Zaira Wasim, star of Dangal and the recent Secret Superstar, says that she is still not sure if she wants to pursue an acting career in the future.
“I still do not know if I am going to become an actress in future as a serious full-timer, but every time when I act, I try to deliver my best… Both the films that I have done offer beautiful stories,” Zaira told IANS.
Recalling her audition for Dangal, she said: “I did not go there with any expectation, but with a curious mind to explore and know what is acting and how they audition. Rest was a process and I think I am one of the luckiest children who got the best opportunity. And then working with AK (Aamir Khan) twice… I am blessed.”
Life after Dangal has changed a lot for Zaira. The actor shared a hilarious incident with a fan who assumed that she was a boy due to her short hairstyle.
“Oh yes, I want to share this. So, we all know that my hair was cut for Dangal and my look was different, right? One day, a fellow came to me with a mobile phone, saying, ‘Arrey bhaiya, aap woh Aamir Khan waale picture me thhe na? Ek photo le le?’ I mean because of my short hair, that guy calls me brother? I mean my first fan… and bhaiya?”
However, despite the misunderstanding, Zaira says that it is all worth it. “They look at me with so much love and affection and appreciate me for my work! What could be more overwhelming than this?”
Fame has not changed the young actor, who continues to be the ‘silly, clumsy’ kid who trips over everything.”Seriously, you can ask my mom, I was such a good, silent kid who was never curious to touch the fire to see what happens. No, I was not cranky or irritating who was crying every now and then… I remained a good girl as a baby.”
Actress Richa Chadha, who minces no words when she talks about social issues, says it’s important for people to keep the discussion on about sexual harassment all the time, instead of only when it’s “trending”.
The social media has been abuzz with a ‘Metoo’ campaign, as part of which women from across the world have been expressing their experiences with sexual harassment.
Richa told IANS: “First, I would like the media to carry a consistent campaign against sexual harassment, verbal or otherwise, not just discuss it in a hurry when it’s a ‘trending’ topic.”
Secondly, she feels, “Men all over the world need to recognise the privilege they have in that, they can wear what they want, do whatever they want, go wherever they want, hang out with who they want without anyone questioning their character”.
“The axis of the world is tilted in favour of the man. And I am not surprised by women contributing to the ‘MeToo’ campaign,” added the actress, who has featured in films like Fukrey and Masaan.
The campaign is in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein by a long list of actresses including Lupita Nyong’o, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyongo has become the latest Hollywood celebrity to have come forward about her experience with controversial producer Harvey Weinstein. The actress says that Weinstein tried to get her drunk and touched her without her consent at a meeting.
In an article for The New York Times, Nyong’o said she first met Weinstein in 2011 at an awards ceremony. During their second meeting, he asked her to attend a screening at his home after sharing lunch at a restaurant. When she arrived at the restaurant Weinstein ordering her a vodka soda and asked her to drink it.
Nyong’o said: “Harvey told me that I needed to drink the vodka and diet soda. I informed him that I would not. ‘Why not?’ I remember him asking. ‘Because I don’t like vodka, and I don’t like diet soda, and I don’t like them together,’ I said. ‘You are going to drink that,’ he insisted. I smiled again and said that I wouldn’t. He gave up and called me stubborn. I said, ‘I know.'”
Weinstein then took her to his home and introduced Nyong’o to his domestic staff and children.
Nyong’o wrote that she, Weinstein, and his children all began watching the film together. However, about 15 minutes into the film Weinstein asked her to accompany him to his bedroom.
“I protested that I wanted to finish the film first, but he insisted I go with him… Harvey led me into a bedroom — his bedroom — and announced that he wanted to give me a massage. I thought he was joking at first. He was not. For the first time since I met him, I felt unsafe,” Nyong’o wrote.
She wrote that he later asked her to remove his pants and she felt uncomfortable and moved toward the door.
“I opened the door and stood by the frame. He put his shirt on and again mentioned how stubborn I was,” she wrote.
Later, Nyong’o met Weinstein for dinner and a staged reading of his new Broadway show Finding Neverland. A couple of months later, Nyong’o wrote, Weinstein invited her to have drinks with him after a screening of W.E.
While she thought there would be more people, she ended up being alone with Weinstein.
Nyong’o said Weinstein again tried to get physical with her, but she still said “no”. But she got scared thinking whether this would mean an end to her acting career.
“‘I just want to know that we are good,’ I said. ‘I don’t know about your career, but you’ll be fine,’ he said. It felt like both a threat and a reassurance at the same time; of what, I couldn’t be sure,” she said.
Besides Nyong’o, various other actresses like Kate Beckinsale, Cara Delevingne, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie among others have put sexual assault allegations over Weinstein.
Doctors across Tamil Nadu are protesting against Mersal by sharing pirated links of the film on social media. Claiming that the film shows them in poor light, they said that they have chosen this silent protest as this would hit the film’s box office collection.
According to a report in The Times Of India, led by the state chapter of the Indian Medical Association, doctors have been sharing links of the movie through social media and have been asking their fellow medical staff to not pay for the movie tickets. “We decided not to approach the media or court for relief. We will only be giving more publicity for the movie. Instead, if we spread the movie links online, it will hit their collections. I hope they will realise then,” Indian Medical Association president Dr TN Ravishankar told TOI.
In one of scenes in the film, which is about corruption in medical practice, Vijay says that people go to private hospitals as government hospitals do not provide good services. “He also says we use this profession only to make money,” Dr Ravishankar said.
The association has also sought support from other organisations, including the Association of Physicians of India, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society of India and Indian Radiologists and Imaging Association.
Actress Lindsay Lohan, who earlier defended accused rapist Harvey Weinstein, says she didn’t receive any public support from “most women in America” when she was in an abusive relationship with former fiance Egor Tarabasov.
While over three dozen Hollywood actresses have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, Lohan took to Instagram on Wednesday to clarify why she stood behind the movie producer, reports usmagazine.com.
“Whatever anyone says, I am for women empowerment as if most women in America cared how I was abused by my ex fiance… When not one person stood up for me while he was abusing me,” Lohan wrote alongside a screenshot from the movie Parent Trap.
The Mean Girls star accused Tarabasov last year of attempting to strangle and kill her.
“You could only imagine what it feels like to come out as a strong woman, but acknowledge this, we all make our own choices and wake up in our own beds in the morning. I prefer to go to my home and wake up alone. Be strong let us not blame anyone as karma will always takes its toll,” she added.
In my review of Mersal, I pointed out that the underlying plot of the film seemed to have some similarities with Kamal Haasan-Singeetham Srinivasa Rao film Apoorva Sagodarargal. Others pointed out how Mersal seemed to have similarities with Dhoom 3, which in turnhad similarities with the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige.
Both films had an honest-upright-defender of justice father who is brutally killed by the villains. Both films had brothers – nearly identical twins – who grow up separated from each other. One of the brothers learns the secret of their father’s death, and swears revenge. He sets about killing the men who killed his father. However, suspicion falls on the other brother. The rest of the film is about how the two brothers unite, and jointly exact revenge and fulfill their destiny.
Apart from the plot, there are other similarities. While Apu of Apoorva Sagodarargal, played by a “not what you think” dwarf Kamal Haasan, who worked in a circus and had access to animals and complicated Rube Goldberg killing machines, Vetri of Mersal, played by Vijay, is a magician and builds his own killing machines.
A circus clown and a magician are both entertainers – one putting on a mask to elicit laughs, the other masking sleight of hands to create illusions. However, both Apu and Vetri build elaborate “tricks” to hide themselves from their target’s eyes. And build fancy contraptions to kill them as well.
Contrast this to a series of “bow” like devices in Mersal which launched glass bottles at the villain SJ Suryah, in the climax.
A famous line from Apoorva Sagodarargal, said by the midget Apu, goes “Sethupathykku porandhadhu retta. Adhula onnu kutta” – a fine wordplay in Tamil – “Sethupathy children are twins. One’s a dwarf.” Not exactly identical twins – one’s “smaller” than the other. Here, in Mersal, not-exactly twins – Maaran and Vetri, with Vetri the younger (smaller) of the two. However, it is the “smaller” twin in both films who seeks revenge, and has to educate the other.
Raja, of Apoorva Sagodarargal, was a mechanic who made the car’s heart kept on ticking. Maaran of Mersal, is a doctor who really does keep your heart ticking. Apart from the obvious differences, both have hearts of gold, and very slick dance moves.
Kamal Haasan, as Raja, has the slickest dance moves.
Vijay too has slick dance moves
Both sons are the chip-of-the-old-block of the father – Thalapathy of Mersal, and Sethupathy of Apoorva Sagodarargal. A honest man, a defender of law and order, a keeper of the peace, a man who will stand up for his fellow humans, and question injustice. Both fathers are maimed and killed brutally while trying to protect their respective children.
Similarities however, does not mean that one film is a copy of the other. After all, Apoorva Sagodarargal, perhaps one of the best Tamil films made, was itself partly inspired by the legendary The Circus a film by Charlie Chaplin. What matters is that Mersal took the plot of the film, and made it its own. There are other enough original elements – such as the hospital malpractices and corrupt doctors (a theme that Vijaykanth, Vijay, and many other “heroes” of Tamil cinema have dabbled in before), and that a Vijay film is a blockbuster, mass, action-drama-musical masala film.
However, Apoorva Sagodarargal took the best elements of a masala film, and mixed it up in great ways to bring us a film that remains a classic, 28 years after it first came out.
What a brilliant actor Induja Ravichandran is. In Meyaadha Maan, she plays Sudar, the sister of lead actor Vaibhav Reddy, who plays ‘Idhayam’ Murali – named after the 1991 movie starring actor Murali. As her brother drinks, mopes, and does the things that have become quite ritual for lovelorn men in cinema to do, Sudar lives up to her role as the feisty sister. A few moments in, she’s engaged in a nasty brawl with a guy over a ‘proposal’ – and as her brother arrives, hackles and sickles raised, it is revealed Sudar had delivered the letter. Other instances of hilarity solely belong to Sudar and Vivek Prasanna, the actor who plays Murali’s friend. But Meyaadha Maan – which incidentally is the name of the band that Idhayam Murali is a part of – chooses to focus on the lead couple and their dreary romance.
‘Idhayam’ Murali, who is said to embody the spirit of North Madras, falls in love with Madhu (Priya Bhavani Shankar), who is portrayed as distinctly upper class – and caste. And drawing inspiration from the movie the lead is named after, she’s all things dainty to his dilapidation, pretty house, a pomeranian, the works. He, on the other hand, is the stray that wanders inside – an analogy that the movie makes, by way of Madhu’s father, and tries to milk for what it’s worth. Hero sulks, drinks more, indulges in derogatory commentating, calls the girl names, calls the family names. Santhosh Narayanan supports the proceedings with traditional bar songs with lyrics that may mean something if you are well and truly drunk.
Amidst all this, Sudar falls in love. And thus begins a romance that sparks some real interest, and is a source of much mirth. When a potential suitor tells Murali that he fell in love with Sudar when he saw her tending to a wounded puppy and helping an elderly person across the road, he’s driven out in style. Later though, Vinodh, who finally begins to feel a little less brotherly towards Sudar, falls for her when she helps a visually-challenged woman write her exams. This moment isn’t set to a romantic score, but is just as funny as the couple themselves.
But Vinodh and Sudar end up being mere props in the grander scheme of things. A subject that Tamil cinema doesn’t tire of exploring with different actors and screen-names: A romance that almost fails and gives rise to a bearded creature who drinks, dances, abuses. There’s nothing about Murali that would make you want to sympathise with him, nor does Madhu inspire any interest; they just end up being mere stereotypes of the world they are portrayed to belong to. The only consolation perhaps, is the fact that the movie could be, and probably is a satirical take on Idhayam.
Vinodh and Sudar, on the other hand, are refreshingly honest in their rooted performances: They wear their hearts on their sleeve and live it up every moment with a joke or two and creating general mayhem as they go. If not for these two, Meyaadha Maan would just end up in the league of movies that have an idea but don’t quite know what to do with it.
*****
The Meyaadha Maan review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Casey Affleck, who won the Oscar this year for Manchester By The Sea, will star in a TV series, which is to be directed by Alfonso Cuarón, director of Gravity.
According a report in Deadline Hollywood, “Details about the projects are being kept under wraps but it is a horror genre series that tracks the origins of a cult. Cuarón is writing, directing and executive producing. The content is being pitched to pay cable and streaming outlets, garnering interest from multiple networks. This would be the first TV series role for Affleck.”
Cuarón, who won Oscar for Gravity, has previously co-created the NBC drama series, Believe.
Affleck will next star in Old Man and the Gun and in Light of My Life.
Ranveer Singh has been approached to play the lead in the sequel of Singh Is Kinng. Re-titled as Sher Singh, producer Shailendra Singh said that he had to rename it after not getting permission from filmmaker Vipul Shah, admitting that it was difficult to acquire the rights to the character’s name.
“While we had initially wanted the title Singh Is Kinng, Vipul Shah refused to part with it. I have been asking him to return it to me for the last five years. Then, I decided to pick another name, because, the name Singh Is Bliing had also been explored. So, a similar sounding title would cause confusion. Bollywood doesn’t have an iconic superhero. Sher Singh will be that character. He does not have super powers, but will be an extraordinary human being,” he tells Mid Day.
While Ranveer Singh has showed interest in the character, requesting the producer to send him a 10-page script, talks aren’t confirmed yet.
Last month, Shailendra Singh admitted to not being able to obtain the title from Shah. Interestingly, in July, Vipul Shah was forced to change the title of his film to Namastey Canada, after Akshay Kumar denied the team Intellectual Property (IP) rights to use the title Namastey London. The film stars Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra. The film is a sequel to Kumar’s Namastey London.
The grand 2.0 audio launch event in Dubai is scheduled to happen on October 27. Tickets for the event are already available. The complimentary tickets – regular standing and seating, are almost sold out. VIP seating – that includes a table for 6, 8 or 12 persons with prices ranging from 20,990 AED (Rs 3,71,625) to 38,500 AED (Rs 6,81,637), are also available.
The event will unfold at the Burj Park in downtown Dubai. AR Rahman is expected to perform live at the event – possibly a medley of songs from the film. Amy Jackson is also expected to make a special appearance onstage, according to the film’s spokesperson.
Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Shankar will attend the event. Several celebrities from the South Indian film industry have also been invited for the function.
Mersal has opened to a terrific box office collection on the first day. With a record breaking collection of Rs 31.3 crore, the Vijay film is now among the top three openers in Kollywood history.
According to a report in Forbes, first day collection was approximately Rs 31.3 crore. With Rs 18-19 crore gross collection in Tamil Nadu alone, Mersal is now next to Rajinikanth’s Kabali, which collecteded Rs 23.5 crore in Tamil Nadu on its opening day last July. Mersal is leading in Chennai with Rs 1.52 crore, whereas Vivegam collected Rs 1.21 crore, Kabali Rs 1.12 crore and Vijay’s Theri Rs 1.05 crore.
Overseas, also Mersal is doing a great business. “Mersal beat the opening day grosses of Dangal and Raees in the United States, and as of Wednesday, it was approaching a $500,000 total there. Openings in other territories were at or near record levels, with the UK tallying £94,311 (₹ 81 lakhs), Malaysia scoring MYR 586,665 (₹90.3 lakhs), and Australia A$33,057 (₹ 68 lakhs),” reported Forbes.
Malayalam film star Dulquer Salmaan makes it a point to focus on work, and not the stardom it brings.
“Honestly, I do not take my stardom seriously, only work. I know my fans love me because of my work. Yes, if they are my fans, they will come to watch me in theatres even if the film is not so good.But if I am continuously delivering bad films, no one will come to watch me. So, all that matters is a good film,” Dulquer told IANS.
The actor only accepts films that he believes in. “So, yes, my parameter of choosing a script applies for everybody. I think as an actor, if I cannot see myself in the character that I have been offered, I cannot play the part. So I do not do a film unless convinced.”
The actor was one of the jury members of the short film section – Dimension of the 19th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star.
He watched 17 films and said: “These films not only show the potential of the budding filmmakers but also gave me a perspective of Mumbai. I lived there for my acting classes for some time. I felt the spirit of Mumbai and its energy in those films.”
The Bollywood and south Indian film industry are going through an interesting cultural exchange. Such collaborations are the best way to celebrate the ‘inclusive nature’ of our culture, Dulquer said.
“I think that is the best way to celebrate the inclusive nature of our culture, firstly. And I think this is but natural because we are all migrating to parts of India and getting familiar with each other’s culture. So as a Punjabi, you must be having some south Indian friends with whom you share films and talk on that. That is how you get a glimpse of Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu cinema.”
He added:
“Of course, if you like any actor in that, you slowly start admiring him and that is how our fan following expands. In films, we utilize that to get a greater reach. I see more of such collaborations happen in future.”
Dulquer Salman was last seen in Bejoy Nambiar’s Solo.
Five people, including four members of the right wing outfits Karni Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), were reportedly arrested on Thursday for allegedly vandalising a rangoli inspired by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati.
The police had filed an FIR on October 16 against a group of people for ruining artist Karan K’s rangoli depicting a poster of the film at a mall in Surat. Based on a video, which shows vandals shouting “Jai Shri Ram” as they damaged the art work, police arrested them.
Protesting against the movie #Padmavati, Rajput Karni Sena members rubbed out rangoli created for film’s promotion at a mall in Surat(16.10) pic.twitter.com/vbCGWHanQt
More arrests are likely to happen as the video footage recovered shows 8-10 people involved in the activity. Speaking to PTI News, Surat Commissioner of Police Satish Sharma said that the case will be dealt with utmost strictness.
“Freedom of expression is everyone’s right in a democracy, but vandalism will not be allowed,” he said.
Thus far, the people have been arrested under various sections of Indian Penal Code including 141, 149 (unlawful assembly), 451 (trespassing) and 427 (mischief causing damage).
On Tuesday, Deepika Padukone appealed to Union Minister Smriti Irani to take action against those who vandalised the art that took 48 hours to make. The artist himself shared two photographs on social media. In one image, he can be seen making a rangoli inspired by the poster of the film, while the other shows the artwork completely vandalised by attackers.
Padmavati also features Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
In the film, Deepika plays the role of Rajput queen Padmini, while Shahid will be seen as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer will essay the role of Alauddin Khilji.
During its production, the film witnessed many ups and downs.
Earlier this year, activists of Shri Rajput Karni Sena assaulted Bhansali and vandalised the movie’s Jaipur set over alleged distortions in the film’s script.
They were forced to move to Maharashtra to continue shooting. Still, an outdoor set of the historic period drama in Kolhapur was burnt down after two dozen unidentified people torched it.
The Shri Rajput Karni Sena has maintained it will oppose screening of the film if the facts are “distorted”.
Padmavati, presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions, is set for a December 1 release.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta feels that the censor board might have issues with his upcoming film Omerta. While he is mentally prepared for what might come, he does hope the board understands the context before raising issues.
“We will cross the bridge when we come to it. There will be a problem. But I hope they (censor board) understands the film’s context. We haven’t done anything to sensationalise,” he tells The Indian Express.
Omerta, starring Rajkummar Rao, is said to be about the life of British terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who kidnapped and murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. He was arrested in 1994 and served time but was released from jail after hijackers took an Indian Airlines jet to Kandahar airport, in southern Afghanistan.
The film was recently screened at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Fest and received well. Speaking about a scene in particular, that includes the National Anthem, Mehta emphasises that one cannot make a film bearing the censor board in mind.
“If I had thought that it would be contentious, I would not have put it in the film. You can’t trust the censor board. You can’t make a film thinking about censor board,” he adds.
Mehta’s last film, Simran with Kangana Ranaut, was met with mixed criticism. He also has The Accidental Prime Minister, based on Sanjaya Baru’s book, in the pipeline. Omerta is likely to release next year.
A quick look at everything making news in the world of cinema today!
Newsworthy
Ranveer Singh is reportedly part of the latest Singh Is King franchise. The film has been titled Sher Singh.
Hansal Mehta believes that his Omerta will face censor issues due to its controversial content
Spotlight
Parineeti Chopra is not too worried about the failure of her Meri Pyaari Bindu. “Honestly, Rohit (Shetty) sir has taught me that a film is a real hit if it goes crazy on satellite. Actually, those are the people watching it on repeat. It’s like an Andaz Apna Apna. It was a flop film, but I love it and I don’t even need to ask you — I know you love the film, too. The whole world loves it. There are many films which have worked only on satellite. I think Bindumight become that film because every human being who meets me says the same thing that they loved the film but they don’t know why it didn’t make money. If I really analyse it, honestly, I feel it was just the timing. Baahubali 2 had just released, IPL was going on and we only had that one week along with the fact that it was a shared release with two other films. So, it didn’t get the desired audience. But I am still very satisfied because you won’t believe, people talk to me about Bindu when they meet me at airports. That, for me, is a big success.”
The actor played the lead role in the recent Golmaal Again.
Let them eat cake!
Actors Richard Rishi, Pa Vijay, Cricketer Virendar Sehwag will all turn a year older today!
Mahira Khan, the Pakistanti actress who got trolled after she was photographed smoking with Ranbir Kapoor in New York, recently said that she has learnt a lesson on how the media works in blowing up controversies.
Mahira was replying to a reporter’s question at an event to promote her upcoming film Verna. According to DNA, she said “I am a very careful person otherwise. People ask me that I do not do this in films (smoking and wearing backless dress), I say I do not want to. Why should I do anything to show the world? It is my personal life and it is very normal for a boy and girl to hang out. Nowadays, media is not only present at events but everywhere. So, I have learnt from it.”
A video of the interaction was shared on Instagram:
Director Manimaran of Pugazh fame will start shooting for his next film, titled, Sanga Thalaivan, which will have Samuthirakani in the lead role. The shoot of the film, which is produced by Vetri Maaran, will commence from November.
Manimaran told Silverscreen, “Samuthirakani is the hero and Karunaas will play a pivotal role. This film is about the life of handloom weavers. Samuthirakani will essay the role of a union leader, hence the title, Sanga Thalaivan. We are planning to shoot from November 15.”
After Appa, Samuthirakani has been taking up lead roles. He is also the hero in Vijay Milton’s Golisoda 2 and he is also playing a pivotal role in Rajinikanth starrer Kaala.
Manimaran had earlier directed Udhayam NH4 with Siddharth, Poriyalan with Harish Kalyan and Pugazh with Jai.
Ajay Devgn has confirmed that he will produce the Hindi remake of Jigarthanda. The project, with Farhan Akhtar and Sanjay Dutt reprising roles played by Siddharth and Bobby Simha respectively, will not be an “exact copy”.
“I am producing the film and we are working on the script. It will start in January-February. It is a fabulous story. It is not going to be an exact copy of the film, we will change things. But at the same time, quite a lot of stuff will be similar.”
Nishikant Kamat, who worked with Devgn in Drishyam, willdirect the film. At present, a female lead has not been cast yet. The team will begin the casting process once the scripting is over.
Jigarthanda, directed by Karthik Subbaraj, chronicled the lives of an assistant director named Karthik (Siddharth) who decides to follow Madurai don ‘Assault’ Sethu (Bobby Simha) as research for his debut directorial. The film garnered rave reviews.
Ram Gopal Varma, who this year announced his Telugu film Lakshmi’s NTR, based on the life of legendary actor and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), believes that the deceased’s spirit has been prompting him to make the biopic. Speaking to The Times of India, the filmmaker said:
“The strong person behind me to make Lakshmi’s NTR is none other than NTR himself. His spirit comes in my dreams every day and is helping me to write the screenplay of the film.”
RGV further states that the film is based on the truth which he strongly believes and has researched upon. The film is expected to go on floors sometime next year.
Ever since RGV announced the title of his film, the filmmaker has been facing flak from members of the Telugu Desam Party, founded by NTR.
He shared the first look of his film last month, writing that it’s a love story full of “hatred, jealousy, power mongering, backstabbing and above all unbelievable inter-relationship conflicts”.
RGV also emphasised that instead of making the biopic from the perspective of NTR, he will narrate it from the standpoint of his wife Lakshmi Parvathi. The cast and crew are yet to be finalised. Varma confirmed the film will hit the screens next year end.
Meanwhile, he will be kickstarting his film with Nagarjuna Akkineni soon. The shooting will begin next year, and it is said to be an action one.
“I always wanted to do a full action film and RGV has narrated a fantastic script to me. After doing so many emotional and family entertainers, I want to do a stylish action film which RGV has come up with,” Nagarjuna told Deccan Chronicle.
In his tweets, Kamal asks his fan clubs and supporters to not sell the herbal medicine. He also said that it is traditionally known that ‘Nilavembu’ tonic could have side effects, and those who’re claiming tradition and culture should also research this.
According to a story in Dinamalar, this has prompted a resident of Chennai, Devarajan, to file a complaint against the actor. In his complaint, Devarajan claims he has been taking the tonic for over 10 years and has not seen any side effect. He also claimed that Kamal is spreading fake news with his tweet, and requests the police to take action against it. The cyber crime division will handle the case.
If he weren’t a composer, Mr X aka Darbuka Siva would be managing football teams. The freshly-anointed music composer of Enai Noki Paayum Thotta, who was the subject of much intrigue not so long ago, is perhaps best described in his Twitter bio: ‘Part-time entertainer; full time gypsy’
That Darbuka Siva is very much the free spirit is quite obvious. To restrain him from doing something must be a very tough task. And yet, that is exactly what director Gautham Menon had done for the past few months. Siva had signed on as the music composer of Menon’s Enai Nokki Paayum Thotta quite some time back. The single from the movie – ‘Maruvaarthai’(a soulful melody by Sid Sriram) – released in February this year, is extremely popular and has over 20 million views on YouTube. But, for a good six months, Darbuka Siva was not at liberty to fully soak up the adulation.
Menon’s strategy to promote the single as the work of a Mr X may or may not have paid off, but he certainly pulled off the herculean task of keeping Darbuka Siva restrained.
At a promotional event for Kidaari almost a year ago, Siva confessed to being unable to conform to normative patterns expected from people. “I’m different. I have always been, and once I embraced that aspect of my character, I could live and breathe better.”
Siva’s tryst with music was incidental, as most things in his life have been. He was on his way to try his hand at managing football teams when producer Ajai Prasath asked him if he’d like to compose for a film.
“I am not a formally-trained musician, in the way the others in the industry are. Most of my experiences with music are a mix of intuition and inspiration. That’s how I picked it up. In fact, I just announced to my friends that I will become a musician. And somehow, life made me one.”
It took a good six months for Siva to be chosen as the music composer of Kidaari. “Prasath was most insistent that I do a scratch of songs to show (actor) Sasikumar. It felt like an audition, and was something new for me at the time. I had great fun working on the album, and would have cherished the memory of those six months even if I had not got the opportunity to work on the film. But, thankfully, I got both.”
Darbuka Siva’s work for Kidaari draws heavily on the music he made as part of La Pongal. His version of the popular ‘Vandiyile Nellu Varum’ song featuring Anthony Dassan finds a place in the final album line-up.
There’s also the very interesting ‘Thalakaalu Puriyalaye’ – a rich fusion of rural music and new age pop. His songs received a lot of appreciation at the time of release – a fact that energised the young musician.
“Thing is, we tried to experiment every way we can with Kidaari. There are a lot of things that I tried to include in the album so that it does not feel redundant. The one thing an artiste hates is comparison, and in my first work itself, I did not want that tag. So, I pulled in the usual mix of singers and made them do unique things. So we had Haricharan, Anitha, Anthony Daasan singing pieces that are not their oeuvre, so to speak. When I heard the positive reviews, I was gratified, mostly.”
The one person Siva would most like to be compared with is Ilaiyaraaja. “Though I doubt that can happen. Ilaiyaraaja’s music is like amma saapadu to me. I grew up on his songs, and it was just an intense experience. I would say that his music shaped my life and provided the soundtrack to some of my biggest moments. To reach his heights would be a mammoth task, and I think it is wise not to try.”
Siva’s work on Kidaari prompted Sasikumar to sign him up for Bale Vellaiyathevaa. The marginal success of the film meant that the composer did not get his due. “But, I wasn’t too bothered about that,” he says.
Seven days after the release of Bale.., the teaser for ‘Maruvaarthai’ went up on YouTube. A short two months later, fame would come calling for Mr X.
While role-playing as the anonymous music composer for Enai Nokki Payum Thotta (even actor Dhanush – the male lead of the film – reportedly did not know who composed the insanely addictive song), Siva was bombarded with calls from eager reporters and producers who wanted to know if he was Menon’s latest protege.
“It was quite hard to fend them off. Most of the time, I hit ignore,” Siva laughs. A Twitter handle bearing the name ‘Mr X’ cropped up shortly, with keen fans noting the similarities between Siva and the mysterious composer. “We both liked football. That’s when things started to unravel,” Siva says.
At present, Siva has been signed on to compose music for the Pellichoopulu remake – Pon Ondru Kanden. He also has acting duties to look forward to. Siva comes back as Austin D’Costa in Rajathandhiram 2, and the second time around is very special for him. “Ilaiyaraaja is the music composer for the film. Can you imagine a better dream-come-true experience?” Siva asks.
For now, composing is what that interests him. “I’m in this for now,” he says, “But, I’m not sure where I’m headed next.”
*****
The Darbuka Siva interview is a Silverscreen exclusive.
Actor Channing Tatum has decided to pull the plug on his upcoming movie financed by the The Weinstein Company (TWC) amid the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal. The project would have marked his directorial debut.
Tatum was initially set to helm the film along with Reid Carolin and he was also expected to star in it, reports Deadline.com.
Based on Matthew Quick’s young adult book called Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, the plot was based on a troubled teenager who deals with sexual abuse and plans to kill himself and his best friend.
“The brave women who had the courage to stand up and speak their truth about Harvey Weinstein are true heroes to us. They are lifting the heavy bricks to build the equitable world we all deserve to live in,” Tatum posted on his Instagram account.
“Our lone project in development with TWC – Matthew Quick’s brilliant book, ‘Forgive Me Leonard Peacock’ – is a story about a boy whose life was torn asunder by sexual abuse. While we will no longer develop it or anything else that is property of TWC, we are reminded of its powerful message of healing in the wake of tragedy. This is a giant opportunity for real positive change that we proudly commit ourselves to. The truth is out – let’s finish what our incredible colleagues started and eliminate abuse from our creative culture once and for all,” he added.
The Weinstein Company also lost their projects at Amazon.
The company was supposed to develop a series starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore and another titled The Romanoffs. However, Amazon decided to call off the former and move forward with the latter, but without TWC involvement.
Actor Shahid Kapoor, who plays the character of Raja Rawal Ratan Singh in forthcoming magnum opus Padmavati, says the film celebrates India.
Commenting on the continuous opposition by Rajput Karni Sena and others to the film, Shahid said, “All I can say is that that we are ready to release the film on December 1. I really feel it’s a film that everybody will be proud of because it celebrates India, our culture and what we stand for.”
“It shows everybody who is from this country in the most amazing light and that is the endeavour of this film. I feel people will truly see that when they will watch the film,” said the actor at the closing ceremony of 19th Jio MAMI Film Festival in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Karni Sena has maintained it will oppose the screening of the film if the facts are “distorted”. But the actor says the “right thing to do at this point of time is to allow right authorities to deal with it.
“Sanjay Leela Bhansali (the director) and everybody who is at the helm of affairs need us to not really comment on it because we need to contain the situation,” he said. Padmavati is one of the biggest film of this year in terms of budget, scale and performances. The film is presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamizhisai Soundarrajan has slammed Vijay’s Mersal. Addressing reporters in Chennai, Tamizhisai said that the film had dialogues criticising GST and the Centre’s Digital India initiative and that they were in poor taste. Calling for the removal of the dialogues, Tamizhisai said:
“Vijay is intentionally maligning the reputation and good work of our Prime Minister. He wants to enter politics and so he is trying to get the attention of people by criticising GST and Digital India. If these dialogues are not removed, then we will lodge a complaint against the film. We will file a lawsuit.”
Mersal faced several roadblocks before its release. Recently, a protest was staged by pro-Kannada outfit at a theatre screening the film in Bengaluru.
