Sun News gains from Covid news - Star Vijay serials fall below Top 5 after Roja time change

  Sun News which was lagging behind other Tamil News channels has in Week 21 jumped to 5th position in TRP . Top 5 slots are always a domain of soaps. Star Vijay is hit by repeat episides and losing 9PM slot after Sun shifted the top No 1 serial Roja  to that slot. In fact, Zee Tamil's Sundari is showing fast recovery.  A few changes in star cast of serials in Sun and Zee is done.

Azeem and Monisha, two popular Tamil TV actors are entering Sun TV and Zee Tamil , according to reports. Sirinish Aravind , known to Malayalam audience through Bigg Boss 2 and husband of actress Peraly is to expected to come in an important role in Sun's Poove unkahahe. Arun who acted in Kathir role in the serial has quit. Kathir role is expected to end  but Srinish comes in a new character. In Roja serial, Aarthi Ram who came in the serial in early parts comes again as friend of Sakshi in Roja serial as the female villain  character played by Shamili has changed after the actress quit. Aarthi is the new baddie  and in a new avatar.

Azeem after Pagal Nilavu on Star Vijay has a huge fan base. He was tipped to be a contestant in Bigg Boss4 Tamil and along with his co- star Shivani had even gone in for quarantine. At last moment Azeem dropped out. Recently he announced his divorce with wife Zoya. Now Azeem is coming in Sun's Poove Unakahe, The entry of Azeem is expected to boost the serial ratings.

Monisha who acted in Aramana Kili on Star Vijay had to quit after the serial was stopped due to corona restrictions,. Now she is expected to join the Zee Tamil Poove Poochooda vaa. Reshma who is heroine of the serial will continue. Zee Tamil serials shoot are going in Hyderabad. Monisha started in Mazhavil Manorama's Manjurukum kalam.

Sun TV started work on new serial Unnakum Enakkum which Has Arnav ( azhagu- Kalyana Parisu) in the lead. Arnav was seen in webseries Singa Penne on Zee5.

Maoist leader betrayed Brigand Veerappan - First reporter to interview bandit reveals all

 

 CPI( Maoist) leader SM who had close links with the Brigand Veerappan betrayed him by disclosing his movements to the STF in return for looking the other way and getting all access  to a luxurious life reveals Sivasubramanian, the first reporter to interview the brigand and publish it in Nakheeran. His latest book - veerappan-vazhnthathum-veezhnthathum - The autobiographical book that has published three books earlier tracing  Veerappan's life from childhood, in the latest reveals the truth behind the STF  route to trap the sandalwood smuggler. Those in the know claim that the Maoist leader decision could not have been a party decision. Out of the five prisoners release demanded by Veerappan in exchange for Dr Rajkumar, two were from TNLA  the Marxist- Leninist group and three from Tamil National Retrieval Troops that attacked a police station in Erode. 

The then US Consul General Richard Haynes had informed his country that the death of Veerappan would lead to more domination of Maoists as the situation that led to the rise of the brigand stills exists in Satyamangalam forests and this vacuum would be filled by the left wing extremist group. It was revealed by Wikileaks.

The writer says that SM or otherwise known as Sundaramoorthy, head of the Tamil Nadu operations of CPI(Maoist) was tired of living underground. STF struck a deal with him and gave him liberty to move about freely and assured him that their target was Veerappan. and that would drop all charges against him. SM who was in touch with Veerappan was used as conduit to gain confidence and even supplied arms.

Consequently the events showed that Maoists gained from the killing of the bandit. An Intelligence report to which Deccan Chronicle was given access has warned the southern states of the 'activation' of a Maoist South Western Regional Bureau (SWRB) at the 'trijunction' of the three southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala despite the strict enforcement and deployment of police and special forces in the rest of India. SWRB comprises the three states, in the former brigand Veerappan’s territory that spans Denkenkottai in Tamil Nadu to Anchetty in Kerala.

"Veerappan territory is around 18,000 sq km across three states. The Maoists are gradually gaining ground in these areas including Gopinatham in Chamrajnagar — the border district in Karnataka and Sathyamangalam forest in the Karnataka - Tamil Nadu border because of several reasons including the dense forest cover and a largely tribal population's resentment against atrocities committed by the special task force, constituted to nab Veerappan," said the officer. Ironically STF Chief Vijayakumar  was called back from retirement to head anti Naxal operation.

Ban Amazon and FamilyMan2 Against Tamils trends on Twitter OSLO Tamils protest

 #BoycottAmazon on Twitter at the time of writing has crossed 70 thousand followers and #FamilyMan2AgainstTamils too is fast trending. Except for Naam Tamilar Katchi Seeman, no Tamil personality has given any public statement calling for ban on Amazon for streaming The family Man2. The reactions in the tweet are very emotional.

Some have posted their request to cancel the app and others saying that they cancelled orders placed for high end products like Smart TV's on Amazon. Even non Tamils have expressed their support to the Ban Amazon saying that they go along with their Tamil brothers.

Manoj Bajpai had defended the web series that the directors Raj and DK were Tamils and there was a host of other actors from Tamil industry. The Tamil film industry would keep a silence as Amazon Prime Video is the number one buyer of films for their platform. They were the first to premiere a Tamil film and are in the process to doing more such premieres.

The objections this time is not as much as in dialogues or visuals. The twisting of history to suit the plot has angered the pro- Eelam groups and those in the know of history. Though the IS is seen as the villain who tricked Baskaran into masterminding into an assassination attempt on Indian PM, the fact remains that LTTE had never collaborated with IS as their ideologies were different. The IS- LTTE nexus was a story put out by the then Union Govt and now given credence in the web series.

Baskaran the Thailvar is in exile and plotting in London's safe havens.  Theepan the Military Commander who won several battles for LTTE and was involved in the peace talks under the auspices of Norwegian mediators is shown as living in exile at London and working against Baskaran's mission to avenge his brother's death. The revered heroes of LTTE are shown as men filled with deceit and emotional fools.

It has to be seen whether the Ban Amazon would remain a hashtag or spill over to the streets. Much depends on the celebrities ( film industry members). Latest reaction from Shivalingam Director Norwegian Tamil Film Festival Oslo, Norway -This web series is all about fantasy. But the screenplay is set to twist our history against truth and virtue to please the Indian state with something unimaginable.

Why is it so cruel to us for the Hindi film industry and the directors of the Telugu nation? Hate?

I do not know which series you are making tells the history and pain of Tamils!

Similarly, will you allow our real history and stories to be made into movies, internet series and published in India as they are ?!

They are bent on slandering Tamils ​​and misrepresenting history. This is deliberately northern in a way that portrays Tamils as a whole as terrorists Created by art merchants .

This sequel to the series of films like Madras Cafe, Race, Tiger Vision in recent times is a work that should be ignored and strongly opposed

Parvathy 's Navarasa to be streamed on NetFlix - Yet another blow to Tamil Nationalists after The Family Man 2

Actress Parvathy T  episode in Navarasa anthology soon to stream on NetFlix is yet another cock a snook  at the Tamil nationalists who are deeply offended by her call to revoke the decision to give ONV Award to Vairamuthu , Tamil lyricist- poet- writer and national award winner. It led to the latter returning it back   It is also learnt that co-actor Siddharth is currently producing a film with Parvathy and directed by Rathindra ( who directed the episode in Navarasa). Seeman and Vaiko, two champions and Tamil nationalists cried hoarse to stop The Family man 2 from streaming on Amazon Prime and even the State Government demanded it in writing. The web series is already streaming and now Seeman says that he will seek legal remedy.

In the case of Navarasa, the proceeds from the project is for film workers. Already Rs 10 crores has been put in the bank and interest amount goes towards paying ration bills of 10,000 workers. The Tamil groups have not given any call publicly and as it is a project that helps Tamil workers, the only way is to grind their teeth,

Samantha,  who plays the LTTE's woman pilot in the mission taking place in  Chennai has won many hearts for her intense performance. She was lambasted for accepting a role that shows LTTE in poor light, the series shows her as a die hard follower of Thalaivar Baskaran ( read Prabhakaran) and will do anything for the cause of Tamil Eelam. On the flip side, fans liked her `bold' bedroom scenes in the web series.

Though many are flabbergasted that Prabhakaran is shown as a person living in exile at London, the major bad look to the movement comes from the  plot that shows LTTE and ISIS working in tandem. This gives the movement an image of  LTTE being not a liberation movement but a terror outfit that unites with any groups that helps them. Yet another fall out is that the underlying tone of the Tamil population disliking Central intervention and seeing it as a North Indian effort to scuttle the movement. even the PM is furious that she faced protests in Tamil Nadu.

Related : https://southfilmy.blogspot.com/2021/06/mammootty-parvathy-film-tamil-nadu.html

A R Rahman's Majja to release Made in Jaffna album

A R Rahman 's artiste centric platform Majja is to  release album Made in Jaffna by Shan  Vincent De Paul, Tamil rapper based in Toronto.  He released a single Savage which  was part of the  third studio album Made in Jaffna. The video album has  Paris based Usha Jay's choreography a hybrid Bharatanatyam.,

Inspired by the term that colonizers used in reaction to South Asians eating with their hands, the video's opening shot is a mysterious character pantomiming exactly that. Shot in a picturesque theater space, dancer Usha Jey combines Bharatanatyam - a classical form of Indian dance with modern Hip Hop. Sprinting from one end of the theater to the next, Usha beautifully embodies the juxtaposition that is artful dance meets anger-fueled rage. Directed by Shan and Arsenij Gusev, the captivating visual takes the audience through a sci-fi inspired world where parallel dimensions intersect through dance.

Speaking about the single , Shan says -I wrote this at a really dark point in my life - it was made out of pure expression without considering any audience or listener. It was written for myself, but when I started performing it on tour the crowd would always go insane, so I knew it was one of those anti-hit hits. Sometimes we need the release of darkness, to dance with our rage to find that balance when the light comes." -About Usha's choreography and dance he says - “I knew she had to be the star of the video when I saw her style. It was a perfect way to respond to the derogatory title of  ‘Savage’ that was often used against us. I also wanted to take Bharatanatyam as far away from the realm you would expect it to be in.” Shot in Berlin, the video features two avatars of Usha, performing her trademark ‘hybrid Bharatanatyam’.

Shot in Berlin, the video features two avatars of Usha, performing her trademark ‘hybrid  Bharatanatyam’.

Source: https://www.broadwayworld.com/

Roja serial female villain refuses to act in Corona time - Clandestine shoots go on

Exit of Shamili Sukumar from  Roja ,the number one TV soap on Sun TV, has exposed the clandestine shooting of Tamil serials that are going on during Lock Down period and trade unions publicly stating that the members will not work till the curbs are eased but looking the  other way. 

Shamily plays the female villain in Roja which has being the topper of all soaps. She said that she was pregnant and as there was medical advice to not take part in the shoots as it may expose her and baby to infection from corona virus, she decided to back off. At present many doctors are not for vaccinating pregnant mothers.

The previous lockdown in March 2020, saw many seials go in for repeats. This time however the shoots are going on in full swing and there is no repeats. To save on footage, some serials are running the full opening title song and fill up four minutes of  telecast time. The shoots are going on in private bungalows along ECR and road to Puduchery. Sources said that except for makeup - camera department, all others have been done away with. As much as possible combination shots are avoided.

In some cases, channels have converted their offices into shooting floors and shooting floors used for shows to shoot TV soaps. A leading production house that owns a film studio in the outskirts of the city has made full use of it to shoot soaps for its channel ( non Tamil).

FEFSI, apex body of film trade unions is sitting quietly as they cannot stop work and appear to be anti- worker. When the total; lock down was announced, FEFSI got a reprove from CM to allow 16 TV shoots going on the floors to work. DMK has its own channel Kalaignar and Marans owned Sun TV. Later, a surprise check on sets of Bigg Boss Malayalam showed that 6 of the 25 tested were found positive. Instances were the same in many TV sets. FEFSI publicly withdrawal of its members from working.

Post production studios that were closed during last year lockdown have not been affected. Dubbing and many other technical works are on. Some small time film units have managed to get permission saying that they were shooting corona awareness film.

It will be a bonanza time says a film worker as many Hindi TV serial producers have evinced interest in shooting in Chennai after they found that the present DMK ministry is pro cinema- TV and turned a blind eye to the shootings during lock down. Hindi soaps did shift to Gujarat and other areas in North where there is no lock down. They found that the manpower and equipment available was not update and workers unprofessional in acritude.

Mammootty- Parvathy film Tamil Nadu release in doubt after Vairamuthu attack

 Will Mammooty- Parvathy’s Puzhu get a theatrical release in Tamil Nadu ?. This question has cropped up after actress Parvathy T questioned the ONV award given to lyricist Vairamuthu by a panel headed by Internationally renowned film director Adoor Gopalkrishnan.  Adoor defended the decision saying that the award was for the literary contribution. Parvathy said that choosing between art and humanity, she would plump for the latter. Meanwhile Omar lulu who has directed commercial films and got noticed through his film Oru Adar love for the famous wink by one of the heroines has asked Parvathy whether she would citing the same humanity consideration  compensate the producer of Malayalam film My Story , as it suffered losses due to her hate speech then.Recently, Mohanlal had called Omar and told him that he loved the new version of Mapilla song Mahiyil Maha’ by Peer Mohammed. The video album ‘Jaana Mere Jaana’ sung by Vineeth Sreenivasan, featuring Dubai-based social media influencers Ajmal Khan and Jumana Khan has got over 3.5 million views in YouTube within just two weeks of its release.

Vairamuthu was named by singer Chinmayi in the MeToo campaign. After that she has been sidelined by the music industry and also the dubbing union ( she dubs for Telugu films). She being a member of the union fought a battle against the Union President Radha Ravi and found to her dismay that she was had even forfeited her right to vote in the union poll. The music industry too seems to have developed a touch me not attitude to her. Her supporters on social media are campaigning for her come back.

In this backdrop, Parvathy who questioned the rationale of giving a literary award to a person named of sexual misconduct has raised the hackles of Tamil filmdom. The talk is that her Malayalam outing with Mammooty titled Puzhu might not get distributors. Though there is no official word on it, the buzz has spread in Kodambakkam. The film is produced by Dulquar Salman. Mammooty’s films have a decent draw at the TN box office. His recent film One , a political thriller set inKerala’s political backdrop, did good business when released. Right from CBI Diary Kurripu ( ran for a year) onwards and his straight Tamil outings have all been accepted well by the Tamil audience.

Parvathy had blasted the misogynist dialogue mouthed by Mammooty in Kasaba and that she is now paired opposite him in Puzhu , for  the first time.. Mammooty had also supported her and Revathy who asked for changes in the byelaws of actors body AMMA. Later Parvathy resigned from AMMA citing that the remark by its secretary on whether Bhawana would act in the film to be produced by the association was in bad taste. She asked others to quit the AMMA - I urge every member to see that it’s a hazy bubble of “welfare” that’s wrapped around a core of corrupt morals (sic).". Manju Warrier who is heading Womens Collective, a body of women in cinema too had earlier quit AMMA. She recently acted opposite Mammooty for the first time in The Priest.

Parvathy who made her Tamil debut with Poo had acteed in Dhanush film Maryan. She  shocked many when replying to a query answered that she had heard of the actor till she was offered the film. Similarly at a debate on misogynism in cinema cited Arjun Reddy with its hero Vijay Devargonda being one of the participants.