NTR Jr pressure on Andhra Theatres /Mani laughs at Dhruv Project / 3BHK OTT Flop-Maargan HIT

In this exclusive conversation with Subash K jha, Mani replied, “It is a good question. I don’t have an answer as yet. Working on a script. Will wait till it falls into place. At this juncture of my life and career, I am in no hurry to move from one project to another.” He laughed off on these rumours. “Even I am hearing these rumours. I am not doing any such project,” he said.

NTR Jr is said to have entered the WAR 2 distribution war in two Telugu States. Naga Vamso who has bought WAR 2 is said to have enlisted NTR Jr in the fight against Asian Cinemas that includes Suneil Narang, Suresh Babu and Dil Raju who are distributing Coolie. In the North Indian scenario, War 2 has got 70 percent of the single screens and a chunk of multiplexes. Afer Aamir’s intervention, PVR and other national chains have allotted more screens but still Colie has only `5% of the market share. Read Boxofficeworldwide. Com report on Andhra States: The presence of Jr NTR is reportedly the game-changer in this screen-count war. As one of the biggest stars in Telugu cinema, his influence, combined with that of respected distributor Naga Vamsi of Sitara Entertainment, is a formidable force. Exhibitors across the region are reportedly favouring War 2 to avoid any conflict with the powerful duo. “NTR Jr. is an influential personality, same for Naga Vamsi. No one is willing to upset them,” a source explained.

This influence is expected to translate into a dominant screen share. While Asian Cinemas is aiming for a 60:40 split, Sitara Entertainment is reportedly pushing for a 70:30 ratio in favour of War 2. The source added, “NTR Jr. too is flexing his equations and stardom to get premium showcasing and has succeeded in doing so against Rajinikanth.” This advantage is not just limited to the south, as War 2 is also expected to have a clear lead in North India, ensuring a massive opening. While War 2 is poised for a bigger start, the final verdict will only be delivered by audiences when both films hit theatres on August 14.WAR 2 Hindi version is exactly 1 minute and 40 seconds longer than the other two- Tamil and Telugu..

With all recent releases like Mareesan starring Vadivelu- Fahadh Faazil dropping badly, Vijay sethupathi- Nithya Menen Thalaivan Thalaivi had a strong grip on box office especially on weekend and with four more days to go for Coolie, on Day 17, the gross stands at Rs 55 crores. The box office chart shows on second Sundays and Saturdays the film registered Rs 5 crores collection and an average of Rs 2 crores on other days.

Siddharth's drama film 3BHK has opened on a disappointing note on Prime Video as the lowest debut of 2025 - OTT Verdict. Siddharth‘s film has made the lowest debut for a film that arrived on an OTT platform other than Netflix after ending its entire theatrical run. During its theatrical run, the film earned 12.34 crore net in India. 3BHK, in its debut week, garnered a viewership of 1.2 million, taking the fifth spot in the list of the most-watched films in India on OTT for the week of July 28 – August 3, as per Ormax data.

The Tamil-language crime thriller Maargan, which hit theaters in June, is now making waves on Amazon Prime Video globally. Blending supernatural elements with an investigative plot, the film has now secured a spot among Prime Video’s list of top ten most popular movies worldwide, according to FlixPatrol.

 

Siddharth 3BHK takes a lead over Ram film / Vedan scores music for Goli Soda sequel

 Siddharth’s film is currently trending better than Shiva’s film, which is 68% higher in total collection. Paranthu Po, in 10 days, has earned only 5.83 crore at the box office.On the tenth day, the second Sunday, 3BHK earned 91 lakh at the box office, It would have been phenomenal if the film would have hit the 1 crore mark, yet again, however, the numbers are still celebratory, as they witnessed a visible jump from the previous day which earned 86 lakh.

Siddharth’s 3rd-Highest-Grossing Film Post-COVID

3BHK has surpassed Maha Samudram to become the 3rd highest-grossing film for the actor post-COVID. It would take another week to claim the second spot if the film manages to stay at the box office for another week!

3BHK Box Office Summary

Check out the breakdown of the film at the box office after 10 days.

• India Net Collections: 9.83 crore
• India Gross Collections: 11.59 crore
• Overseas Gross Collections: 1.75 crore
• Worldwide Gross Collections: 13.34 crore

Malayalam rapper Vedan (Hirandas Murali) is making his  film debut as muusic Director in director Vijay Milton's upcoming bilingual, tentatively titled Production No. 5.
The project also brings Telugu actor Raj Tarun into Tamil music for the first time.
Vedan first made waves with his 2020 track Voice of the Voiceless, which spoke out against caste and social injustice.

Vedan's move follows his success in Malayalam films like Kondal and Checkmate, showing he's ready to reach a bigger audience.
His recent song Kuthanthram from Manjummel Boys hit over 50 million streams, and he just picked up the Priyadarshini Award for his impact on music and culture.
Keep an eye out—the official movie title drops later this week! The director's upcoming film is touted to be a project related to his 2014 Goli Soda. The film also had a sequel Goli Soda 2, which was followed up by Goli Soda: Rising, a series which was released on JioHotstar.

Vedan had his first major his in 2020, with his song 'Voice of the Voiceless', that addressed the caste-based discrimination, marginalization, and social injustice. He has also sung for films like Nayattu, Padavettu, Kondal, Narivetta, and All We Imagine As Light.

Vedan was accused of sexual harrasment by several women as a part of the MeToo movement in 2020. He subsequently responded with an apology. He was also arrested for possession of cannabis, and was later released on bail.

Vijay Milton's upcoming film stars Bharath, Sunil, Aari Arjunan, Ammu Abhirami, Kishore DS, Vijetha, Prasanna Balachandran, and Imman Annachi. Rapper Paal Dabba is also part of the cast.

Rajini back to Coolie on October 15th - Mohanlal waits for Kamal's Gift

 

Lokesh Kanagaraj has told the media that Rajinikanth will report for shooting of Coolie on October 15^th. He said that Rajinikanth had informed the unit that he would be going to Apollo and that he was not suddenly rushed to the hospital. 40 days ago he knew about the treatment and told the unit. He said that if it was emergency then would Coolie unit continue shooting ?.

We had always maintained that it was no emergency situation and also debunked those who blamed Lokesh for giving overwork to Rajini. Read https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2024/10/no-over-work-in-coolie-rajini-timeline.html. Only the news that Rakini is starting workfrom October 15^th has taken us by surprise.

Shruti Haasan and Nagarjuna has finished the work in Vizag schedule. The upcoming shoot is in Chennai and Nagarjuna will take part and Shruti might take part if a patchwork is needed.

Aditi Shankar asks Arjun Das – Do you like Mani Ratnam or Shankar ? , He says K Balchander, Do you like Illaiyaraaja or Rahman ? He says Hariss Jayraj. This teaser of Once More has created a buzz. For one Aditi Shankar d/o of iconic Director Shankar seems too have dropped the next girl next door and taken a modern avatar. Secondly the producers are Million Dollar Productions that gave us Good Night and Lovers. Now that most of the Rajini and Kamal titles have been used for new ones, Vijay titles are in vogue. Once More is a 1007 Vijay film and had Sivaji Ganesan in a pivotal role.

As Nayanthara starrer The Test is to have a direct Netflix release, the story that Indian 3 is going to do the same is gaining credibility. YNot the production house had earlier released Dhanush film Jagame Tanthiram on OTT. It had recently backed Bramayugam the Mammootty film in B&W.  Bramayugam was released in SonyLiv after a Kerala theatre release. Test has R Madhvan , Meera Jasmine and Siddharth and is about happenings centered around a Test cricket match.

Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan have worked in one movie – Innai pol Oruvan. Lal said that they had only one scene together on screen and rest was through conversations between the characters. Offscreen, he said that during dubbing , they would get together. Kamal promised Lal a watch as gift and till now he has not received it, he quipped.

Indian 2 OTT fallout - Lens on Vellore Mutiny- bad luck Priya and Loud mouth Siddharth

Indian 2 OTT release on Netflix has let loose a heavy trolls, abuses and memes. One important scene that netizens have noticed is that , Kamal Haasan asks – You talk about Kargil war or the Chinese aggression that happened at your doorstep. Do you know about the war that happened in 1806 and inside India ? “ Ajith fans are circulating a video clip in which Senapathy is talking and on the side there a FB page live and fans are asking for Vidamuyurchi update. As Kamal said about this freedom struggle that we never heard about, we Googled and up came the fact that it was the Vellore Mutiny by sepoys. I had studied about the Sepoy Mutiny 1857 and till date believed that this was the first rebellion that led to start of our freedom struggle. So 51 years back there was Mutiny and heroes were Tamil sepoys. The description also talks of Tipu Sultan’s sons who were behind this. I stumbled on this writeup by my friend R Rangaraj on Vellore Mutiny in The Federal. It was written last year in August. For me only now the Mutiny caught my attention and thanks to Indian . Read ; https://thefederal.com/category/features/vellore-mutiny-of-1806-tamil-nadus-warriors-in-indias-fight-for-freedom-that-history-forgot-94398?infinitescroll=1 Going through vile attacks on the film after OTT release, I found that more than Kamal or Shankar, it was Siddharth who has been bombarded. His speeches at Indian 2 meets are added to drive a punch on Siddharth. Yet another victim is Priya Bhavani Sankar. This film flop is attributed to her unlucky phase. She has cried foul and asked “ if a hero gives four flops , will he be called a flop hero ? Why only heroines ? Hero with flops is called zero market hero or no opening hero. But in case of Indian 2 , I cannot perceive why Priya considers herself as the heroine ? It is not the public that terms a heroine as unlucky charm but the hero and the rival heroine fans. In case of Siddharth, I think , it was his one upmanship at the media interactions. On Kamal Haasan front, we hear that Ulaganayakan is going to USA on August 14. In that weekend, he is likely to guest at a function organized by Indian Associations abroad in connection with our I Day celebrations. Speculations abuzz about replacement for Kamal in BB Tamil and latest is that sponsors that in big league will pull out if Kamal is not part of the show and so Kamal will come in a brief video conference in weekend episode along with new host. Did Banijay sleep on Kamal not in BB matter ? It cannot be that Kamal just send over a letter and said goodbye with no notice. By the way things look on social media, without Kamal , only pan sellers, neighborhood dhabas and small time joints will be sponsors.

Allu Arjun first choice for Vada Chennai - Maddy- Nayan team up - Kirthi Shetty - Karthi team up- Mohanlal - lijo in Chennai

Viduthalai 1 is being distributed in Andhra and Telangana by Allu Arjun's father, Allu Aravind. During a media meet in Hyderabad, Vetrimaaran shared that he had presented the script of Vada Chennai to Allu Arjun when he met him in Chennai. Allu Arjun had expressed his interest in working under Vetrimaaran's direction and making his debut in Tamil cinema. Vetrimaaran further stated that he had also met Mahesh Babu and NTR Jr after the success of Asuran. Recent reports suggest that Vetrimaaran plans to cast Dhanush and NTR Jr in his upcoming film. However, it appears that Allu Arjun is not keen on doing a two-hero subject, especially for his debut Tamil film. Those who have seen the preview claim that Allu Aravind has another hit on his hands, much like the success of Kantara that he distributed in AP/TS. ------

R Madhavan- Nayanthara - Siddharth team up for sports srama An upcoming sports drama film titled The Test has brought together R Madhavan, Nayanthara, and Siddharth, and is directed by debutant Shasikanth. The film's motion poster video has been released, and it suggests that the storyline is centered around cricket, with the sounds of someone hitting a ball and the cheers of a cricket stadium. This has generated excitement among movie buffs, and more details about the film will be revealed in the near future. Y Not, which is a collaboration between Sanjay Wadhwa, Reliance Entertainment, and Shasikanth, is the production banner behind the film. Shasikanth, who is a producer with Y Not Studios, is making his directorial debut with The Test. The tweet by Johnson Pro wishes the producer the best of luck for his new venture as a filmmaker, as the script has been in his mind for seven years. -------

Kirthi Shetty opposite Karthi in Nalan directorial Karthi 26, which is produced by Studio Green and directed by Nalan Kumarasamy, has chosen Kirthi Shetty as the female lead. The movie had a low-key launch in the city. Currently, Karthi is busy filming Japan, which is directed by Raju Murugan. Kirthi Shetty has several other projects in the pipeline, including Custody with Naga Chaitanya and directed by Venkat Prabhu, a film with Sharawanand, a Malayalam movie with Tovino, and Jeyam Ravi’s Genie, directed by Bhuvanesh Arjunan, who was previously an assistant to Mysskin. Her debut film Uppena in Telugu was a massive blockbuster. ------- Mohanlal - Lijo unit in Chennai next Renowned filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery has teamed up with Mohanlal for the movie 'Malaikottai Vaaliban', and the first schedule of filming has already been completed after a 75-day shoot in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. The team is now set to move to Chennai to commence the second schedule, which is slated to begin in mid-May and span 40 days. During this phase, Mohanlal will be shooting his portions alongside the film's heroines. The collaboration between Lijo Jose Pellissery and the superstar Mohanlal is highly anticipated and expected to showcase the latter's best performance in recent times. The makers have confirmed that they will unveil the movie's first look poster on April 14th, which coincides with the occasion of Vishu , Malayalam New Year .