SONY LIV THE HUNT MISSING LINK / COOLIE OTT REACTION

Sony LIV series The Hunt about Rajiv Gandhi assassination and the investigation that followed is based on the book by Anirudhya Mitra who worked with India Today, Titled Ninety Days series directed by Nagesh Kukunoor streamed on July 4 , My friend K M Thomas who was then Crime Reporter with Indian Express Chennai was the man behind Express giving exclusive news on the incident. In fact journalists from News Media abroad writing about the Rajiv case made it a point to call on Thomas for the inside info. Express kept giving inside info on case investigation headed by Karthikeyan. There is a scene where the investigating cop notice the mother of slain photographer giving a crisp 100 rupee note to a boy to buy soft drinks and he takes that note from the shop keeper and he poses the question from where did this notes come ? The Answer comes from Thomas . Read ON; Rs.10,000 for Rajiv assassination pictures (1991): Along with the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the fatal blast on May 21, 1991 night, a young freelance news photographer, S Haribabu also was killed. He was clicking the 10th news photo in his handheld camera loaded with a roll of colour film. Only a big flash appeared on the tenth frame. My friend and the Hindu reporter at that time Prakash Swamy got copies of these 10 pictures from the State Forensic Laboratory. I got them from the CBI next day and published in the Indian Express. A few days later, when I walked into newsroom, a distraught middle-aged man in shabby clothes was waiting for me. Our chief reporter Mr Sambandam said the man, Haribabu's father wanted to talk to me about the frequent visit of CBI guys to his house. The reason was Rs.10,000 that an unknown person had given him. Even Haribabu’s father could not figure out why the man did it. While giving the money, the man said a reporter from the Indian Express had told him to do so. Suddenly I remembered the sequence of events. A Videographer (so he claimed), working for a Japanese media house had come to our office immediately after publication of the assassination pictures. He wanted to video graph the pictures and offered to pay for it. Sambandam told him that the matter could be decided after consulting with me. I considered it as `blood money’ and wanted no part of it. Then Sambandam suggested that Haribabu’s family might be given that money. I agreed and told the Videographer that he could copy the pictures, and we would be happy if he paid the money offered directly to the dead photographer’s family. A photo from Thomas perssoonal collection where he is adressing a meeting and Karthikeyan thitd from Left can be seen.

I learnt from Haribabu’s father that this Videographer had visited him immediately after copying the pictures and paid him this money. I narrated this incident to the visitor in distress, gave him my card, and told him to tell this background when the CBI personnel visited him next time. He was assured that we were willing to tell the same facts if the CBI cross-checked with us. I hope this had settled the matter. Neither did the CBI nor Haribabu’s father had contacted me again

Rajinikanth Coolie gets a Diwali premiere on Sun TV on October 20 6.30 PM. Coolie OTT Verdict (Week 5): Rajinikanth Axes Lifetime Viewership Of Every Single Non-Netflix Film On OTT In 2025 Except 1!. Rajinikanth has managed to surpass the viewership of every single Indian film of 2025 except for Kesari: Chapter 2 and all the films that arrived on Netflix. It has pushed Odela 2 out of the top 10 most-viewed non-Netflix films of 2025. Advertisement Coolie, in its fifth week of streaming on Prime Video, garnered a great viewership of 2.6 million, taking the second spot in the list of the most-watched films in India for the week of October 6 – 12, 2025, as per Ormax data. Here are the top 10 most viewed non-Netflix Indian films on OTT that arrived only after a theatrical release on the respective OTT platforms. 1. Kesari: Chapter 2: 18.1 Million 2. Coolie: 15.2 Million 3. Housefull 5: 13.6 Million 4. Tourist Family: 13.1 Million 5. Good Bad Ugly: 9.6 Million 6. HIT 3: 9 Million 7. Bhool Chuk Maaf: 8.6 Million 8. Thudarum: 8.5 Million 9. Kuberaa: 8.1 Million 10. Veera Dheera Sooran: 7.7 Million OTT Viewership Summary Here is the breakdown of the viewership of the action comedy with an ensemble cast. • Week 1: 4.7 million views • Week 2: 4.9 million views • Week 4: 3 million views • Week 5: 2.6 million views Total: 15.2 million views

Salute to Dulquer Salman (movie review)

 Salute released in multiple languages on Sony Liv is laudable effort by Dulquer Salman. As a producer for choosing the subject that has no ` commercial' elements and above all doing the lead role of a cop devoid of any fan moments for DQ fans. As far as Malayalam film goers are concerned, Roshan Andrews - Bobby Sanjay team has not matched to what they had given to the movie goers earlier. In fact , screenplay is the villain in an other wise well packaged crime thriller.

To our mind comes a Mumbai Police in  the same genre from the team . Compare it and you will see the graph has hit a low with Salute. Comparison apart, Salute as a standalone film is worth a watch. For one the film starts with a flashback and following sequences make you think that DQ (SI on leave) is out to trace out the actual killer to free the innocent auto  driver jailed but it takes a turn into a hunt for a con man who has used many identities and duped many.

The chase for this man becomes complex as the cops don't want the real killer to surface as they will be guilty of framing an innocent man and hence use all tricks to stop the investigation . To add a emotional touch, the team that framed the guy is headed by DQ brother, a DySP ( played  to perfection by Manoj K Jayan)>

The last run up to climax and the climax itself is very tame. It sort of makes you think whether the effort was worth it. Music- camera both blend well.  Wonder why Diana Penty had to cast in this insignificant role as DQ love interest as the film has no songs.