A quick preview of four releases from this week: Mohanlal’s Villain, Kalki Koechlin and Richa Chadda’s Jia Aur Jia, Kishore’s village drama Kalathur Gramam and Bharath’s Kadaisi Bench Karthi.
Villain (Malayalam)
Villain
Villain is the latest to employ artistes from other film industries. The film has been directed by B Unnikrishnan, and has stars like Srikanth, Hansika Motwani and Raashi Khanna in important roles. Mohanlal plays the lead, as a retired police officer in this investigative thriller. The project marks Unnikrishnan and Mohanlal’s fourth movie together.
TFPC president Vishal also makes his Malayalam debut with this movie.
Manju Warrier and Raashi Khanna are in this film, too, with music by Suhin Shyam.
Jia Aur Jia (Hindi)
Jia Aur Jia Official Trailer ¦ Richa Chadha ¦ Kalki Koechlin ¦ Arslan ¦ Howard Rosemeyer ¦ 27 Oct1
The two protagonists are inconveniently named Jia, where Kalki’s Jia is carefree and wild, Richa Chadda’s is the last person to get into any trouble. The trailer gave us a peek into their trip, where they travel across scenic locations in Sweden. Richa’s Jia is a scion of a business group and she believes that she has led the company to lose it all. That’s when Kalki’s Jia comes to her rescue.
Directed by Howard Rosemeyer, the road trip film also stars Arslan Goni and has music by Nisschal Zaveri, Sachin Gupta, and Sameer Nichani.
Directed by Saran K Adwaithan, the film stars Kabali actor Kishore and Yagna Shetty in lead roles, with Tarun Shatriya in a pivotal role. The film, set in different time periods (70s, 80s, and 90s), is said to focus on a dispute between a father and son. The film also throws light on village life and how the folks of ‘Kalathur Gramam’ which is located near Pattukkottai, Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, function.
The first schedule of the film was completed in Thoothukudi, while the remaining portions was completed in Chennai. Music is by Ilaiyaraaja and will have Kishore sporting two different looks.
Kadaisi Bench Karthi Movie Stills Starring Bharath, Ruhani Sharma and Angana Roy
Silverscreen.in Copyrighted Photos
Directed by Tamil/Telugu director and screenwriter Ravi Bhargavan, the films stars Bharath, Angana Roy, Punjabi model Ruhani Sharma, and Ravi Mariya. The film was initially slated for an early release but, given the double taxation controversy in the industry, its release was postponed.
Touted to be a lighthearted romantic comedy, the film’s music is by Anbu Rajesh and is produced by John Sudheer under the banner of Rama Reels.
Yet another case has been registered against Vijay’s Mersal. A petitioner from Chennai has asked for the film’s censor certificate to be revoked. He has said in his complaint that the film has several incorrect references to recent events and that it was made with the intention of provoking the people to revolt against the government.
The petitioner also asked for a ban on the film. The Madras High Court has said that it will review the petition on October 27.
The Vijay film has been facing one controversy after another since last month. First, there was a legal issue over its title. And then, the makers were forced to jump through hurdles to get the censor certificate. After its release, the BJP asked for removal of scenes critical of PM Modi from the film. Following public outcry, the party backed down and the film was allowed to be screened in its entirety.
The film had grossed Rs 150 crores at the box office. Trade pundits predict that this could very well be Vijay’s first Rs 200-crore film.
Kamal Haasan, in his latest column for Ananda Vikatan, takes to task big pharma companies and the many ways in which they’ve made medical treatments unaffordable for the poor. But, the biggest revelation by far, was the actor’s declaration that he feels that it is his duty to unite the youngsters of Tamil Nadu.
“There’s an army of youngsters waiting for me. I can feel it. I have this sense of duty towards them. I feel like I should unite them and give them guidance. It is time I did something for them. To this end, I will announce a new way through which they can reach me on November 7. This is not meant for normal conversations, but serious discussions about our state and our vision for the future,” he writes.
The actor says that he does not want people who think of public service as a sort of personal sacrifice to join him. “They will make me feel like I owe them something, which is not the case. I want the kind of people who think of this public service as their duty. We can no longer afford to wait for others to help us. It is time we helped ourselves.”
While many decipher this message as his plans to launch his political career on November 7, some say that Kamal is instead launching an app that will allow him to connect with his fans.
Later, he tweeted clarifying, “I can’t announce the launch of political party just because of media’s insistence. Members of my organisation have been meeting on November 7 for many years now. Any public announcement will happen in the people’s council.”
ஊடக உந்தல் கருதி கட்சியை அறிவிக்க முடியாது. நவம்பர்.7 இயக்கத்தார் கூடுவது எம் பலவருட வழக்கம்.பொது அறிவுப்புகள் மக்கள் மன்றத்திலேயே நடக்கும்
Legendary rhythm and blues pianist and singer-songwriter and rock and roll pioneer Antoine “Fats” Domino has died in New Orleans, his family said Wednesday. He was 89.
Best known for Billboard Top 10 hits like ‘Blueberry Hill‘ and ‘Ain’t That a Shame’, Domino sold more than 65 million records throughout his career (outselling all other rock and roll pioneers in the 1950s except for Elvis Presley) and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, Efe news agency reported.
Domino’s death was confirmed by his daughter, who said the musician was accompanied by his friends and family in New Orleans (also his birth place) until his death Tuesday night.
His debut recording in 1949, The Fat Man, jointly written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew, was the first rock and roll record to to sell more than 1 million copies.
Both Presley and Beatles front men John Lennon and Paul McCartney cited Domino as a key influence on their music, while the Fab Four met with the rhythm and blues artist when they gave a concert in New Orleans in 1964.
Domino had the distinction of being one of the first 10 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees in 1986, along with artists such as Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and James Brown.
He stopped recording music in the 1970s but continued to give concerts until the mid-1990s and remained in New Orleans throughout his life, even staying on after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and flooded his Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood in 2005.
National Award-winning filmmaker Arbaaz Khan has begun work on Dabangg 3. The actor-director says that the team has begun scripting the film and that it will go on floors by mid-2018.
Khan also said that he has no qualms about casting Sunny Leone in the film. “Yes, why not? And why would she be a Munni, we can cast her for something different, but for that, we have to finalize something.”
The third instalment in the Dabangg franchise will have Salman Khan in the lead role. Sonakshi Sinha is expected to join the project as well. Kajol was reportedly also offered a role in the film.
Actress and comedian Mallika Dua, known for her funny videos on social media, is currently facing flak from fans of Akshay Kumar for speaking about how one of his comments made her feel very uncomfortable. Her father, senior journalist Vinod Dua, too, spoke up about this and received flak.
Taking to Facebook, the senior journalist slammed Akshay Kumar for a derogatory comment all in the garb of humour. The post disappeared after Facebook decided to take it down. The post included a clip of what the actor said on the Star Plus show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.
Sorry to quash your hunger for sensationalism but Facebook and perhaps a copyright claim had it removed. Find something better to do. pic.twitter.com/c9zwEslJgA
“I am going to screw this cretin Akshay Kumar for telling his co-worker Mallika Dua that ‘Aap bell bajao, main aap ko bajata hun‘ (You ring the bell, I will bang you)… This is his sense of humour and language… Star Plus… Wake up,” Vinod wrote on Facebook.
He even spoke to IANS about the same. “I don’t expect an apology from Star Plus as they have not aired this episode. But I expect an apology from this fellow (Akshay).”
Mallika herself posted a tweet (which has since been deleted) about how uncomfortable it made her even though she wants comedy to be limitless. “So, I want humor to be limitless. I also don’t want to be uncomfortable at my work place. The lines are blurred,” she wrote.
The Twitter handle of SheSays India posted the clip, calling it “unacceptable behaviour”.
Reports have surfaced that Mallika, along with the other judges Zakir Khan and Hussain Dalal were shown the door from the comedy show after TRP ratings failed to pick up. While there are have been people who have condemned the “joke”, a majority of the comments are directed at Mallika and calling her an “attention seeker”.
Here are some of the response, with users coming to Akshay Kumar’s defence.
No. Its all about gender. If a woman makes a joke, its comedy. But if a man makes the same joke on woman, than it becomes sexist.
In the 90s, when independent artistes were slowly making their way into the music scene, one could listen to a piece of music that wasn’t actually a part of a film. It was the time of MTV and Channel V. It was the time of Baba Sehgal.
I was introduced to Baba Sehgal’s music sometime around 1997. Back then, as a child left under the care of her unsuspecting grandparents, I would religiously watch MTV and Channel V – the two music channels that rose into prominence and played various genres throughout the day.
One afternoon, when I was nearly four, quite used to Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik’s voice echoing from the Onida TV screen, I witnessed a shirtless man with a receding hairline, singing about how his heart beat wildly watching a woman twirl in a ruffled dress. Someone bearing witness to this unusual scene might have considered it inappropriate as hell especially because Sehgal would talk about how he enjoyed chasing women despite their protests. But to the four-year-old me, it was an introduction to a style of music that even now the likes of Honey Singh and Badshah try to emulate, but don’t come close. To that four-year-old, Baba Sehgal was Dr Seuss even before she knew who Dr Seuss was – from where she learnt how to rhyme “musical horn” with “UK porn”.
It was novel to watch a man like Baba Sehgal, not conventionally good-looking and with a voice that could make you cry, in outlandish clothes and bling, but rapping with the panache of a street smart chichora on the roads of Delhi.
Baba Sehgal had long arrived in 1991 with his version of Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby aptly called Thanda Thanda Paani. He rapped, in slow verse, in fast verse, and pretty much included random words and scenarios in his songs that usually went in rhymes, eliciting a smirk if not laughs. Smirks because he had the guts to present himself like that – the ideal besharam who doesn’t take himself too seriously but holds the idea of entertaining people in high regard.
The 90s predominantly saw him juggle two acts: That of the lovestruck man chasing women, and his covers of popular songs from the West given a desi twist. The Baba Sehgal twist. They were original compositions, with stuff borrowed from here and there, whether it was ‘Hakuna Matata’ from The Lion King or the Hindi-Punjabi version of ‘I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt’.
Even before words such as ‘swag’ seeped in, Baba Sehgal transformed Punjabi bolis to party anthems. Case in point: His version of ‘Baari Barsi Khatan Gaya Si’, a wedding number which included a local ruffian courting a woman washing clothes, and Baba Sehgal in shades (it’s night time) holding on to his mic and being serenaded by multiple women. The 90s were a strange time indeed.
When artistes from his time like Anaida, Euphoria and Suneeta Rao were visibly keeping a low-profile, doing the metaphorical “sobering up” when their careers slowed down, Baba Sehgal began trying his hand at other things. Even as his music albums started finding less favour among the audience, he ventured into acting, singing for films, hosting shows and even participating in mind-numbing reality TV shows.
In Telugu cinema, he sang songs for Pawan Kalyan. In Kollywood, he sang the immensely popular ‘Kadhal Vandhale’ from Singam and ‘Osthe Maamey‘ from Osthe, and many songs that would come to be recognised as kuthu songs.
We saw him in films like Rudhramadevi and Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada, roles in which he played someone serious and aggressive. Someone so unlike Baba Sehgal.
Even otherwise, Sehgal manages to stay relevant thanks to social media. When you don’t catch him on screen, he tweets. Some would call it poetry. Some would call it random words that rhyme.
joh pasand hai vohi pakao, you were awesome @MannyPacquiao..
…But, Baba Sehgal continues to make use of the changing times.
In the time of Twitter, Facebook, and Vines, Baba Sehgal has become an icon of sorts with nonsense poetry and verse, rhyming ‘awaz’ (voice) with ‘pyaz‘ (onion). And when you have a pop song trending, be sure to watch out for a Baba Sehgal version of it, like his version of Luis Fonsi’s ‘Despacito’ titled ‘Dil Ko Na Peeto’ [Don’t beat your heart] or the most recent one – Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ which has become Sehgal’s ‘Tape Of You’.
He’s the one guy who can sing about the GST and still get away with it or sing an ode to adrak waali chai and still sound more poetic than some of the lyricists in cinema now.
If anything, Baba Sehgal is one of the few artistes who remains relevant even when his contemporaries have long given up or struggle to keep up with the times. Determined and funny, sometimes crass, sometimes silly, he’s the Indian Dr Seuss, someone who reigned much before ‘Aaj Blue Hai Paani Paani’.
Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran has reportedly walked out of the Kamala Das biopic, titled Aami, starring Manju Warrier, recommending Tovino Thomas in his stead. According to The Hindustan Times, Prithviraj, owing to his busy schedule, decided to back out as he is a part of several other projects.
Prithviraj, who was to play a pivotal role, is the second actor to walk out of the project. Vidya Balan, who was set to play the poet on screen, walked out abruptly, with the makers roping Manju Warrier in.
Currently, the actor has Vimaanam, Detroit Crossing, the untitled Anjali Menon project, Aadu Jeevitham, Karnan, Veluthampi Dalava, Syamanthakam and My Story in the pipeline.
The shooting of this biopic began in March this year at the Kamala Suraiyya Memorial in Punnayurkulam, Thrissur and progressed in various locations including Ottapalam, Mumbai, Kolkata and Ernakulam. Written and directed by Kamal, the film has been bankrolled by Raphael P. Thomas and Roban Rocha under the banner Reel & Real Cinema.
Actor Niharika Singh said that Nawazuddin Siddiqui published details of their relationship in his biography without her consent. The actor had a brief relationship with Siddiqui while working on Miss Lovely.
“None of what he has written has been with my knowledge, let alone my consent. It is this very aspect of Nawaz that caused me to end my relationship with him in the first place. I have always maintained that he’s a brilliant actor. However, I had hoped these acting skills would have remained confined only to the screen. Still, I wish him well,” the actor said in a statement.
Siddiqui claimed that Niharika emailed his ex-girlfriend while pretending to be him and also describes an intimate encounter with Singh in the book.
“Nawaz and I had a brief relationship in 2009 during the making of Miss Lovely that lasted less than a few months. So today, when he paints me as a woman in fur enticing him into her bedroom with candles, or desperately calling him and mailing other women on his behalf, I can only laugh. He obviously wants to sell his book and it would appear that he is willing to exploit and disrespect a woman just to do so,” she added.
Siddiqui’s An Ordinary Life: A Memoir has details on his affair with Niharika, a brush with suicide
Seeing the amazing grace that Deepika Padukone brings to the ‘Ghoomar‘ song in Padmavati, it is evident that the number did not just happen in the routine way that filmy choreographic songs go.
One of the most accomplished Ghoomar dancers of Rajasthan Jyothi D Tommaar was on the sets to make sure that Deepika performed the dance with the understated grace that it deserves.
A source from Sanjay Leela Bhansali productions says: “We wanted to retain absolute authenticity of the ‘Ghoomar‘. Deepika had to perform the subtle and intricate dance form not the way it is shown in our films but the way royalty performs it. In addition to the routine choreographers we got Jyothi Tommaar, a true and disciplined exponent of the Ghoomar who has taught the dance form to the Rajmata of Kishangarh.”
Deepika spent 12 days rehearsing the ‘Ghoomar‘ number and four days actually performing it on camera. About 60 chorus dancers, all trained Ghoomar exponents, performed alongside Deepika.
The result is spectacular beyond belief.
Movie director Sanjay Leela Bhansali says: “We wanted the ‘Ghoomar‘ to retain its purity since this was being performed by Rani Padmavati. Every step and every move in the dance form celebrates the royal grace of royalty. This is our dance tribute to the brave Rajput women of Rajasthan.”
A quick look at everything making news in the world of cinema today!
Sign On
Prithviraj has reportedly backed out of Aami
Girish Gangadharan is the latest to join Vijay’s next
Newsworthy
Vimal’s Mannar Vagaiyara will release this Pongal
Spotlight
The latest song from Padmavati, ‘Ghoomar’ is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s tribute to brave Rajput women. “We wanted the ‘Ghoomar’ to retain its purity since this was being performed by Rani Padmavati. Every step and every move in the dance form celebrates the royal grace of royalty. This is our dance tribute to the brave Rajput women of Rajasthan.”
Timeout
Actor Sivakumar has cautioned young actors to not fall prey to alcohol and cigarettes. In an interview with Maalaimalar, the veteran said that these two habits will negatively impact film career. “Great actors have become slaves to these habits and passed away earlier than they should have. If they had not, then they would still exist now.”
Let them eat cake!
Actors Asin Thottumkal, Raveena Tandon, Amala Paul, Mano will all turn a year older today!
Vijay has a message for everyone. In a statement released on Wednesday, the actor thanked everyone for supporting Mersal amid all the controversy.
In the official press statement, Vijay said, “Mersal has been well received and it is running successfully in the theatres. At the same time, the film also faced certain issues. To counter it, actors, actresses, directors, producers, national and state leaders, nadigar sangam, producers’ council, my friends in the industry and my fans have extended their support to me and Mersal. My heartfelt thanks to all my well wishers for their support and making Mersal a tremendous success.”
Vijay’s official statement
It all started when state BJP president Tamilisai Sundararajan claimed that scenes in the film criticised BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and demanded the producers cut the scenes from the film.The scenes that they wanted to cut were oblique references, without mentioning names or political parties or leaders, were about GST and demonetisation.
‘Ghoomar’ from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati is out, sung mellifluously by Shreya Ghoshal and Swaroop Khan, exploring the traditional Rajput folk song with a Bollywood twist.
The video opens to decked up Rani Padmini (played by Deepika Padukone), walking towards a massive courtyard with other women dancing with lamps and balancing pots on their head. Rani Padmini’s husband, Maharawal Ratan Singh (played by Shahid Kapoor) is at a verandah closeby, and watches his wife dance to this traditional folk number.
Before the release of the video, the social media handle of the tweeted facts about the origin of the song.
Red, gold, lamps, and lots of twirls and spinning, the song is catchy enough to have you spin around like them. Deepika Padukone has reportedly delivered over 66 twirls for this video.
Lyrics are by AM Turaz, who previously wrote the lyrics in SLB’s Guzaarish and Baajirao Mastani.
Jointly produced by Bhansali Productions and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Padmavati is based on the legendary queen from the epic ‘Padmavat’ written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540 CE. The film is scheduled to release on December 1.
The Kee team had released a promo teaser of the film recently taking a dig at Goods and Services Tax (GST). It came right after Mersal landed in a controversy regarding its dialogues on GST. Director of the film, Kalees, says that they have released it to extend their support to the Mersal team.
The teaser has RJ Balaji’s voiceover saying, “If I go to a hotel, the food bill for two people will be so high – as if two more people ate with us. GST is like a burning in the stomach. You are also like that.”
Kalees tells Silverscreen, “I wrote this dialogue when GST came into effect based on my own personal experience of paying bill in a small restaurant. I used it in the film. This dialogue is being said by RJ Balaji while talking to his friend.”
The Kee team had already released an official teaser of the film, which is about cyber-crime, early this month. This promo teaser on GST was released after the Mersal controversy. The promo also ends with a note saying, ‘A film not just entertains but also sends us a message. We care.’
Kalees says, “This teaser is our way of extending support to Mersal team. We, being the part of the same industry, have to support each other in times like this.”
He adds, “Our producer, Michael Rayappan sir, backed us and we went ahead and released the promo without any apprehensions. We are fearless.”
Kee, starring Jiiva and Nikki Galrani, is scheduled to hit the screens by end of this year.
My Son Is Gay, a film that has done the festival circuit around the world, will soon release in the country
If there’s something that Lokesh Kumar, director of My Son Is Gay, had come to realise, it is the non-portrayal of the LGBTQ community on screen; the representations thus far, in regional cinema at least, have been truly terrible. But, My Son Is Gay just cannot be compared with the lot, for it not only tells the tale of a mother and son who are unable to come to terms with the latter’s sexuality, but also aims to educate the masses in a largely heteronormative society.
Silverscreen catches up with the team of My Son Is Gay – from the director and actors to the editor and cinematographer – and documents their individual sentiments about the film.
*****
Lokesh and his team of technicians arrive well before the actors. Huddled around a tiny round table, they are not ready to talk just yet, but agree to converse over a cup of coffee.
Seated around are Lokesh (director), Dani Charles (editor), Divyank (still photographer), Santhan Anebajagane (music composer), Rathina Kumar (cinematographer), and Afsal (line producer). Brief introductions later, I watch the yet-to-be released trailer.
My Son Is Gay tells the tale of a mother who is unable to come to terms with the fact that her son is gay. Her son too, grapples with his sexual identity. Two boys find love in each other’s company, much to the mother’s growing apprehension.
20643431_1297768907011748_1834593441013780320_o
While the trailer is clear about the movie’s aims, Lokesh declares that it’s up to the audience to arrive at a conclusion. “There hasn’t been a single Tamil film talking about homosexuality like what we’ve done, where it’s as straightforward as the title itself,” he says, adding that the film doesn’t tread the preachy path, but instead, includes points of view from various characters. “I did have education in mind while making this film. But, we aren’t taking a stand here. All characters are presented with their opinions; we’re just showing the reality.”
Director Lokesh Kumar (Photo by Dani Charles)
Lokesh, a mechanical engineer, took to filmmaking a few years ago when he realised ‘it was now or never’. Filmmaking, he says, is something he thoroughly enjoys. My Son Is Gay is his first feature film, and it was admittedly tough for him to find actors, largely because of the subject and budget constraints. That’s when producers Anil Saxena and Cyril D’souza stepped in. “They really helped us and came on board bearing good cinema in mind,” Lokesh says.
The film, by the look of the trailer, is heavy on emotion, but also captures the good times between family and friends. The music, by Santhan, adds to the feel of the film. Seated in a corner, composer Santhan is rather humble about his works until Lokesh eggs him on.
Music composer Santhan Anebajagane Photo by Dani Charles
A veteran of sorts, considering he has 400 short films to his credit, Santhan distinguishes between working on a short film and a feature length one. “It was challenging considering the budget was just a fraction of the industry norm. So there were compromises; I had to make music with a software. But the highlight would have to be the sarangi, played by Manonmani, one of the two sarangi players in the city,” he says.
Bagpipes and Irish flute are included too, but all enhanced through music software.
Apart from My Son Is Gay, Santhan has another feature film in the pipeline.
MSIG marks cinematographer Rathina Kumar’s first feature film, but he says that he was always interested in direction.
Cinematographer Rathina Kumar Photo by Dani Charles
Having known Lokesh for a while, Rathina Kumar met him first for a photoshoot, and then worked with him on a pilot film called Irul. For MSIG, the team had to work on a tight schedule in addition to budget constraints. There were times when Lokesh and Rathina had a difference of opinion over shots.
“Cinematographers like working either early in the morning or late at night for proper light. When the cameraman and the director sit and schedule the shoot, it’s called Shot Division. They plan the shots, and every shot has meaning and brings a different mood to the story. In our case, we shot in the afternoon at 12 PM. Few bits were also made on the spot. We would plan something and execute something else,” recollects Lokesh.
Rathina has another feature film in the pipeline titled Bodhai, a small commercial one.
Editor Dani Charles
Editing a video is no easy feat. Dani Charles, the editor, has had to endure several sleepless nights to work on the film. As his day job is that of a celebrity photographer for Silverscreen, Dani’s days when working on the film were all about clicking photos by day, and editing videos by night. With lots of coffee and cigarettes in between.
“Many a time, little edits had to be made. Also, it needed to be edited differently for film fests. I remember even working on my birthday last year!”
Dani is working with Lokesh on another independent project, and a Malayalam film.
*****
MSIG has a fairly young team, with most of them still in college or recent graduates. Line-producer Afsal is one of them. Having known Lokesh for a while, Afsal was interested in acting, given his stint in several short films. However, he had his public exams then and came on board as line-producer. He recollects a lot of warm memories.
Line producer Afsal Photo by Dani Charles
“We used to travel to Kerala by a rickety bus with tons of equipment. And then, we’d have to walk with the equipment at least for two kilometres to get to the spot. Since we were shooting at a secluded place in Kerala, we’d often find scorpions around,” he reminisces.
Still photographer Divyank Photo by Dani Charles
For Divyank, the still photographer, it was more about the experience. Photography was always a passion, even when he was in school. Currently in college, he had to take several holidays to allot enough time for the project. But, like he says, it was all worth it.
Poster designer Venky Photo by Dani Charles
The film’s poster too, has garnered a huge response on social media. Made by Venky, currently in his first year of college, the poster conveys just as much as a trailer would. It’s no surprise that Venky had even designed the poster of actor Vikram’s upcoming film Sketch.
*****
The actors – Ashwinjith, Anupama Kumar, and Abhishek Joseph George – wait at another table, animatedly chatting away. Turns out, the team last met months ago and they all had a bit of catching up to do.
Ashwinjith, the protagonist, is a recent college graduate. While he was interested in acting, his parents were initially apprehensive about this. He learnt about the film via social media and auditioned for it. “After my audition, the director told me that I might get the role but nothing was confirmed,” he says.
Lead actor Ashwinjith Photo by Dani Charles
Lokesh smiles. “His audition was pretty good. It was the scene where he was with the psychiatrist. While many actors weren’t too confident or were apprehensive about playing the role, he agreed and did a good job,” he says.
Speaking about his character Varun, Ashwinjith calls him a “typical mama’s boy”. “ I’d always wanted to do a role that stays. So, getting this kind of a role in my first movie is huge.”
Abhishek Joseph George plays Karthik, a free-spirited gay boy in love with Varun. While to some people the film might be educative or even informative, to Abhishek, it’s a love story. “I just thought of how a person would react when in love; I channeled that irrespective of gender. From Karthik’s point of view, it’s just Varun and his love. Otherwise, he needed to be isolated where his world revolves around a few [other] characters. When you see, it’s a nice, intimate setting in itself.”
Actor Abhishek Joseph George Photo by Dani Charles
Abhishek has worked in films such as Demonte Colony, Adhe Kangal, and the popular web-series As I’m Suffering From Kaadhal. But, he was chosen by Lokesh and Anupama solely for his work in the play Chillu. On choosing this project, Abhishek says, “We met at a park and he [Lokesh] narrated the script to me there. Very unconventional especially when you’d expect going to an office and seeing people working around, there’s collateral in that. But he had so much conviction in the story, he knew the story inside-out and was very upfront about it. I had my own apprehensions. I was being a diva and he took all that,” he smiles.
Anupama Kumar, who plays the mother in the film, has been thanked the most, I notice. Reason? “As you could see, we are a young team and she really helped manage things. Initially, she was on board as an actor but then she started helping with the story, the character development, the costumes, and we even used her home as an office. She multi-tasked through out,” Lokesh says.
Actress Anupama Kumar Photo by Dani Charles
Playing Lakshmi was emotionally draining, but Anupama looked at it as a ‘parenting issue’ given that she’s a parent herself.
“As actors, there comes a point when you feel inadequate, so dissatisfied and want to be a part of a story that needs to be told. Here is a story that can make a potential difference in lives. I have lots of friends who are gay and it was very important for me to tell this story from a personal point of view, being a parent myself. Lokesh helped with a lot of material. Since college I’ve had friends who are gay and I feel their anguish,” she says.
“When playing Lakshmi, I put myself in a scenario that I may have to potentially face as a parent: my son telling me that he’s gay. How am I going to deal with it. It’s as simple as that, when you look at it as though your child is not doing the “right” thing.”
Currently, the team foresees an ‘A’ certificate from the censor board. “We would be surprised if we didn’t get an ‘A’ certificate! But seriously, it’s a clean film. I’ve shown it to my 12-year-old son and he reacted to it as a child would react to something in which a mother rejects her son. ‘A’ is something we don’t want, but there’s a perception that with that rating, there will be adult content,” says Anupama.
The film has been touring film festivals, the latest being its premiere at New York’s LGBT Film Fest (New Fest) on October 23. The film was showcased at various other film festivals, too. Bearing that in mind, there’s one thing the team is looking forward to: “The film’s release, as soon as possible. Most of us haven’t watched it and we’re dying to show it to others!”
The film also stars Kabaali actor Kishore as Lakshmi’s brother, veteran actor Jayaprakash as a psychiatrist. Rekhs has done the subtitles.
*****
Dani Charles, who is associated with My Son Is Gay, is an employee of Silverscreen.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor spoke out in support of Mersal, at a public screening of the film in Thiruvananthapuram.
In a video posted by News First, Tharoor says that GST was badly implemented, and every citizen, business has the right to criticise it. He said there are larger principles at stake, including freedom of expression and censorship. “For the BJP, to come to a cinema that’s already gone through the censor board, and is being screened for the public, and say this scene must be deleted, and then to bully and intimidate the producer till he is willing to cut the scenes, is an unacceptable interference in freedom of expression,” he said.
Tharoor also said that BJP’s calling into doubt Vijay’s name and caste/religion was disgraceful. H. Raja, BJP’s national secretary of the party, had put a copy of Vijay’s voter ID card on Twitter – a clear violation of both Vijay’s privacy, and the platform’s rules about revealing personal information.
Tharoor also spoke about the playing of the National Anthem in movie theatres, and said he welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision about not making it mandatory. He said there are many ways to show one’s patriotism, including paying taxes and being a law-abiding citizen, and standing up for the anthem is more of a show of patriotism than the real thing.
Tharoor also shared a photo of him painting Mersal as a show of support.
Veere Di Wedding, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar, and Shikha Talsania, is all set to release on May 18 next year. Directed by Shashanka Ghosh, the film’s first look was released on Tuesday featuring the four female leads in lehengas. The latest one, released this morning, features them in sherwanis, an attire ideally worn by men at Indian weddings.
The first look poster was released yesterday, with the headline that the mahurat (auspicious date) will be out tomorrow, referring to the release date.
The Madras High Court today has ordered the Chennai city police to file a case against Kamal Haasan after hearing a petition filed by an advocate clerk, Devarajan with regards to the actor’s comments on nilavembu kashayam that is being distributed by the government as a preventive measure for dengue.
Kamal Haasan recently tweeted that the ‘nilavembu’ herbal tonic that has been prescribed for dengue may have side effects. Later, the actor also issued a clarification for his tweet.
சரியான ஆராய்ச்சி முடிவுகள் கிடைக்கும்வரை நம் இயக்கத்தார் நிலவேம்பு விநியோகத்தில் ஈடுபடாதிருக்க கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறேன். மற்ற பணிகள் தொடரட்டும்
Judges directed the city police to file a case against Kamal only if prima facie offence was made. Devarajan had filed a complaint against Kamal for his tweet on nilavembu on October 19. Though police had denied registering a case against the actor, now the court has ordered to file a case.
According to a report in The Times Of India, the petitioner claimed, “On what basis Kamal Haasan passed comments on nilavembu kashayam and asked his fan clubs to refrain from distributing it. Has he ever had it and faced any side effects? Without proper reason he cannot make such comments. He has done it to disturb the peace in the state. The court should take proper action against him and file a case of cyber crime for giving out false information.”
The petitioner also, wanted the court to direct state government to bring out the truth about nilavembu by ordering proper lab tests.
Actress Dominique Huett has accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and sued his company.
In her lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Huett claimed she first met Weinstein at the bar of a hotel in Beverly Hills in November 2010. She says the producer told her he could help with her acting career and asked to see her breasts, saying it would benefit her career if she didn’t have implants, reports people.com.
The court documents claim Weinstein asked Huett to come up to his room for what he said would be a business meeting before disappearing into the bathroom and returning in only a robe.
Next, she says in the documents, he began demanding a massage, which she performed for him after some initial back-and-forth. Weinstein asked if he could perform oral sex on her and would not take “no” for an answer.
She claims the producer then offered her a role on Project Runway.
Huett’s lawsuit targets The Weinstein Company because she claims that prior to the 2010 incident, the company “had actual knowledge of Weinstein’s repeated acts of sexual misconduct with women”.
In particular, the suit claims The Weinstein Company (TWC) was “aware of Weinstein’s pattern of using his power to coerce and force young actresses to engage in sexual acts with him”.
Huett’s attorney Jeff Herman said: “This lawsuit is about putting the casting couch on trial.”
The producer has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 50 women since The New York Times and The New Yorker documented decades of alleged abuse in detailed profiles this month.
Inox and PVR Cinemas had shut down operations in Chennai earlier this month. This decision was taken as a mark of protest against Tamil Nadu government’s decision to impose double taxation on films.
In a press release earlier this month, the MAI called the move “grossly punitive” and “unfair” and declared that all multiplexes operating within the jurisdiction of the Chennai Corporation will go on strike. While PVR and Inox complied with the strike, operators like Sathyam and Jazz Cinemas chose not to take part. Now, both the chains have opened for business again.
A spokesperson for Inox said that discussions with the government were ongoing, and that nothing concrete had been decided yet. Meanwhile, the decision to open theatres once again was made at a high-level meeting recently.
Bookings for films like Mersal, Secret Superstar, Blade Runner 2049 were opened yesterday.
Emmy Award-winning actor Robert Guillaume, best known as the title character in the TV sitcom Benson, is dead. He was 89. Born Robert Peter Williams in 1927, he changed his name to Guillaume to make it more distinctive.
His wife Donna Guillaume said that he had battled prostate cancer in recent years. “He kinda went the way everyone wishes they could, surrounded by love and in his sleep,” Donna said.
She added that her husband really loved making music, entertaining and making people laugh. He treasured his role as Rafiki in Disney’s 1994 animated film The Lion King, she said.
Robert starred as the level-headed butler Benson DuBois on the sitcom Benson from 1979 – 1986. He won the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy for his performance in the role in 1985. Dozens of TV roles followed, including A Different World and Sports Night. One of the most prominent black actors on US Television, Guillaume won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in the comedy series Soap in 1979 and has the distinction of being the first black actor to win outstanding lead actor for Benson in 1985.
Guillaume’s distinctive voice earned him the title role in a 1990 production of Phantom of the Opera in Los Angeles.
He is survived by four children, all of whom had spent time visiting with their father in his final weeks, Donna said.
“He was a good father and a good husband. He was a great, great person,” she said.
IV Sasi, who passed away on October 24, was no ordinary filmmaker by any measure. His films were sharply and unflinchingly political. In his youth, he made films relentlessly, one after another, at a pace no one can aspire for in these days. In 1977, he made 12 feature films, including Itha Ivide Vare, a commercial blockbuster that also earned him a Filmfare award for the best director. He was 29 then.
While it was Sasi’s films such as Devasuram, and Aavanazhi that established Mohanlal and Mammootty as the epitome of masculinity (an image the actors would excessively exploit in their later inferior films), the renowned director has also made many films where the two actors played flawed men who didn’t conform to the societal notions of heroism. In Kaanamarayathu (1984), Mammootty played a middle-aged man who falls in love with a 16-year-old Shobana. Written by Padmarajan, the film was an unconventional poetic romantic drama, the kind of which 65-year-old Mammootty might not take up. In Uyarangalil, which came out the same year, Mohanlal was a ruthless conniver who did many unspeakable crimes to satiate his greed for money and women. The film ends with his suicide.
Sasi often collaborated with eminent writers like T Damodaran and MT Vasudevan to produce sharp socio-political dramas that addressed the common masses who constituted the majority of his audience. His Angaadi (1980) has actor Jayan delivering one of the most cult-classic dialogues in the history of Malayalam cinema. A head-load worker in a market, he lashes out in perfect English at the scions of a rich businessman, “May be we are poor, coolies, trolley pullers, but we are not beggars!…” Angadi, written by T Damodaran, spoke for the working class, and advocated anti-capitalist sentiments deeply rooted in Kerala’s leftist political arena.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxCWhXsGVbE
Sasi’s films were always set in rugged male territories. His Avalude Raavukal (Her Nights, 1978), which launched actress Seema as a star, was an anti-thesis to the many soft porn films that the film industry was producing at the time. The poster of the film had Seema in a white shirt, baring her legs – an image that would shake the moral compass of the Malayali society. The film humanised a young prostitute, spoke about the economic and social conditions that landed her in a profession that treated her as an object of desire, and although the story was told from a male perspective, the film was a far cry from the sexist dramas of the same genre.
IV Sasi’s film didn’t look at sexuality as a moral sin, and didn’t adhere to the norms of the society. Anubandham had Seema playing a young widow who becomes an entrepreneur with the help of a former lover, played by Mammootty. Set in a village, the film treated the romantic relationship between this woman, a mother of a seven-year-old, and the man, a school teacher, with respect.
avalude raavukal
But at the same time, the mass-pleasing films of Sasi were far from feminist. The women, even if they were gutsy and smart, were little more than baits and collateral damages in the stories. The starkest example is Lakshmanarekha, a drama that bares the turbulence in an upper-class family that escalates into a disturbing case of rape. While it is a daring acknowledgement of female desire, the film, written by playwright PV Kuriakose, ignores the element of consent, and the lead female character, Radha (Seema) is physically violated by the film’s protagonist who calls its an act of benevolence.
Lakshmanarekha was released in 1984, one of the best years in Sasi’s career. He made eight movies – some of the most acclaimed ones in his oeuvre – that year. The film begins from the homecoming of the household’s youngest scion, Sudhakaran (Mohanlal) after spending six years in the US. He is smart and brazen, and his return to the house signals the onset of something grave and unpleasant. His brother, Sukumaran (Mammootty) is bed-ridden, after an accident post-wedding left him paralysed. Sukumaran’s wife, Radha (Seema), has a tough existence, caught between her love for Sukumaran, who is practically immobile, and her repressed carnal desires that is indicated through a nightmare sequence where she is watching a serpent resting on a tree trunk. While Sukumaran is writhing in guilt for not being able to be a proper husband to Radha, Sudhakaran goes one step ahead and rapes her one night, after tricking her into having a sleeping pill. The latter has an explanation – a neurologist treating Radha for her recurring headache suggested to Sudhakaran that the disease might be a cause of her sexual deprivation.
Nevertheless, even Lakshmanarekha is a testimony to Sasi’s craftsmanship. He was a filmmaker of the masses, and his films never underestimated the intelligence of the audience who thronged the theatres to watch them. He gave them characters who were rooted in their milieu, yet bore a great heroic quality to aspire for. Sasi loved his cinema, and he enjoyed success like no other filmmaker in Malayalam cinema.
The Madras High Court has banned the use of photos of living persons on banners, hoardings in the state, reported The New Indian Express. This comes after a Chennai resident, B Thirulochana Kumari, filed a petition after the path to her house got blocked by political party flags and banners.
“In order to maintain a clean atmosphere in the state, and to avoid unnecessary drawings on the walls of buildings/residential places, this court directs the chief secretary to ensure that the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959 is complied with,” Justice S Vidyanathan said in the order, according to The Times of India.
This ban applies to hoardings and banners that have been granted permission by the authorities concerned. The HC bench said that the onus is now on the authorities to make sure that the banners do not contain photos of living persons. Even the photo of the person sponsoring the cut-out is not admissible.
Tamil film fans usually erect huge hoardings and cut-outs of their favourite stars ahead of their movie release. It remains to be seen whether the order will affect this practice.
