Coolie v/s War 2 in USA / Rashmika to Play Bad Girl in Allu Arjun - Atlee A6

  The USA market has become a crucial battleground for both “Coolie” and “War 2,” which are set to release on August 14, 2025, with premiere shows scheduled a day earlier across North America.With two major star-studded films clashing, the premiere show revenues are expected to take a hit, as both films largely target the same core audience base.

Rajinikanth is known as the undisputed king of openings, with his films traditionally performing exceptionally well in premiere shows. On the other hand, NTR’s last outing “Devara” grossed an impressive $2.7 million from its premieres in the U.S. With Hrithik Roshan also leading “War 2,” expectations are high that this film could surpass Devara’s premiere numbers. However, the strong competition from “Coolie” might dampen those prospects.

Yash Raj Films (YRF), the production house behind War 2, has secured deals for IMAX screens, which could boost revenues—provided the turnout is strong.

Hrithik Roshan and NTR’s War 2 is all set to shatter all Bollywood records at the box office. Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan stands as the biggest opener for Bollywood with a 130 Cr gross on day 1.

War 2 is estimated to take 175 Cr+ to start at the global box office. No Bollywood film has collected 100 Cr net on day 1, but this spy action drama War 2 is expected to achieve this because, from the Hindi and Telugu markets in India alone, it can take 100 Cr+ opening.

The team plans grand promotions and will start them soon. The Ayan Mukerjee directorial is likely to take the buzz to the next level with the promotions.

Shoubin shakes a leg with Pooja Hegde in Monica for Coolie.War 2 is estimated to take 175 Cr+ to start at the global box office. No Bollywood film has collected 100 Cr net on day 1, but this spy action drama War 2 is expected to achieve this because, from the Hindi and Telugu markets in India alone, it can take 100 Cr+ opening.

The team plans grand promotions and will start them soon. The Ayan Mukerjee directorial is likely to take the buzz to the next level with the promotions.

Rashmika Mandanna has been cast to play the negative lead of A6. Reliable sources confirmed the development to Bollywood Hungama saying, "Rashmika had the choice to play the negative lead in either A6 or another big Pan India film. After hearing both the roles, the actress had to make a tough call but she decided to come on board Atlee's next, as the character allowed her the chance to explore the uncharted territories."

Rashmika has already done her look test for A6 and is looking to start shooting for it from the month of October. "Rashmika has paid a visit to LA with director Atlee and Allu Arjun. She was bowled over by the pre-viz for her character and is super excited to work with one of the biggest directors of modern era - Atlee. The antagonist turn for Rashmika in an Allu Arjun film is also a departure from their last two collaboration on Pushpa franchise."

We hear that Rashmika will have fierce face-off sequences with all the members of the star-cast ranging from Allu Arjun to Deepika Padukone, Mrunal Thakur and Janhvi Kapoor. The film is presently on floors and will hit the big screen in 2027. It's the biggest film of Indian Cinema, with multiple international artists working on to create the 'Avatar' of India.

Suriya Retro No USA premiere / Kushboo 2.0 and Vijayshanthi legacy

 

As many of us were sitting shell shocked after seeing Kushboo new look with 20 kgs weight loss and it reminded me of hr during the Ravichandran film day and My dear Marthnandam , trollers say that she might have take drugs that diabetes afflicted people take and by this they lose weight . I latr heard she gave a blast at these spoilsports. I think a new 2.0 Kush is expected. Hubby Sundar’s Gangers trailor makes one wanting to see the film. Alrady he is ona 2.0 version as Director with the Vels film.

 Yet to see the Telugu film Arjun Son of Vyjayanthi. Reason being Vijayashanthi returns to acting as a cop, a role she excelled in before. “Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi” has Vijayashanthi in the role of mother while Kalyan Ram plays her son. In her heyday, Vijayashanthi enjoyed the stardom equal to then-top stars like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, and Rajinikanth. She gained the tag of Lady Amitabh after the success of her portrayal of an IPS officer named Vyjayanthi in “Karthavyam,” which also earned her the National Award as Best Actress.

Just the other day, she said that her entire earnings are donated toa Trust named after her mother as she has no children. The Trust will be for welfare of children. Her jewellers have been given to the Tirupati Balaji’s hundi, she said.

Suriya- Kartihk Subburaj Retro has not so far listed anyUSA priemeres shows. This is asuprise as every Tamil film with a Star has an USA premiere and nobody loses the opportunity to make money. Apart from this Surya and Karthik has a fan following in Tamil and Telugu audience, the latter being the majority of the viewers abroad. The results and reviews from India are a pointer for USA ticket sales. Has Kanguva of Suriya affected Retro in USA ?

The audio of the film was launched . Santosh Narayanan scored the music. At the function Suriya thanked entire crew including leading lady Pooja Hegde who dubbed herself in Tamil.  He made a special mention –“ If our films have been screened in the northern states and have earned the love of the people there, the main reason for that is producer Jayanthilal Gada. I would like to express my gratitude to him at this moment.

Directed by Karthik Subbaraj, the film 'Retro' stars Suriya, Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Jayaram, Nasser, Prakashraj, Sujith Shankar, Swasika, Singam Puli, Karunakaran, Nandita Das, Ramya Suresh, George Marian and many others. Shreyas Krishna has handled the cinematography and Santhosh Narayanan has composed the music for this film. Touted as a romantic action entertainer, the film is jointly produced by 2D Entertainment and Stone Bench Films.

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.

Pooja Hegde as Ghost in Kanchana 4 / Kamal said no to Abhirami -Why ? / Shruti ROCKS

Raghava Lawrence Kanchana 4 will be produced by Bollywood Producer- Distributor Manish Shah of Goldmines Telefilms. The Tamil will be the first after Rajini’s 2.0 to maintain the 8 week window for OTT put up by National theatre chains Shah was greatly responsible for Pushap 2 success in North India as he was the distributor. The 2020 remake of the original Kanchana (2011), titled Laxmmi and starring Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani, was a major success as well. Kanchana 4 horror-comedy series, starring Raghava Lawrence, Pooja Hegde, and Nora Fatehi. Surprise packet is that Pooja is playing a ghost for the first time. Currently she is in Vijay 69.

Abhirami revealed that while acting with Kamal Haasan in Virumandi, she asked him to give a recommendation letter to help her secure a seat in the US based Ohio College for a course in psychology and communication. Kamal refused to give the letter as he said that she was not right in quitting films and should continue. In the interview, she said that her decision to quit studies at high school level to join films was supported by her parents and also when she quit films at the peak of her career they stood by her. “ It was not an overnite decision but still I don’t know why I chose to quit and take up studies” she added. Shruti Haasan’s Impromptu Performance With Local Band Leaves Fans Wanting More

Actress-singer Shruti Haasan, who’s currently in Bangkok shooting for the Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie, surprised everyone with an unplanned performance. After wrapping up work, Shruti and her team decided to explore the city and stumbled upon a live music venue. The buzzing vibe and seeing the crowd thoroughly enjoying the live band were reasons enough for Shruti to join the band on stage and truly set it on fire.

Thalapathy 69 shoot in Goa - Advi Sesh extra care irked Shruti - Prithviraj daughter in Ambani school

 Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, shares the favorite movies of his that he saw in 2024. Of them is number one All we Imagine as Light directed by Payal Kapadia and has two Malayalee actress Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha in the lead. His comments section was partially flooded with fans accusing him of snubbing titles like Wicked, Challengers, Sing Sing and I’m Still Here. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Saji Cherian present the �Spirit of Cinema Award� to filmmaker Payal Kapadia during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), in Thiruvananthapuram,  Film Indian theatre distribution is with Rana Daggubatti. The film was sidelined by FFI for Oscars and selected Lapaatta Ladies instead and that was rejected at first stage of selection.

School functions create news and especially if it is a Dhirubhai Ambani owned one. Star kids and their parents - Khans to Bachchans were in full attendance. From Malluwood, was our own Raju aka Prithiviraj and wife Supriya seated  one row from Kareena and in same row with Shahid. Prithviraj's daughter is studying in the school and as you all know that the couple has two apartments in Pali Hill in Mumbai. Parents ranging from SRK onwards took part in the dandiya raas.

In case you are thinking of seeking admission , then fee structure ranges from Rs 1.25 lakhs for Pre KG and it is not annual but monthly. Plus 2 is Rs 12 lakhs per month.

Pooja Hegde has let out the news on Thalapathy 69. As we know that Trisha after attending Keerthy Suresh wedding had joined Ajith in Thailand for Vidamyurchi, where did Vijay go from Goa/. He took part in shooting in Goa and Pooja says last leg of 2024 shoot. As filming for this year wrapped, Pooja Hegde shared a sneak peek on Instagram. She posted a picture of her and Vijay’s feet, captioning it, “Last day of shoot in 2024.” She hinted that the next part of the filming will begin in 2025.

Reason for Shruti Haasan walked out of Dacoit starring Advi Sesh was that the hero was meddling with the script and scenes and so walked out. According to Deccan Chronicle, Mrunal Thakur who replaced Shruti will earn Rs. 2.5 crore for her role. Sources say that her character will be bold, intense, and driven by anger, which is a departure from her previous roles. 

Dacoit is directed by Shaneil Deo and produced by Supriya Yarlagadda. This film will mark the first time Mrunal Thakur shares the screen with Adivi Sesh, who has also contributed to the screenplay and story. The technical crew includes cinematographer Danush Bhaskar, music composer Bheems Ceciroleo, and editor Kodati Pavan Kalyan.

DC report adds -Mrunal to cement her position at the top in Tollywood, she might need to explore more glamorous roles, similar to how stars like Samantha, Kajal Aggarwal, Tamannaah, and Shruti Haasan rose to prominence. Beyond films, Mrunal is also capitalizing on her growing popularity with brand endorsements, earning between Rs 10-15 lakh per event. With her rising demand among Telugu audiences, retail brands are eager to leverage her fan base. Dacoit is expected to be a pivotal project in her career, further expanding her reach across Indian cinema.

Bigg Boss 8 Tamil VSP Salary- Rumours about Indian 3 - Vijay film

 

As Tamil Bigg Boss season 8 is all set to start the launch on October 6^th, our team that visited the House has given us the information that host Vijay Sethupathi is taking Rs 18 crores  The amount is for 15 weeks. On an average the host gets Rs 15 per weekend and there are few extra days like festive days on which he gets Rs 3 crores extra. Unlike Kamal Haasan, VSP will also shake a leg and also croon , as per the show Director’s script. We are giving a post by Siva Nathan on FB about contestants.

Two hard to believe stories – Indian 3 is taking a Direct to OTT route and skipping a theatrical release. Next Thalapathy last film by H Vinoth is a Telugu remake of Balakrishna’s Bhagavanth Kesari. Both are as absurd as it can be.

Lyca cannot fight the Theatre lobby in Tami Nadu and stay afloat. We all know that Suriya who released his movies on OTT during COVID is still in bad books of many exhibitors. Apart from this Kamal Haasan who was first to moot the idea of a joint release in DTH and Theatres during Dasavatharam and faced lot of hostility is now not in a position as he is an active Producer and a politician too.

In fact from what we learn is that Indian 3 is set for a 8 week OTT window and thereby paving the way for release in national multiplex chains in North India and also on IMAX screens. Suriya’s Kanguva has already tied up with national chains in North India on a similar deal.

Why should H Vinoth and Vijay at this stage of the career look for a remake and that of a film with an outdated story ?. Talking about Vijay latest film cast announcement , fans are unhappy that Pooja Hegde considered an unlucky charm is added to the cast . We hear that Priya Mani is part of the cast. Gautham Menon is another add on.

Pooja is part of Karthik Subburaj- Suriya film under production. In Bollywood she has a film with Shahid Kapoor and Pavail Gulati in the lead and directed by Malayalam Director Roshan Andrews. Ahan Shetty starrer Sanki is another film that she is doing. KVN are the Producers.

Rakul Preet Indian 2 cameo - Anirudh - SRK again- Jeethu- Fahadh - Lal- Shobana - Suriya- Pooja Hegde team up

Kamal Haasan trackers inform us that Rakul Preet Singh plays an IPS officer in Indian 2 and that her role comes into play in second half. That does not mean that she is just another cameo but something important like that of Alia Bhatt in RRR. The other day Kamal was Chief Guest at an event to mark 100th anniversary of D Ramanujam, Known as DR , the man who headed the State Exhibitors Associations for decades along with Chithamani Murugesan of Distributors Association were one time the undisputed trade leaders. Most striking factor was Kalaipuli Thanu was the event organizer and he was seen welcoming Kamal at the event. So What ? After Aalvaandhan , Producer Thanu and Kamal parted ways. It was a welcome scene to see both on same platform. The function was organized by Exhibitors Association represented by Paneerselvam of which Thanu is a member and also owns a multiplex. I as Screen weekly ‘s Special correspondent in Chennai had to keep a regular line to DR as he was not only the general secretary for a record 20 times of South Film Chamber of Commerce and so many times in film trade unions apex body FFI. At that time, Screen was the only trade weekly that was a common link to all film trade bodies across the country. He piloted an amendment to Copyright Act to curb video piracy. Later on he was struck with Parkinsons and still was at the helm. I live a few streets from Late DR home and I think of the days when plush latest cars of film producers lined in the street as the owners were inside grappling with release issues.

Will Anirudh do the mistake that A R Rahman did at the peak of his career ?. The news that Anirudh is on board for KING starring Shah Rukh Khan directed by Sujoy Gosh. It marks SRK daughter Suhana Khan debut. ARR at peak of his career with Tamil films shifted to Bollywood as bucks were big. Even his regular Directors and Producers in Kollywood were given a raw deal. After the Oscar, the Madras Mozart offers from Bollywood dried up. By that time, Anirush- D Imman- Haris Jayraj – G V Prakash had become Tamil music lovers favourites. It is with great difficulty that ARR picked up his Kollywood libks and got back with big banners. However, Anirudh is far ahead in terms of popularity charts and renumeration. If Anirudh balances work between Bollywood and Tamil- Telugu industries, he will not face plight of ARR who put the blame on the caucus that control Bollywood.

Yesterday we told about Ram film directed by Jeethu getting ready after the problems with producers solved, today we have a news – E4 is bankrolling a film with Jeethu and Fahadh Faasil. Fahadh already has signed a action film with S J Suryah as co- actor for a Vipin Das film. Meanwhile we learn that Shobana is pairing with Mohanlal after 15 years in Tharun Moorthy Directorial, The hit pair was last seen in Jackie Alias Sagar. Shobana is said to be in Rajini- Lokesh film. Now Director- actor Lal Jose posted a photo with Lokesh Kanagaraj. Is he acting in Rajinikanth’s Coolie ?. Yet another report is that Pooja Hegde is coming back to Tamil with Suriya – Karthik Subburaj film.

Leo disappoints - Dhanush joins flop director- Rajini film sells high - Pooja out

Bollywood Directors who are flops are now turning to South Actors to revive their career. Latest in this list is AAnand L Rai. Ten years back , Rai delivered his last hit film Ranjhaana with Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor. After that it was a string of blockbuster flops. Dhanush only hit film was Rai’s Ranjhanna and next with him was Atrange Re a flop and Balki’s Shamitabh yet another flop. Dhanush market in Tamil is peaking and has hits and has ventured into direction. Rai’s career has become a question mark as he given duds with actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar. Zero was the biggest disaster in SRK’s career and Akshay had two duds – Atrangi re and Raksha Bandhan directed by Rai. Now Rai released a video of his next with Dhanush which is titled Tere Ishq Mein . Dhanush too tweeted this video.

Going by the overseas market, Rajinikanth stardom is intact and has not taken a beating. Ayangaran has bought overseas rights for Rs 35 crores, a price that a Rajini film gets in overseas market. Two reasons are cited for this. One is that inside reports of those who have seen Jailer during post production say that the film will break records like what Vikram did to Kamal Haasan. Second reason is that producers Sun Movies pre release publicity will ensure the crowds and hype around it. Nelson who received brickbats for his film with Thalapathy is said to have recovered lost ground. Anirudh ahs whipped up another rocking tunes.

Flops rarely affect actress career as it falls on the hero or director. However in the case of Pooja Hegde, the case is different. Directors and Producers in Telugu and Tamil feel that Pooja is bad medicine. In tamil her film Beast with Thalapathy Vijay has given her bad name as it was badly mauled by media and average at BO. In Telugu the flops are Prabhas Radhe Shyam and Chiranjeevi’s Acharya. In Hindi it is Salman’s Kisi Jaan Kisi ka Bhai and Ranveer Singh’s Cirkus. Tollywood directors Trivikram and Harish Shankar who gave her meaty films and now they are desrting her. She is out of Mahesh babu- Trivikram film Guntur Kaaram and now buzz is that she will be out of Pawan Kalyan film directed by Harish.

Leo first look poster showing Thalapathy Vijay with a sledgehammer and a wolf beside him has come as disappointment to many, Lokesh fans say that the director first posters for Kaithi, Master and Vikram was terrific and created an anticipation. Tollywood biz circles feel that Lalit Kumar the producer asking price for two Andhra States is higher than what earlier films of Vijay collected. Highest collection for a Vijay film is Rs 15 crores and Lokesh directed Vikram collected Rs 20 crores and now Leo producer is asking for Rs 30 crores ! Telugu directors are in demand and next to enter Kollywood is Boyapati Srinivas. Known for massa action films, he has narrated a subject to Suriya. Currently he is directing Ram Potheneni and first look got mixed opinions.

Dhoni to produce film with Nayanthara BF - marriage a failure predicts Astrologer

M S Dhoni the ex Indian skipper and CSK hero is to produce a Tamil film with Vignesh Shivan as director and the leading lady will be the director's GF Nayanthara. It is not know whether Dhoni will play the lead. Sanjay Wadhwa of AP International will be producing the film for Dhoni. Sanjay is a close aide of Rajinikanth and a leading film producer and exporter of Tamil films . Vignesh and Dhoni are acquaintances  as they had worked together for advertisement films. M S Dhoni through Chennai Super Kings IPL Team is a household name in Tamil Nadu. 

Nayanthara's career will come to a halt in 2024 and her married life with Vignesh Shivan will be a failure, says Venu Swamy, astrologer who predicted that Samantha's wedlock with Nag Chaitanya will end in a divorce. Nayanthara and Vignesh are according to reports to tie the knot on June 9th in Tirupati Temple. Both of their joint production venture KRV released and was a modest hit.

Nayanthara has a Hindi film with  SRK , a Malayalam film with Premam fame director Alphonse and a Chiranjeevi film ( remake of Malayalam film Lucifer). Vignesh has been signed to direct Ajith for his next film.

Venu says that Nayanthara's planetary position as per date of birth is same as that of Samantha now. The position of Guru is at the weakest and this means a fall in career and finances. Nayanthara can take heart that she is not alone in this downward slide. Samantha - Rashmika (Pushpa) and Pooja Hegde ( Beast)are those who will exit films in 2024.

Acharya movie review : Out beats Akhanda in action drama

Acharya transported me to the good old days when I cheered Chiru Garu for his dance steps and fight scenes.  I thank the choreographer and stunt master for showing only this one movement repeatedly and by this they have satisfied me as a fan.  Thank You Mr Koratala Siva for giving the ` vintage' Chiru  but I did not like Chiru Garu being passive.in some scenes. Above all, I always rated Chiru Garu as Superstar and Siva has shown it. A whole village pulls a wooden chariot but it does not move. Chiru Garu just nudges it and OMG it starts to roll. Thank You Mr Siva. Also I liked the scene where a knife or a sword  pierces into a man's stomach and comes out the other side and then pierces the stomach of the man behind and comes out from other side . Chiru Garu pulls out the knife and uses to behead many more. Thoughtful choreographer - he saved on production cost.

Now I knew that Ram Charan real heir to Chiru Garu is going to dominate second half and was looking for a duo song and fight like in RRR. Thank You Mr Siva for adding comic elements in the otherwise gory fight with two Indian Cinema legends together. Mani Sharma your  music made my day . Transported to those days of the 80's and also the BGM tracks of those days that you re-used here.

Once again I thank Mr Siva for chopping off scenes of all actors except Chiru- RC and Sonu Sood. It is not only Kajol but all were given same treatment. Regina and Sangeetha could have upstaged Samantha if the film was released before Pushpa.

Art director is so innovative that the tribal villagers are living in houses with fresh coat of paint. Swacch Bharat. Thiru camera can only capture what is given to him.  Such films give me the motivation to live life to the full. Chiru Garu who is elder tan me is so robust and full of life. My humble request to reviewers please don't compare Rajamouli's way of presenting RC in RRR to Siva's Acharya.

Off theater experience : Next seat guy was saying Mirchi and another was arguing saying Dharma Teja and a third said Farishtay. I got a WhatsApp msg saying Liquat Ali Khan has moved writer union saying Acharya is Poonthootha kavalkaran. Might be a fake news as I have never seen anything so original in recent times. Now I respect Jagan Garu for agreeing to increase ticket prices. The film should have been tax free. He earned a few crores for AP treasury.

Beast review : Rajinikanth needs to have a rethink on Nelson direction

Beast shows again that young directors lose their grip on the narrative when they have a STAR  who is a Thalapathy to his fans.  Nelson is confused as to how to treat a wafer thin story with a larger than life Vijay's image and more so confine the hostage drama  within a Mall. He has to bring in a Sylvester Stallone kind of Vijay during action and then shift to kid sentiment and comedy. Finally, he hits a roadblock. How do we end the film ?. The happenings so far are so limp and merely gunning down the bad guys will not do. So hero takes off in a fighter jet ( not provided by Indian Airforce) to fly to POK and do a URI surgical. JAI HIND.

The best of Beast is all there in the trailor.  Anirudh BGM is so loud and even drowns out dialogues. The songs and choreography with camerawork ( Manoj ) is a plus. Pooja Hegde ??? . Comedy ??? . Merely sporting a swag, style and playing Mr Cool, Vijay to an extent satisfy his fans but is this all that is needed in a Thalapathy film to be a hit at box office ?. It so then Sun Pictures can laugh their way to the bank. 

Rajinikanth who is teaming up with Nelson for his next has to doubly cautious. Nelson is not able to balance the Stardom of Vijay and combine his narrative style seen in two of his earlier films.  It can worst with Thalaivar as hero.Tbere is director Selvaraghavan in a role that only Nelson can describe and as per a Biz report on Beast Selvaraghavan was paid Rs 2 cr. Sun got ripped off.

KGF 2 beats Beast on advance booking except Tamil Nadu

Exhibitors in Tamil Nadu are happy with the advance booking of Beast but in Kerala- Karnataka and AP/ TS , KGF shows a marked difference. As expected, KGF 2 is creating a storm at Hindi advance booking counters that opened on April 7th. 80 % of the occupancy in Tamil Nadu is booked as per reports from exhibitors of Beast in Tamil Nadu. This on expected lines and close to 800 theaters are screening the film and around 250- 300 are screening KGF 2. Big screens in multiplexes in TN are for Beast. KGF 2 getting 200 - 300 screens for a start is good enough for S R Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures , distributor of KGF 2. Dream Warrior had distributed Karthi's Kaithi opposite Bigil with limited screens and made money as the film got postive reviews continued to hold against Bigil. The box office of Kerala shows a trend of KGF 2 being scheduled for fan shows starting from 4 AM on April 14th. By going with the advance booking numbers, trade says that KGF 2 on opening day will cross the entire collection of KGF 1 done in it's entire run. Beast as expected for a Vijay film is doing the business it expected. In Karnataka, almost 90 % of the screens are with KGF 2 as the Telugu- Hindi- Tamil prints with the original Kannada version will be playing in biggest box office area of Bengaluru. Beast opening is considerably dimmed.In AP/ TS, too the advance booking for KGF 2 is bigger than Beast. Beast team director Nelson - music director Anirudh and Pooja Hegde took part in a press meet to promote the film. In Bollywood, the trade is watching whether KGF 2 will beat RRR opening. By the rate the booking is moving, KGF might not reach RRR opening . The opening might be anything around Rs 15 crores. Beast in comparison might get a opening of Rs 3 crores, Sadly nobody is talking of Shahid Kapoor Jersey, a straight Hindi film , remake of Telugu film with Pushpa hero Allu Arjun's father as co- producer.

Thalapathy Vijay speaks Urdu in BEAST - About Gold smuggling

 Thalapathy Vijay for the first time speaks Urdu on screen. In BEAST , he speaks this language according to  Shine Tom Chacko, the Malayalam actor who plays a negative role. Vijay has spoken Malayalam dialogues in Theri, Hindi in  Thalivaa- Thupakki. Yet another information is that the film is centered around smuggling of gold through our airports . Aparna Das plays sister to Pooja Hegde and she is romantically involved with Shine Tom. Shine is part of the Selvaraghavan gang that operates from our airports. Thalapathy Vijay is a commando trained in use of heavy machine guns. He comes incognito as a con man who promises to deliver gold biscuits for a cheap price.

BEAST shooting portion with Vijay - Pooja Hegde- Aparna Das has been over. The photos released by director Nelson to mark 100th day of shoot saw Aparna playing the keyboard at the cast and crew bash. Music by Anirudh, film is produced by Sun Pictures. Manoj Paramhamsa cranks the camera

Sivakarthikeyan joins exodus from Kodambakkam to Film Nagar

Tollywood is the latest place that  Tamil film industry is headed for.  Kodambakkam  is witnessing an exodus to Tollywood (Ramoji Rao Film City), Telegu film industry is not in so great a shape with more flops in theaters and OTT. To offset it hopes to change the tide by joining hands with Kodambakkam,

 Latest to join the actors to act in a Telegu film is Sivakarthikeyan.  Thalapathy Vijay and Dhanush are those who are to do a straight Telegu film  while  Vijay Sethupathi has already made his mark as a baddie in Tollywood. Directors  Shankar – Linguswamy- Mohan Raja  are those who have signed Telegu films and started work. Many other top director’s  are in talks with big production houses and actors for projects. Chennai Film trade unions are dumbstruck with majority of Tamil biggies shooting in Ramoji Film City.

Talk with a cross section of the Telegu film industry bigwigs it emerges that the primary reason for them to cast Tamil heroes is the acceptance by the Telegu audience of these heroes. The flashpoint was when Mersal of Thalapathy Vijay was released after the first wave in AP/TS. Despite the presence of Telegu heroes, Mersal did collect and gave profits. The film was bought by a top notch Andhra distributor Dil Raju also a producer of films. Having won at box office, it was natural that producers signed these heroes.

The additional business that Tamil heroes gave was the next incentive to cast them. The economics worked out better than casting a medium market Telegu hero for a producer. The risk factor was nil as the input money would be covered by Tamil trade returns. Add to this the OTT factor. A Tamil hero in a Telegu film gave wider acceptance in both languages. A Tamil film dubbed into Telegu or vice versa had only a limited pull than a bi-lingual film that caters to both regional tastes.  

The major factor is that with mainstream producers signing up the Tamil heroes, there is fair play at the box office. The dirty game in theater allotments are not in place. Take the case where KGF 2 is said to be elbowing out Akhanda of Balakrishna in getting screens. It is something that was unbelievable a few months back.

After Kamal Haasan ( who lost it over a time), the only Tamil actor to have a Telegu market today is Suriya. Vikram did have it but somewhere along the line he lost it. Mammooty is another non Telegu actor who through his straight films has a market. Here too it is limited in reach as there are budget constraints and the choice of subjects by the actor is not the `mass’ type.

The pitfall that the Tamil heroes- directors who make the bi-lingual’  have to avoid is to not make it look very much a Telegu film ( over melodramatic  and a dose of Telegu chauvinism – faction feuds). Any film that originates in Andhra and claims to be a bi-lingual will always be seen by Tamil viewers is suspect. Exception being Baahubali .

The work atmosphere too is another reason that Tamil film units are shooting in Hyderabad and Ramoji Film City. The arrogant union bosses (reined to great extent by Selvamani FEFSI Boss) and also that nature worked against the film units with Chennai going down heavily with Covid cases worked against them. Hyderabad on the other hand recovered faster as it had lesser Covid cases. Restricted entry to Film City and it being away from Hyderabad has helped it to bring in units from Chennai- Kochi.

A half yearly report of Telegu films show that 78 films were released in movie halls. Krack, Uppena, Jathi Rathnalu, Vakeel Saab ,Zombie Ready and Naandhini were hits. In the OTT, Ek Mini Katha,Cinemabandi and Ninnila Ninnla were hits. So far Telegu filmdom looked for technicians like cinematographers – stunt – dance choreographers. Now actors too being acceptable, Kodambakkam  will further be shorn of the glamour.

Mammooty and Fahad to act together in Telugu film

Malayalam Stars Mammooty and Fahad Fazil are to act in upcoming Telugu film Agent starring Akhil Akkineni. The film had Mammooty signing the film earlier and was reportedly playing a character with shades of grey. He is to get Rs 3 cr for the film directed by Surender Reddy. Now reports say that Fahad Fazil has agreed to act in the film. Mamooty and Fahad had come together for Malayalam film Immanuel, The film was a Mammooty starrer with Fahad playng a selfish marketing manager. Fahad was then not a draw at the box office.

Fahad is playing a baddie in Pushpa with Allu Arjun and Rashmi Mandonna in the lead. Directed by Sukumar, the film is an out and out action thriller. Fahad also is one of the baddies in Kamal Haasan's Vikram.

Akhil is son of actress Amala. Amala and Mammooty acted in Tamil hit Mounam Sammadham directed by K Madhu. Similarly Fahad's father Fazil had directed Amala in Ente Suriyaputhirikku, a trendsetter. It was Karpoora Mullai with same Amala in Tamil. Fazil also directed Akhil's father Nagarjuna in Telegu film Killer.

Akhil released photos of his tough muscular physique for the film. The next  release of Akhil is  Telugu romantic comedy, Most Eligible Bachelor, which has been directed by Bhaskar. The film will see Akhil play an NRI while Pooja Hegde will be seen as a stand-up comedian. Akhil had starred in three films so far but none of them made a big impact at the box office.