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.

Mammootty - Prithviraj in Parvathy direction - BIG B back in KBC

It is almost sure that Parvathy Thiruvoth will turn director and that Mammooty is part of it and now the addition is that Prithviraj will be also be in it. This is the second major actress from Malayalam who is likely to turn director. The other is Geethu Mohandas and she has Rocky Bhai Yash as hero. Earlier it was a buzz that Mammootty is playing a negative role in the film. We are not sure about it. Parvathy to Tamil audience is still Poo Parvathy and widely known for Bangalore Days that was a Pan South Indian hit. She acted with Mammootty in Puzhu and with Prithviraj in Koode. Both films were directed by woman directors – Ratheena directed Puzhu and Anjali Menon was behind Koode.

Big B is back as the master of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Many of us including myself heard the announcement with a lump in the throat, AB saying that he biding good bye to the show as all good things have to come to an end. The parting episode was sort of signaling that even Big B can get tired. To many of us in our late sixties, he is our role model. Man, who fought death and then faced bankruptcy and bounced back with KBC to be the LEGEND. Now Sony video began with Amitabh’s heartfelt remark as the past season came to an end. However, as it closes voice can be heard, stating, “Har aarambh ka ant taye hai magar apnon ke pyar mein jo anand hai.. to har ant ke baad shubharambh nishchit hai (Every beginning is destined to have an end, but the joy in people's love insures a restart after every finish).” Sony announced that registration for KBC 16 will begin on April 26. The caption read, “Aisa mila pyar ki laut raha hai fir ek baar (There was so much love that we've come back once again) #KaunBanegaCrorepati.. shuru ho rahe hai #KBCRegistrations 26 April raat 9 baje (The registrations start 9 pm on April 26) @amitabhbachchan #KBConSonyTV #KBC16 #kbcisback.” He later said, “Gunja jo aapke pyar ka shankhnaad, to aana padega fir (If the sound of your love echoes, I will have to come again).” Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar award, Music maestro A R Rahman will receive the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar for contribution to Indian music

Suited Madurai man Kamal in Pa Ranjith film - Ravi Teja - Varun Dhawan in STR film Hindi remake - Crisp PS 2 for censors

 Pa Ranjith is currently working on writing the story for his upcoming film with Kamal Haasan. The director has expressed his interest in making a Madurai-based film with the veteran actor and has stated that the film may not necessarily feature the traditional veshti-sattai attire commonly seen in such movies. He said that a suited Kamal would be seen. Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan is currently busy with his next film, Indian 2, directed by Shankar.

Ranjith is also working on his upcoming film Thangalaan, which features Vikram and Parvathy in lead roles. The film showcases the origins of the Kolar Gold Field of Karnataka and has been shot in KGF for around 55 days. The director has mentioned that the filming is 80% complete and they hope to wrap up the remaining portions by May. The film will feature music by GV Prakash, and will release in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.

----------

The first installment of 'Ponniyin Selvan' was granted a U/A rating by CBFC and had a duration of 2 hours and 47 minutes. Te uncensored version of the second part of film will have a runtime of 2 hours and 37 minutes. But we have to wait to see whether the film faces any changes made by the censor board. The second part is expected to be more concise than its predecessor, potentially leaving fans yearning for more. Director Mani Ratnam has completed post-production ahead of schedule, allowing him to embark on a promotional tour with the film's lead actors.

-----

Fresh reports indicate that yet another South Indian superstar is set to join forces with a Bollywood heartthrob, just days after news broke that Jr NTR would star alongside Hrithik Roshan in 'WAR 2'. As per the latest updates, Ravi Teja is all set to make his debut in Hindi cinema and will be seen sharing screen space with Varun Dhawan in the upcoming remake of the film 'Maanaadu'. The movie, which will be made in both Telugu and Hindi, features a time loop structure and a captivating storyline that received widespread critical acclaim and commercial success upon its release in Tamil cinema. Ravi Teja and Varun Dhawan will be stepping into the shoes of Silambarasan and S J Surya in this much-awaited bilingual venture.