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.

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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.

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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.

Kamal Haasan Aalavandhan slicker version to hit theaters

 Kamal Haasan starrer Alavandhan released in 2001 is getting edited and trimmed for a theater release revealed a source close to Producer Kalaipuli Thanu.  It is the first film in Tamil to fuse the magical realism concept that is used in literature. Recently released Kuthirvaal was one that used the magical realism approach to narration. The film directed by Suresh Krissna ,won the national award for best special effects. It has Manisha Koirala and Raveena Tandon in the female lead.

The film released in Tamil and Hindi was a colossal disaster for Producer Thanu and also for Kamal Haasan. Thanu who gave string of hits  suffered a huge setback and took a long time to overcome it. The film started off with Simran and Rani Mukherji who was to play the female leads dropping out due to date hassles. After that Harris Jayraj who was to score the music left and Shankar Ehsan- Loy came on board. The action choreographer was Hollywood's Grant Page of It's a Mad Mad World who shot the climax in Kashmir. In Delhi, 39 cars- 3 cameras including an Airramp machine used by stuntmen abroad for jump scenes was used and was filmed for 25 days. To get the authentic look of guns and Armory, Major Ravi retired from Army and director- actor was a consultant.

The film was completed at a cost of Rs 21 crores and Thanu spend a bomb in promoting it. The film collected close to Rs 2 crores in Tamil and a washout in Hindi. Film was badly criticized and one critic wrote that it looked like the director and actor were on drugs while making the film. Years later in 2016, the film won acclaim in International film festival. Quentin Tarantino said that animated action in Alavandhan made him use the technique in Kill Bill films. At that time the producer had released an advertisement in Tamil Daily announcing the release of digitally remastered print. Rediff .com which slammed the film at time of release put in the Top 10 films of Kamal Hassan.

The film story is written by Kamal and was published in a Tamil periodical, K Balchander rejected the film as it was way ahead of it's times. Kamal appeared in the buff for a scene and it was censored. Instaed of using a standard blue matte or masking , the scenes were never static and shot with a motion control rig to mount the camera and shoot the action shots of the dual charachters, The motion rig was imported from Australia, a first in Indian cinematography. In scenes where both characters came together, after shooting one character , the other was shot weeks later. The output was brilliant . Animation used till then for cartoons was given a new use in action. A psychedelia acid trip lasting 20 minutes was a first time experience for the viewer.

Kamal plays a dual role of twins - one an Army commando and another a mentally deranged man who is spending time in a mental asylum for killing his step mother. The mad man role was bald pated and Kamal gained ten kgs for it. For the commando role he took a training at National Defense Academy to get the feel of the character. Shringar Films which bought the Hindi release rights faced some issues during release.

With Vikram's total gross collection touching Rs 500 crores and Rs 85 crores as TamilNadu share, Alavandhan might just about bring in the moolah for Thanu who lost in 2001. Kamal will move to work on Indian 2 from August 22nd , as per sources close to him. Entire July, Shankar is busy shooting an an elaborate action scene with 1500 stunt men and multiple cameras for Ram Charan film.

Atlee- Shah Rukh Khan film a Darkman adaptation ? Similar to Vikram story line ?

 Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) released the trailor of  Nayanthara -Atlee directed film and confirmed the title Jawan which we reported on September 1, 2021 (https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/09/srk-atlee-nayanthara-titled-jaawan-arya.html). At that point of time, media reported that film was titled Lion and produced a copy of the letter given by production company for Pune shoot in railway premises in which it was mentioned as Lion. We had in a later report said that SRK plays a Indian military officer and hence the title Jawan. We at Southfilmy.blogspot.com once gain proved right.

The latest teaser of the film shows SRK in a look that is same as of  Liam Neeson in Darkman , a Hollywood film released in 1990. Coincidentally, Jawan story line has similarity with just released Kamal Hassan film Vikram  In Darkman , Liam plays a scientist who was burnt alive and left as he was dead . He survives and to cover his burns, he bandages himself and with super hero powers , he starts a revenge battle.

In Jawan, SRK plays a RAW officer whose look is the bandaged one and he has a twin look of a normal guy who is a playboy son of a rich gangster. Like in Vikram, SRK the father who is taken to be dead comes to avenge  the death of his son. In Vikram, Kamal too is officially dead as he had faked his death. He comes to track the killers of his son ( Kalidas)

Ponniyin Selvan to clash with Mission Impossible globally

 Mani Ratnam Ponniyin Selvam magnum opus has locked September 30th as release date in the latest communication from Madras Talkies. It means that the production house will be pitted against the popular series Mission Impossible which according to production house Paramount Pictures who are distributing it is releasing on the same date.. 

Madras Talkies released a first set of photos that reveal the characters of the main actors who are in the film. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Trisha, Jeyam Ravi and Karthi are the actors whose stills in the costumes of the characters they play has been released. The first part of the classic novel has been readied and Lyca Productions are the Worldwide distributors.

The novel of Kalki is very close to the hearts of Tamil culture and  and has all elements  for a successful film. Right from MGR onwards, many effort were made to recreate the magic onto celluloid . Now with Mani Ratnam who is the icon of Tamil cinema handling the subject, expectations run very high . The large diaspora of India  is awaiting the release.. In India, September 30 is followed by ten day Navaratri festival known in South as pooja holidays.

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Getting theaters globally and within India in large numbers would be a problem. In Bollywood, only film to release is Hindi remake of Vikram Vedha the Tamil film. However on September 9th is Brahmastra with  Ranvir Kapoor - Alia Bhatt and produced by Karan Johar. It is a superhero film about a guy going  3000 years back to learn about the Brahmastra weapon of Lord Shiva.

Madras Talkies commination : 

PS-1 is the first part of a two-part multilingual film based on Kalki’s classic Tamil novel “Ponniyin Selvan" directed by Mani Ratnam and jointly produced by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies.

The story is set in the 10th century during a tumultuous time in the Chola Empire when the power struggle between different branches of the ruling family caused violent rifts between the potential successors to the reigning emperor. It is adventure story where brave soldiers, cunning spies and evil schemers all try to win the empire for themselves. A civil war becomes imminent until the scores can be settled.

All this political and military turmoil leads to the Cholas becoming the most prosperous and powerful empire in the continent and one of the most successful and long reigning in history. PS-1 marks the beginning of the Golden Era.

PS-1 is set to come on the big screens on September 30th, 2022.

Cast List
 
Vikram
Jayam Ravi
Karthi
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Trisha
Aishwarya Lekshmi
Sobhita Dhulipala
Prabhu
Sarath Kumar
Jayaram
Prakash Raj
Jayachitra
Rahman
Vikram Prabhu
Ashwin Kakumanu
Lal
Parthiban
Riyaz Khan

Crew List

Director - Mani Ratnam
Produced By - Madras Talkies
Produced By - Lyca Productions
Music - AR Rahman
Cinematographer - Ravi Varman
Production Design - Thota Tharrani
Dialogues - Jeyamohan
Executive Producer - Siva Ananth
Choreography - Brinda
Costume - Eka Lakhani
HMU - Vikram Gaikwad
Jewellery - KishanDas Jewellery
VFX - NYVFXWaala
DI - Red Chillies Color
PRO: Johnson
&  
OTT Platform - Prime Video In

Master- Pushpa - success link : Preetisheel Singh D’souza

Vijay's  Master  and Allu Arjun's Pushpa have a woman behind their record breaking success - Preetisheel Singh D’souza, the National Award-winning make-up, hair and prosthetic designer.  

When Master became the only Indian film to set a box office record post Covid 1 within the country and in overseas markets, Preetisheel was quoted as been nervous since her upcoming film from the South was Pushpa 1 starring Allu Arjun which.was as big as Baahubali.

In Pushpa, unlike in earlier South outings, she had to do extensive hair and prosthetic makeover for the hero.in  getting the eyebrows - curly hair and the skin tone that went with the role of Pushpa Raj. She and Arjun had to spend close to two hours every day. The film grossing Rs 100 crores in the Hindi version alone has put the focus once again on the makeup designer.

She had   worked with Vijay in Bigil too. Her forthcoming  film is Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Alia Bhatt 's Gangubhai Kathiawadi releasing this month and pitted against Ajith's Valimai in Hindi belt.

Her forthcoming film in South is Vikram's Cobra ( Tamil). Her first sojourn in Kollywood was Suriya's  24. She recently worked for Boomerang starring Atharva Murali.

She designed the old look for Nagarjuna in Bigg Boss Telugu show, She also worked with Nagarjuna in Wild Dog. A popular makeup artist in Bollywood, she has designed character of Thackeray, designed dual young and old looks for Madhuri Dixit as well as Ranbir Kapoor for advertisements which garnered a lot of traction. More recently, she has curated three avatars of Akshay Kumar for the Kurkure ad, where he has played the roles of son, father and grandfather. Her work in Padmavat and Bajjirao Nastani were  well received.      . The national award was for the pre-Mughal historical epic Nanak Shah Fakir based on the life of Guru Nanak, wherein she designed the looks for all the characters in the movie        

Maahan ; Dhruv Vikram has arrived

 

Maahan is out and out a film that can be said to be a Dhruv Vikram vehicle to stardom. Karthik Subburaj has given enough meat to Dhruv to chew on and he does it with great relish,  One also need to acknowledge that Vikram does not have  much scenes that brings him out his best. The film's strength is that the three pivotal characters - Vikram- Dhruv and Bobby Simha have been well etched . 

The conflicts scene between father - son is just superb. Dhruv lives the role of a cop with a revenge . His body language , dialogue delivery are just a treat. For Vikram fans they can see Dhruv washing his face his face with soda ( instead of beer like in Swamy) or the dialogue Athuku melay ( I). Good to see the Simha  all wanted to see. Simran role  is not effective.

There is lot of drama that does not connect. This leads  a lack of strong emotions in play. At places where you expect drama, it does not happen. Father- son first time meeting  while the one at Vikram- Simran meeting after two decades is just flat. Cinematography is top class like stunt choreography. Music is  ok. Finally, Dhruv Vikram proves he has with  him the goods to deliver.