'A lady villain'. It’s a face-off with the hero, Rajavardan, but done differently. I’m not going by the old formula. Jawa is about breaking patterns.”

 

 

Aamir Khan with RS Prasanna - Nagarjuna with Ra Karthik / Thug Life Hindi song no response

  Surprise element in the A R Rahman The Wonderment Tour show in Mumbai was the unannounced entry of Dhanush who sang on stage the number from Asuran and it was a big hit , even though the 50000 plus audience had not heard it. He and A R Rahman then sang ‘Adangaatha Asuran’ from Raayan. It was the only non-Hindi track sung by the artists at the concert and it got a fine response. On the work front, Rahman is set to compose music for Dhanush and Kriti Sanon's Tere Ishk Mein, which is a spiritual sequel to the blockbuster film Raanjhanaa.

In contrast, Rahman and Sukhwinder Singh performed the song Jinguchaa’ from Mani Ratnam’s upcoming film Thug Life.  The crowd response was poor as they could not identify the track and speaks volumes about the song being a hit in Hindi. Sukhiwinder’s Chaiya Chaiya from Dil Se was the crowd favourite.

Zanai Bhosle came on stage and an audio of her legendary grandmother Asha Bhosle was played. In the voice note, Asha Bhosle requested fans to give the same amount of love to her granddaughter that has been showered on her. She performed on ‘Rangeela Re’ (Rangeela; 1995) and got a lot of appreciation. The Oscar-winning music maestro ended the show on a patriotic note by singing ‘Vande Mataram’. It was truly a goosebumps experience for every spectator present in the stadium.

Two Tamil film Directors are headed to direct two iconic actors of Indian cinema. R S Prasanna is all set to release the trailor of Sitaree Zameen Par and starring Aamir Khan. Who is also the producer. Next big announcement awaited is that Karthik of Nithanam oru vanam that had Ashok Selvan and Ritu Varma is to direct Nagarjuna’s 100^th film. We know that ARM directed Aamir in Ghajini.

Prasanna He made his debut in 2013 with the Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Saadham, which gained significant attention for its fresh approach to a sensitive topic. The film explored erectile dysfunction in a comic context, making it unique and well-received. His Tamil film, Kalyana Samayal Saadham, remake was Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017): was produced by Aanand L. Rai. The film was a blockbuster, Cast : Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Seema Bhargava, Brijendra Kala
Music : Tanishk-Vayu
Screenplay : Hitesh Kewalya
Direction-Story : R.S. Prasanna.

• On A Quest (2015):

Prasanna directed a biopic on Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati, a spiritual leader who inspired the Chinmaya Mission. The film was released on Swami Chinmayananda's 100th birth anniversary. 

Director Lokesh Kanagaraj has clarified that Nag's role, like that of other well-known actors in the movie Coolie, is a solid one. So, the 'Bangarraju' and 'Naa Saami Ranga' actor is going to be seen in a plot-driven character, not in a glamorous, pointless cameo.

• Currently Ra Karthik is giving finishing touches to a Netflix web series featuring Priyanka Mohan. Read our earlier report; Priyanka Mohan is currently in Korea, shooting for an exclusive film with Netflix with her in the lead role. The director of this film is Nitham Oru Vaanam fame RaKarthik. Read link ; https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2025/05/sk-vs-arm-pa-ranjith-film-title-lokesh.html

 

 

Pooja Hegde in Coolie but not with Thalaivar ! / Dhanush too has a script for Ajith's next ?

Pooja Hegde is surely a part of Thalaivar film Coolie and we all rejoiced it and it was said by many media outlets that it was an item number and obviously it has to been opposite Superstar. Now the excitement has dropped as we hear that she is shaking a leg opposite Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna plays the role of Simon, a Don like avatar in the film which was also leaked in a video few montha ago. His character looked ferocious and with this song now with Pooja Hegde, he will rock for Andhra audience but not for Thalaivar fans. Maybe Lokesh has another beauty lined up for Superstar. As we know , Rajini is moving to Jailer 2 sets in April. Pooja in an open talk said that she does not have anybody producing films for her or reassuring her that if this does not work, she will be given another film. She was obviously implying about those who have Godfather .Her plain talk that it is not what audience likes her or not but whether the industry wants her or not , is the most practical approach thata heroine can take. Read the excerpt - “When you are not from the industry, it’s not just about whether the audience gives you a chance, but whether the industry does. Every film becomes crucial because I don’t have someone producing films for me or reassuring me that even if one doesn’t work out, they’ll make the next one for me. You get fewer opportunities; I’ve built my career by constantly hustling,” shares Pooja Hegde.

courtest tamilcinema instagram Whether it was to electrify the readers or not, the concept is exciting. We are told that Dhanush is in the line of Directors going to direct AK that is Ajithkumar. This news came after a guy who read our story on Good Bad and Ugly clashing with Idly Kadai on April 10th. He said we are outdated in our information and latest is that Dhanush has a script ready for AK. Already we hear that Kartik Subburaj, Venkat Prabhu and Shankar are in the pipeline. As we decided to take the direction news not seriously, the source asks us why there cannot be chance for a Dhanush and Ajith Kumar collaboration in the future, as earlier there were talks that Dhanush’s brother Selvaraghavan who was supposed to do a movie starring Ajith Kumar, Dhanush, and Bharath in the lead. it didn’t take off due to some circumstances, so there was always a good bond between Ajith Kumar and Dhanush, and there are lots of possibilities for this collaboration to happen. We hope his theory is right. Even NEEK that is a box office bomb is no bad film and nobody is blaming Dhanush but only that the choice of actors and pitting it against Dragon was a bad decision. You can see on social media AK driving his sports car at 210 miles per hour.

Rajinikanth Jailer share Rs 200 crore and BMWX7 - Nagarjuna removes Malayalam film from OTT - Sanjay Dutt in AK62

Jailer HD print got leaked on Telegram channel and this had dimmed the chances of Netflix and Sun Next who were planning a big hit on OTT by releasing on Gokulasthami ( September 7). This comes after Delhi High Court ordered Sun Pictures to remove the scene where a goonda is sen wearing RCB IPL team jersey . From September 1 the scene will not be available in theatres – OTT – satellite release. The OTT rights went for Rs 100 crores. Rajinikanth who works on a fee per film had struck a deal with Sun Pictures that he did not want any payment and only a percentage of profit as their last outing was only average at box office. He wanted to share the risk and more so after Sun told him that Beast by Nelson had given profits and this made confident to be a partner. This worked big and now his share is said to be close to Rs 200 crores. Maran of Sun Pictures presented BMW X7 to Rajinikanth.

Meyadhaa maan director Rathna Kumar in a tweet confirmed his friend Lokesh next after Leo is Rolex and that he heard the narration. This has excited Lokesh fans. Rolex is the character that comes in the climax of movie Vikram. Earlier Hareesh Peraadi who gets killed in Kaithi revealed that he heard the next film script and said that though he is bumped off, he comes back in Rolex. Rolex is part of Lokesh Cinematic universe. Suriya played Rolex in Vikram.

Latest Ak 62 titled Vidamuyarchi will have Sanjay Dutt in pivotal role is latest update. Film will start work from September 15 at Ramoji Film City. Sanjay after KGF acted in Vijay’s Leo and now with Ajithkumar.

‘Porinju Mariam Jose,’ The Malayalam film which had Joju George and Chemban Vinod in key roles is being remade in Telugu by Nagarjuna and Allu Naresh is play a key role. As it is remake, Nagarjuna offered the OTT rights for a discounted price and in turn asked them to remove the original film from Indian and US platforms as after the announcement many would now want to see it and invite comments on it.

Mohanlal bigger draw than Salman- Kamal - Nag : Disney Chief

 Walt Disney India President K Madhavan said -" In the history of Bigg Boss conducted in many languages, Malayalam is only one with double digit TRP and that is because of Mohanlal ". He went to elaborate on how the actor handles the contestants etc as the host. Now BB Hindi is in 15 th year, and Tamil - Telegu in its Season 5 and is hosted by Salman Khan- Kamal Hassan- Nagarjuna in that order. So it means that these three actors as compared to Mohanlal as TV host , is very poor and not able to muster the numbers. Apart from this Asianet is not ranked in the top 10 GEC of BARC and despite that the BB show getting TRP to beat Hindi coming on Colors Tv and Salman has been host for past 12 seasons, Telegu BB comes on Star  Maa ( rated top 5 among South channels by BARC) with three out of five hosted by Nagarjuna and Tamil BB in Star Vijay which is second after Sun and in BARC list has Kamal Haasan doing the honours with Simbu stepping in a few episodes of Ultimate.

Now lets get into details spelled out by Mohanlal about the voting figures given to him by the producers.- Banijay and platform Disney Hotstar on OTT - Asianet satellite. On finale voting touched 21 crores ( for all contestants). 39% of the votes was got by winner Dilsha Prasannan. 

BB Malayalam was streamed live this time on Disney Hotstar and a 90 minute capsule on Asianet. Madhavan is also President of Star India which also owns Asianet. An ad agency friend gave us a sample of a week TRP of Asianet with BB 4 show included. It is the figures before Dr Robin got evicted .We reproduce it:

As in earlier seasons, double digit figures touched only on weekend when Mohanlal came on screen. This double digit figure was below the TRP of other soap serials on Asianet. This was the case with all languages .BB never maintained double digit through out the week. Yet another change in sponsorship is that Rs 50 lakh cheque was given by channel and not keys to a flat by Confident Group. as the tag line sangathi colour aakkum ( things will be colourful), Hopefully not red. Dilsha Prasannan who won the just concluded BB Malayalam 4 is first woman winner of the show,

TRP Ratings of Bigg Boss Malayalam

Day	Week 27	Week 26
Saturday	10.32	N/A
Sunday	9.20	10.33
Monday	8.13	9.50
Tuesday	8.95	9.35
Wednesday	8.12	7.05
Thursday	8.92	8.01
Friday	10.61	8.30
Average	8.76	9.18

Quiz shows from today to woo Telly viewers

 From today onwards, it is the season of Quiz shows – at least for many in the Hindi- Telegu and Malayalam TV viewers. Today we have Big B coming on Sony. Gemini TV, SUN TV Network’s Telugu GEC Channel is all set to broadcast ‘Evaru Meelo Koteeswarulu’ by actor Jr NTR. ‘AnchinoduInchodinchu’–Malayalam version of the successful international format show “ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER” starts today on Surya TV with Suresh Gopi. Already you have at the same time band, a quiz show Oru Kodi with Flowers TV host Sreekantan Nair. 

KBC comes with a steady loyal viewership and a host Big B . Now that is not enough in times of pandemic. The curtain raiser promo, Amitabh Bachchan can be heard introducing Gyaanraj. It is to be noted that Gyaanraaj is part of a team consisting of 100 scientists that work as advisors for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That takes care of the Modi Bhakths as well. Channel publicists have been active as media picked up a year back old FB post of the first winner of KBC who wrote about his squandering of Rs 5 cr prize money on business as he wanted to tell journalists that he was a successful investor. Now KBC is into the 13 th year and this year the ad volume rates are very low. Even the Tokyo Olympics ad revenue took a dip. 

Moving to South. Here the two shows starting today (Aug 23) has a time slot that takes a direct face off with all favorite soaps of the rivals and leaves the weekends open for other shows to fight it off. The truth is that Surya in Kerala and Gemini in AP/TS are two crosses that the successful Sun Network has been bearing. Now pitching these two shows at 8.30 PM, it sorts of hopes to neutralize the soaps of the rival channels. The marketing guys in TV ad world says that a survey conducted post Covid 10 1 Phase says that men audience are game to sitting at home and watching quiz shows or any reality show (other than the beaten to death singing- dancing reality ones) and so also the woman and kids. 

Though no one has the name of the agency who conducted the survey, TV addicts in Kerala and AP/TS say that as such the serials in top channel in these two States in 8.30 PM are boring. Flowers TV funded by chit fund owner Gokulam Gopalan who has invested his money (or investors?) in many biz and also has a stake in the Ezhava politics is pumping money to make it the top GEC.  Sreekantan Nair or SK who drives the channel GEC and news 24 Hours is inching closer to Asianet .  Flowers TV soaps not being able to make a dent, SK put Oru Kodi quiz show at Mon- Wednesday 8.30 PM and this was a new move. Such shows came only at weekends or Mon- Friday. It was a move to break the TRP rating hold, says Ad guys, 

Surya TV guys now pitched their Quiz show at same time- same days. Now Suresh Gopi the actor – BJP RS MP has been a successful TV host and his one liner at early shows are still popular. To give a curtain raiser, we get Kunchacko Boban, youth icon as first contestant. Moving to Andhra/TS, Jr NTR is an actor whose stronghold is in rural areas. Here the ball game has a new meaning. These two States are the ones that beat all fears of exhibitors when theaters opened after the first wave and second wave. A robust theater going public is intact. Even some films that would have flopped pre- Covid time were hits. 

Gemini then adds yet another film celeb – Tammannah Bhatia as host to Master Chef show starting at August 27th - Friday- Saturday 8.30 PM. It has decided to puta new serial at 8 PM- Sundari and Kaviyanjaali at 9.30 PM – Monday – Saturday. 

For a film crazy State add a curtain raiser of Ram Charan (top draw and member of Chiranjeevi clan) coming as celeb contestant is ultimate.  The blockbuster formula is ready to unleash. Here the TV viewers did plump in a big way for Bigg Boss hosted by actor Nagarjuna (appears at weekends). It was on Star. In Kerala, Mohanlal and Lalettan magic waned in the just concluded BB show on Asianet. In Tamil, Sun will have to face Zee coming with Survivor reality show and the next edition of Big Boss in Star Vijay hosted by Kamal Haasan.  

Now we will have to wait and see whether the serial makers formula makes more money for tv channels  or the quiz masters.  As if competition to theaters from OTT was not enough, BB Hindi has a OTT version .