Two days before the release of actor Silambarasan TR‘s (popularly known as Simbu) Tamil film Eeswaran, the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) on Wednesday announced that they will no longer collaborate with films starring Simbu from January 13, 2021.
A war of words soon erupted between producer Michael Rayappan and Simbu’s father T Rajendran, and the latter accused the producer of “creating unwanted chaos to stop the release” ofEeswaran.
The disagreement dates back to 2017, following the release and the box office failure of Adhik Ravichandran’s directorial Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan (AAA) starring Simbu, which was produced by Rayappan. Addressing a press conference later that year, Rayappan and Adhik had accused Simbu for failing to abide by the film’s shooting schedule and blamed him for the losses incurred due to the film’s failure. According to them, Simbu insisted on releasing the film in two parts. Rayappan had then urged the intervention of the TFPC into the matter.
Vishal Krishna, the then TFPC president, had said that a letter was sent to the Nadigar Sangam (a union for film, television, and stage actors in Tamil Nadu) based on Rayappan’s complaint. However, after Simbu denied receiving any letter from the TFPC, the makers of AAA had asked the Council to send him a copy of the letter addressed to the Sangam.
Denying all accusations, Simbu had filed a defamation case against Rayappan and Vishal in February 2019. Later that year, the Madras High Court ordered the removal of Vishal’s name in the case. Simbu had also filed a complaint against Rayappan with the Nadigar Sangam, alleging that the producer owed him money.
On December 9, 2020, Simbu sent a notice to the TFPC, stating that the Madras High Court had directed Rayappan, the TFPC and others to “file a written statement in a suit and counter in the interim applications by January 11, 2021”.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Rayappan said: “With the actor being non-cooperative during the project [AAA], the film was released with the available footage. It was done purely out of the trust as Silambarasan assured me that he would work with me on another project to compensate for the loss.”
“I approached the TFPC during that time, which was headed by actor-producer Vishal. The council deeply investigated the issues on both sides. Usha Rajendran, mother of Silambarasan signed an agreement to repay the loss of Rs 7.2 crore in three-film instalment, where a part of the actor’s remuneration Rs 2.4 crore will be paid back with three films releasing after Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan,” Rayappan said.
According to Rayappan, although Simbu had assured him of working on another project to compensate for the loss, the actor had later claimed that the other projects were signed on different terms. Based on this understanding, Rayappan requested the TFPC to look into the issue, following which a reminder was sent to Simbu’s father.
Expressing shock at Rajendran’s accusations of Rayappan using political influence to stall the release of Eeswaran, Rayappan said he had only sought compensation for the losses incurred by the distributors of AAA, not for himself.
This is not the first time that Simbu has been entangled in a controversy with a producer.
In August 2019, in a similar accusation, Simbu was dropped from Maanadu by producer Suresh Kamatchi, as he failed to aide by the shooting schedule. In 2018, Passion Movie Makers served a notice to the actor for not turning up for the shooting of a film titled Arasan, and refusing to return his advance money.
The Girl On The Train is the story of Meera, played by Chopra, who “fixates on the perfect lives of a couple from afar, during her daily commutes on the train”, a press release from Netflix said. “One day, she witnesses something out of the ordinary, that shocks her. The film follows her journey as she tries to unravel the truth,” the press release added.
The Girl On The Train is directed by Ribhu Dasgupta (who has earlier directed the Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan starrer Te3n) and produced by Reliance Entertainment. It marks Reliance Entertainment’s first collaboration with Netflix.
“I always wanted to explore this genre and loved this unique story. There is plenty to relate to both in terms of the emotions and mysteries that I was able to delve into in this thriller – rejection, loneliness, voyeurism, daily commutes on which we see and don’t see things,” Dasgupta said in the release.
The film is a Hindi remake of an English film by the same name (directed by Tate Taylor and starring Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, and Justin Theroux) and is based onBritish author Paula Hawkins’ popular 2015 psychological thriller novel.
The first-look of the upcoming Hindi film was released in August 2019. Chopra had posted another picture from the film and captioned it: “A raging alcoholic. Something I’ve never done before .. and the most difficult character I’ve ever played.”
In November 2019, Chopra had posted a picture from the film on Instagram and wrote that the film was slated to release in theatres on May 8, 2020. The release, however, was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent nationwide lockdown.
Movie: Pulikkuthi Pandi
Star Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Lakshmi Menon, Singampuli, Samuthirakani, Stalin, Ramya Shankar, Raja Simman, R. K. Suresh & Vela Ramamoorthy
Writer & Director: M. Muthaiah
Producer: Sun TV Network Ltd.
Music: N. R. Raghunanthan
Cinematography: R. Velraj
Master, starring Vijay, released on Wednesday to packed theatres as well as concerns over violations of Covid-19 safety regulations. This is the first major film release since theatres reopened, after a long hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Soon after the first show began , videos of dancing fans celebrating inside the premises and the auditorium of several theatres began circulating on social media. Many were seen without masks and without following social distance guidelines.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Rajesh (name changed), a film enthusiast who went to Rohini Theatre in Chennai to watch Master at 4 am on Wednesday, said that no social distancing had been followed there. “As a movie-watching first day first show experience, it was fun. It was great to get back to theatres after 10 months. Being a theatre lover, it felt great. But, talking about the Covid-19 scenario, it was definitely risky,” he said.
“There was no checking at all. No temperature check or mask check. Anyone and everyone was allowed inside,” he added.
Violations were witnessed even after the film’s director Lokesh Kanagaraj, who had gone to Rohini Theatres on Wednesday morning to watch the film, spoke to the press outside and requested fans to maintain social distance.
Ruban Mathivanan, managing partner of GK Cinemas in Chennai, told Silverscreen India that the guidelines issued by the government had been followed. “We had bouncers to ensure that only those with tickets are allowed inside,” he said.
100% Occupancy in Theatres:
However, reports suggested that many theatres operated with 100% seat occupancy while screening Master. Rajesh said, “There was a crowd everywhere. The Central government had ordered theatres to function with 50% occupancy. But, the majority of the theatres in Tamil Nadu operated with 100 percent occupancy for the first few shows.”
Sharing a video from the first day first show screening of Master in Sri Brindha Theatre, Moolakadai, Twitter user Vinodkumar Surabhi expressed his disappointment over the 100% seat occupancy that was followed there. Speaking to Silverscreen India, he said, “While stepping inside the theatre entrance, cops were checking for the audiences’ masks. They checked the temperatures of the audiences and had everyone’s hands sanitised.” However, he also added that no social distancing was followed inside the theatre auditorium.
He said that even with over 10 to 12 police standing inside the theatre, the screening functioned with 100% seat occupancy. According to Vinodkumar, the 100% seat occupancy was not a surprise to him since the tickets he had purchased was in a sequential order.
Both Rohini and Kasi Theatres opened with 100% occupancy. According to a report from Dt Next, the MGR Nagar police booked the owners of Kasi Theatre after incriminating images from the premises were leaked on social media.
The owners were booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and fined ₹5,000 for allowing more than 50 percent occupancy for the movie.
Last week, the Tamil Nadu government had passed an order to allow theatres in the State to function with 100% seating capacity, up from the earlier 50% occupancy. Soon after, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) wrote to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, asking the state government to withdraw its previous order since it was a dilution of the MHA’s guidelines.
Theatres were, however, given permission to run additional shows.
Speaking with Silverscreen India, President of the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners’ Association, Tirupur Subramaniam said that social distancing had been maintained in Sakthi Cinemas, the theatre he owns in Tirupur. “We have maintained social distance, and the audience has been willing to purchase two tickets so that they could sit in one seat and leave the other one empty. They themselves have been saying that safety is important,” he said.
He added that those who could not voluntarily purchase two tickets had been separately accommodated.
Violation of protocol during ticket booking:
Theatres including Rohini Theatres, Ganga Theatre in Kolathur and Ram Cinemas in Tirunelveli were packed last week with viewers swarming to book tickets.
According to The News Minute, the authorities of Rohini Theatre had to call the police as soon as a crowd formed. Nikilesh Surya from Rohini Theatres was quoted as saying, “We couldn’t handle them with the limited staff. We also closed bookings at the counter and have now completely moved bookings online. We only gave out tickets to those already waiting.”
Master is directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. Along with Vijay, the film stars Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist and also features Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das, Andrea Jeremiah, and Shanthanu Bhagyaraj. The film is produced by XB Film Creators and Seven Screen Studios.
The first look poster of WWW, the upcoming Telugu film, was launched by Telugu actor Rana Daggubati on Tuesday.
The thriller film, starring Adith Arun and Shivani Rajashekar in the lead roles, is directed by cinematographer and director KV Guhan. The film also stars Vijay Dharan, comedian Harsha Chemudu and Priyadarshi.
The film’s title was announced on December 27, 2020.
Talking about the film, director Guhan said in a press release, “While I was thinking about my next after ‘118’, I came up with a new concept during lockdown period and made ‘WWW’. This is a concept-based film.”
The film marks the third directorial for Guhan, who had directed, handled the camera and co-written the 2010 Tamil musical coming-of-age film Inidhu Inidhu. Guhan had also directed and written the 2019 Telugu action thriller film 118.
Ravi P Raju Datla is producing the film under Ramantra Creations banner along with co-producer Vijay Dharan Datla.
According to the makers of WWW, they are attempting their debut movie with an “entertaining and thriller storyline”.
“WWW is the very common word that we use everyday on internet to go to any website and especially now in Covid Pandemic times. WWW (Who Where Why) is very apt for our storyline,” said Raju.
Adith said that they had “planned and shot WWW with a new concept in a short time”.
During the launch of the film’s first look poster, Shivani said that she was excited for the film as it was her first project.
The film’s dialogues have been penned by Mirchi Kiran, while the film has been edited by Thammiraju. Lyrics have been written by Ramajogayya Sastry and Ananth Sriram, while Simon K King has composed the music.
While shooting of the film has been completed, it is currently undergoing its post-production work.
The film will simultaneously be released in both Telugu and Tamil languages.
Two days ahead of its release, clips from the upcoming Tamil film Master leaked on social media on Monday. What followed was a furore against piracy, especially, after the film’s director Lokesh Kanagaraj urged people on social media to stop sharing the clips and report them.
Master will release in theatres across India on Wednesday.
Dear all It's been a 1.5 year long struggle to bring Master to u. All we have is hope that you'll enjoy it in theatres. If u come across leaked clips from the movie, please don't share it 🙏🏻 Thank u all. Love u all. One more day and #Master is all yours.
The crew of the film, starring Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, also took to Twitter to share their stand against piracy.
In 2020, Sethupathi’s film Ka Pae Ranasingam also became the victim of piracy after the film was leaked on the piracy site Tamil Rockers two hours after its digital release on Zee Plex on a pay-per-view basis. Once purchased, the viewership time remains valid for 48 hours.
Other films, like Ananya Panday and Ishaan Khatter-starrer Khaali Peeli and Anushka Shetty-starrer multilingual film Nishabdham, were also leaked by Tamil Rockers after their release on Zee Plex and Amazon Prime Video respectively.
The easy availability of big-ticket-films has enabled popular piracy sites to release the version in HD prints.
SR Prabhu, producer of another big-banner film Sulthan (starring Karthi), said: “Avoiding piracy is not a choice. You can control it, thereby, minimising the damage. It all depends on the demand for the content. If there is a content that nobody wants to watch, even if you give it to them, they won’t watch it.”
Although the Centre added two Digital Rights Management (DRM) provisions to the Copyright Amendment Act of 2012, to curb digital piracy, it has been of little help, as it comes with its territorial limitations.
It’s the hard work of 1000s of people. Please report any leaked clips immediately to report@blockxpiracy.com 🙏🏻 https://t.co/bjpC4fOR95
Although Silverscreen India could not reach any of the actors or makers of the film, the film’s public relations manager Riaz said that all of the leaked content has been taken off social media.
“Everyone is busy with their (respective) departments’ work, since hardly a few hours is left before the film’s release tomorrow,” Riaz said.
Filmmakers, actors and fans began flooding Twitter with #WeStandWithMaster to show their solidarity with the film.
Master was supposed to release in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the release date was pushed to Pongal 2021. The film also features actors Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Shanthanu Bakyaraj and others.
Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi’s upcoming film Master is releasing on Wednesday, and theatre owners in Tamil Nadu and further north are expecting it to be the biggest ever release in theatres since the Covid-19 pandemic halted business.
In Chennai, every theatre was fully booked through the weekend, as per online ticket booking platform Bookmyshow. Mayajaal Multiplex in ECR Chennai, which has 70 shows per day, was fully booked for every show from the first day of the film’s release till Sunday.
Ruban Mathivanan, managing partner of GK Cinemas in Chennai, told Silverscreen India, “Shows are full till Sunday in my theatre. Since the film’s duration is three hours and we need one hour for deep cleaning, we couldn’t increase the number of shows. Thus we will have five shows a day. But since the court has given us permission to have special shows, on the first and the second day we will have shows starting at 4 am.”
To avoid crowding during pre-booking, Mathivanan had announced pre-booking on Twitter minutes before opening the booking, at 10:30 pm. “Almost 80% of the tickets were sold out through the online platforms. Only 10-15 % of the tickets were left for over-the-counter booking,” he said.
Pre-booking for Master in other parts of the country has been mixed.
In Hyderabad, theatre owners said pre-booking had gone better than expected, but Master would have a tough time competing with the Telugu film Krack, starring Ravi Teja.
Balagovind Raju, secretary of the Exhibitors Association in Hyderabad and owner of Sudarshan 35MM and Devi 70MM theatres, told Silverscreen India, “Tickets are selling out faster than we expected, that’s for sure. Since my theatre is a single screen, I wasn’t able to add more shows. However, many multiplexes have added special shows. Master will do well in Hyderabad. But it will be difficult for it to beat Krack as Krack is already doing well and Master hasn’t even released yet.”
In West Bengal, single screen distributor Ajoy Bakliwal said that ticket sales were low, as there was much “less craze for Vijay here”. However, Satadeep Saha, owner of the multiplex Ajanta Cinema in Kolkata and distributor of the Hindi dubbed version of Master in West Bengal, told Silverscreen India that the Tamil and Telugu dubbed version of the film were doing well in pre-booking, even though the Hindi dubbed version had yet to pick up pace.
He said, “I think the audience doesn’t yet know that Master is releasing in Hindi as well. It’s that word has gone around that a big film is releasing after a long time.”
He added that 125 theatres in West Bengal will be showing Master.
“In West Bengal to get this number for a South Indian film is huge. And we already have around 500 shows for the film. Kolkata will be a slow starter but if the movie is good and it gets good reviews, then it’ll work out really well,” Saha said.
Since West Bengal is currently the only state to run theatres with 100% capacity, Saha feels that the film will do even better by the weekend. “Even if the film does well with 50% occupancy, we will be content.”
In Chennai, theatres like Rohini and Ganga saw huge crowds for over-the-counter ticket booking, while places like SPI Cinemas in Puducherry did better with online booking.
Crowds outside Rohini theatre for #mastertickets . Theatre owner had to call the police as they had limited staff to handle the lines with no physical distancing. pic.twitter.com/OXTVdzUnID
Meanwhile, according to a report in theThe Times of India, Master has got the highest ever shows for any Tamil film in Australia.
Master is directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. It also stars Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das, Andrea Jeremiah, and Shanthanu Bhagyaraj. The film is produced by XB Film Creators and Seven Screen Studios.
The trial in the case of the abduction and sexual assault of a female Malayalam actor will resume in the Additional Special Sessions Court in Ernakulam, after a hiatus of three months. One of the main accused in the case is actor Dileep.
Around 120 witnesses will be examined from January 21 to March 3.
Actor Vipin Lal, who is an approver in the case, will be examined on January 21. Dileep’s wife Kavya Madhavan and Dileep’s friend filmmaker Nadirsha will also be examined. Dileep is one of eight accused in the case.
On Monday, the court heard a petition filed by the prosecution to change the IPC offence under which Dileep has been charged. According to the prosecution, the current charge might weaken the prosecution’s case. Dileep’s counsel, however, objected to the petition, reported The Times of India.
The court also has a few other petitions pending before it, including a petition from the prosecution to cancel a bail plea filed by Dileep, for violating his bail conditions and for trying to influence the witness. Bail pleas filed by two other accused persons in the case are also pending. The court will review all the pending petitions on Friday.
Special Prosecutor VN Anilkumar has replaced A Sureshan, who resigned on November 24, 2020 after the Kerala High Court dismissed the prosecution’s plea to transfer the trial, claiming bias on the part of the judge. Anilkumar has sought for some time to go through the petitions.
In October 2020, both the survivor and the prosecution had moved the Kerala High Court to transfer the trial from Ernakulam. However, the high court dismissed the pleas after observing that there was no sustainable grounds to transfer the case. The prosecution later moved the Supreme Court of India. However, the Supreme Court also rejected the state’s plea and upheld the decision of the Kerala High Court.
The case began in February 17, 2017, when the survivor was abducted while she was travelling from Kochi to Thrissur in Kerala. She was sexually assaulted and then dropped near the residence of director Lal. Soon after the incident, the first accused in the abduction case, Pulsar Suni, the driver of the vehicle she was assaulted in, was arrested. In June 2017, Pulsar Suni said that actor Dileep had conspired in the assault.
On July 20, 2017, Dileep was arrested as the eighth accused in the case. He was granted bail in October. Ever since he was let out on bail, the prosecution counsel has alleged that the trial proceedings were being constantly delayed. Dileep, who had been removed as a primary member of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), was reinstated in 2018. Subsequently, Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas, Remya Nambeesan and the survivor resigned from AMMA.
Godse, the upcoming Telugu film starring Satyadev and Aishwarya Lekshmi, will be a political thriller, director Gopi Ganesh Pattabhi told Silverscreen India. He also said that shooting for the film would begin in February.
Godse will mark the second collaboration between Satyadev and Pattabhi, after the 2018 Telugu heist comedy thriller Bluff Master.
Pattabhi said the title had nothing to do with the right-wing political activist Nathuram Godse, who had assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.
“The title has got nothing to do with Nathuram Godse’s life or any aspects related to him. My film’s title is God-Say, or, literally bhagwan ka kaha hua (what’s said by God). It has been used as the title because it has got some meaning to it. We don’t want to reveal too many details about the film right now,” he said.
According to a press release, Satyadev’s character will be an authority figure.
Besides directing the film, Pattabhi has also written the story, screenplay, and dialogues. He had also written the dialogues for Bluff Master.
The film’s release date will depend on when Satyadev’s other films are releasing, said Pattabhi. Satyadev’s upcoming releases include the legal crime-thriller Thimmarasu,which also stars Priyanka Jawalkar and Ajay, and the romantic-drama Gurthunda Seethakalam, where he stars opposite Tamannaah Bhatia.
Godse was officially announced on January 3, when the film’s title poster was released.
On January 10, the makers of Godse had announced that actor Aishwarya Lekshmi had joined the film’s cast. Godse will be Aishwarya’s first Telugu film. She has predominantly worked in the Malayalam film industry. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry in 2019 with the action film Action, starring opposite Vishal.
Godse is produced by CK Kalyan under the banner CK Entertainments and co-produced by CV Rao. The film will feature actors Nasser, Brahmaji, Aditya Menon, and Kishore in key roles.
Eeswaran, the upcoming Tamil film starring Silambarasan and Niddhi Agerwal, will not release on the OTT platform Olyflix on January 14 on the day of its theatrical release. The film’s co-producers Madhav Media announced on Monday that due to piracy concerns raised by the Tamil Nadu Theatres Association, the film’s OTT platform release has been put on hold.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, one of Eeswaran’s producers Balaji Kapa said, “We first thought of releasing the film in countries where theatres are not running. But we cancelled it immediately after the Theatre Association told that they will be adversely affected. We were in talks to stream the film on premium video-on-demand in countries where theatres do not operate, like in the US, UK, and Canada. But we retracted our statement after the problem of piracy was brought up. It would have a negative impact on theatres here.”
The producer also confirmed that the film would not have an OTT release in the near future and will undergo routine distribution rights. He said, “We are in discussion with a few software companies to prevent piracy. Last night, too, we held a discussion with a new software company that would block around 85 sites, including Telegram. The discussion is still going on.”
On Monday, Madhav Media had announced that Eeswaran would release on the OTT platform Olyflix as video-on-demand outside India, on the day of its theatrical release.
However, the announcement was met with strong criticism from the Tamil Nadu Theatres Association, which said that an OTT platform release on the same day as a theatrical release would make it easy to be pirated.
In an audio statement, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Theatres Association, Panneerselvam, condemned the Eeswaran filmmakers’ move and said that the Association had decided not to cooperate with the film’s theatrical screening.
“I came across unfortunate news this evening….It has been announced that Eeswaran will be streamed on an OTT platform on the same day as its theatre release….This [issue] is a matter of our survival. If we agree to such things, all subsequent films will follow suit. They have said that the film will only stream outside India. But even so, it will adversely affect the situation in India. So, even if you have entered into an agreement, do not worry. The association will take care of it. Hence, I request everyone to not co-operate with the [Eeswaran team’s] decision,” Panneerselvan said.
Within a few hours, Eeswaran‘s producers issued a statement to say that the film’s OTT platform release had been put on hold. The statement read, “Hope TN Theatre Association supports us by increasing the no. of screens.”
Srither S, joint secretary of the Tamil Nadu Theatres Association told Silverscreen India, “What Panneerselvam said is our collective decision. We will stand by that decision. The situation is critical. We are ready to cooperate with all the producers of all films but at the same time, we will never allow piracy in any shape by any production house. So we are expecting the producers of Eeswaran, which is a good film, to bring us a good compromise. We hope for the best.”
Even though Eeswaran‘s team has announced a hold on the film’s Olyflix release, Srither said the situation remained tense.
“We want a clear letter from the letterhead of the producer stating the same,” he said. According to Srither, the theatre owners’ piracy concerns are justified, as films streamed abroad can be illegally copied and streamed in India.
Eeswaran is produced by Balaji Kapa and KV Durai under the banners Madhav Media and D Company respectively.
Still from Eeswaran
GK Cinemas owner Ruban, who will be screening Eeswaran in his theatre, told Silverscreen India, “If films are released on OTT platforms simultaneously, then they become available online because of piracy. That’s why such methods should be avoided. Either it should be a theatrical release or through OTTs. They cannot have it both ways. This is our stand and it is as simple as that. We have no issues if they choose OTTs. Even if it is released abroad, they should take only one stand. Piracy cannot be controlled since many films that are released on OTTs are being circulated on Telegram a few hours before release. Even they can’t stop it.”
Eeswaran is slated to release in theatres on Thursday. This will be one of the first big releases for the Tamil film industry after a long spell of theatres being shut due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Theatres in Kerala will finally reopen on Wednesday with Vijay‘s upcoming Tamil film Master. The decision comes after the Kerala government on Monday exempted cinema halls in the state from paying entertainment tax for the three-month period between January and March, while fixed electricity charges have been reduced by 50% for the 10 months that the theatres remained closed.
The deadlines for renewal of various licenses were also extended on Monday.
On Monday, representatives of the Kerala Film Chamber, the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), Kerala Film Producers’ Association among other film bodies held a meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, after which relief measures were announced by the state government.
MC Bobby, secretary, FEUOK told Silverscreen India that theatres will reopen on Wednesday with 50% occupancy, after the state government announced tax waivers.
“The first film that will be screened across theatres in Kerala is Vijay’s Master. Bookings for the film have already started and have shown a positive trend so far. In my theatre, bookings for Master on Wednesday are almost full,” Bobby said.
“It’s a very good concession given by our government and we welcome it. The entertainment tax has been relaxed and the fixed charges of electricity have been reduced by 50%. While the timing hasn’t been changed and it still is from 9 am to 9 pm. So, whatever we asked for that has been given by the government and we are grateful for that,” Suresh Shenoy, owner of Shenoys Theatre in Kochi, told Silverscreen India.
Along with Shenoy Theatre, Maharani Theatre in Pala is also set to open on January 13 with Vijay’s Master. The theatre’s owner, Sumesh, told Silverscreen India, “We had mainly asked for entertainment tax relaxation and our chief minister has done that. The majority of our theatre owners licenses had gotten cancelled too due to 11 months of inactivity, he has given us the assurance that no local body people will come and harass us for expired license and it will be renewed till the end of March 2021. Another major demand was a reduction in electricity charges and he has helped us with that as well. We are very happy with his declaration.”
Talking about the 50% occupancy, Sumesh said it would have been better to have the full capacity as it would “fetch a lot of money” with the release of Master. However, he says the theatre body is currently content with opening their halls at 50% capacity.
The entertainment tax, which comes under the purview of state governments, currently stands at 30% in Kerala according to Cover Fox, in addition to the Goods and Services Tax of 28%.
Chhichhore, Asuran, Avijatrik, Gatham are among some of the films that will be showcased at the 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that will be held in Goa from January 16 to 24, 2021.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, the publicity manager of IFFI said that some events would be virtual while some would happen in person.
“Taking into account the ongoing Pandemic, International Film Festival of India is holding its first ever ‘hybrid’ Film festival. This year IFFI will organize a few of its events on the OTT platform for its audience,” said a press release issued by IFFI.
This year, Bangladesh is the country in focus. The festival includes nine South Indian films, 23 feature films, and 20 non-feature films. Six iconic Marathi films will be screened under the Indian Panorama section and 15 acclaimed films will compete for the Golden Peacock Award at IFFI’s International Competition section.
Founded in 1952, IFFI is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Initially held in different parts of the country, the film festival has finally found its permanent home in Goa since its 35th edition in 2004, conducted jointly by the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Goa government.
This year, international jury members include Pablo Cesar (Argentina), Prasanna Vithanage (Sri Lanka), Abu Bakr Shawky (Austria), Priyadarshan (India) and Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh).
The festival will premier Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round as the opening film, while the historical drama Wife of a Spy by Kiyoshi Kurosawa will bring the 51st IFFI to a close.
Films that are competing for the Golden Peacock include The Domain by Tiago Guedes (Portugal), Into The Darkness by Anders Refn (Denmark), February by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria, France), My Best Part by Nicolas Maury (France), I Never Cry by Piotr Domalewski (Poland, Ireland), La Veronica by Leonardo Medel (Chile), Light For The Youth by Shin Su-won (South Korea), Red Moon Tide by Lois Patiño (Spain), Dream About Sohrab by Ali Ghavitan (Iran), The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night by Ramin Rasouli (Afghanistan, Iran), The Silent Forest by KO Chen-Nien (Taiwan), The Forgotten by Daria Onyshchenko (Ukraine, Switzerland). The Indian films lined-up for the competition are Bridge by Kripal Kalita, A Dog And His Man by Siddharth Tripathy, and Thaen by Ganesh Vinayakan.
Along with the Dhanush-starrer Asuran and Kiran Kondamadugula’s directorial Gatham, there are seven other South Indian films in the feature as well as non-feature categories including Pinki Elli?, Safe, Trance, Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha, Kappela, Thahira, Thaen, Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole.
Bengali films in both the feature and non-feature categories include Avijatrikand Brahma Janen Gopon Kommoti, while films in other Indian languages include A Dog And His Man (Chhattisgarh), Aavartan (Assam), Saand Ki Aankh (Hindi), Chhichhore (both in Hindi), June, Karkhanisanchi Waari, Khisa, Pandhara Chivda, Still Alive in Marathi, Bridge, Up Up & Up, Eigi Kona, Prawaas, Kalira Atita, and Namo.
100 Years Of Chrysotom – A Biographical Film, Ahimsa- Gandhi: The Power Of The Powerless, Catdog, Drama Queens, Green Blackberries, Highways Of Life, Holy Rights, In Our World, Investing Life, Jaadoo, Jhat Aayi Basant, Justice Delayed But Delivered, Khisa, Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole, Paanchika, Pandhara Chivda, Radha, Shantabai, Still Alive, The 14th February & Beyond are some of the films in the non-feature category.
Avijatrik, the Bengali film which takes forward the story of Apu from Satyajit Ray’s critically acclaimed Apu Trilogy (1955-1959), premiered on Tuesday at the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).
Directed by Subhrajit Mitra, the film stars Arjun Chakrabarty as Apu, and features Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Ditipriya Roy, and Sreelekha Mitra in prominent roles. Produced by Gaurang Films, the film is presented by National Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar. The film’s music has been composed by Pandit Bickram Ghosh.
While the film is competing at the Competition on Indian Language’s Films in KIFF this year, it has been selected for the Indian Panorama section for the 51st International Film Festival of India.
Talking about the film after its screening to a packed auditorium, Mitra said he wanted to show how Apu’s life comes full circle and continue the story from where Ray left off in Apur Sansar, which was the last film of the Apu Trilogy.
“The Apu Trilogy is like a Bible, more like the grammar for film students and filmmakers. While reading Aparajito [the novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay on which Apur Sansar is based on], I realised that no film was made on the last 100-150 pages, which talk about how Apu bonds with his son, Kajol. Avijatrik is my attempt to highlight the last few chapters of the novel,” Mitra told media persons after the film’s screening.
In the Apu Trilogy, music played an essential part and was composed by late sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. Elaborating on his experience on creating the film’s background score, Ghosh said that his experience of playing along with Pandit Shankar as his then-student helped him in this project.
“Pandit Ravi Shankar is my guru and I’ve played with him for 12 years. It was challenging to take off from where he left off. I put my career on the line with this film… While I had to continue Pandit Ravi Shankar’s legacy through the music, I also had to add my own stamp to it. It was a tightrope walk,” Ghosh told Silverscreen India.
Despite the challenges, Ghosh said his validation came in the form of an appreciative Facebook post by Pandit Shankar’s wife, who wrote a note about Ghosh’s music in the film after watching the film’s teaser.
“Pure classical score is very rare in film music. In this film, however, the entire score consists of classical music created by sitar, sarod, flute, a bit of string section, and the rest is folk music. There is much more of music in this film than there is in all the three films of the trilogy,” Ghosh added.
The music score in the opening title sequence of Avijatrik is played by Pandit Shankar’s daughter and sitar player, Anoushka Shankar, as a tribute to her father’s composition from Pather Panchali.
Cast and crew of Bengali film ‘Avijatrik’ attend the film’s premiere during KIFF 2021.
Talking about his portrayal of Apu, which was immortalised by late veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, Arjun Chakraborty said he did not face much difficulty while slipping into the character of Apu.
“I tried not to think of the baggage that the role brings. I tried to keep that thought down, but not all the time. It is always concerning to think what the audience might think of me. My director wanted me to bring to the table what was uniquely my own, he did not want me to copy anyone. My director did not want a carbon copy of any other actor, and only asked me to follow the script,” he said.
The producers of the black-and-white film are keen to release it in theatres before making it available on OTT platforms. The film’s theatrical release was initially set to take place in early 2020, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant nationwide pandemic.
The teaser of actor Arun Vijay’s Tamil film Sinam was released on Monday on social media, after the teaser got the censor certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification on January 6.
Arun told Silverscreen India that the film was expected to get a censor certificate on Monday.
Arun plays the role of a police officer in the film. Earlier, he played a police officer in the 2017 action thriller film Kuttram 23 and Mafia.
Apart from Arun, the film will also feature actors Palak Lalwani, Kaali Venkat, RNR Manohar, KSG Venkatesh, and Marumalarchi Bharathi, among others. Sinam is helmed by GNR Kumaravelan and produced by Arun’s father, actor R Vijayakumar, under the banner Movie Slides Pvt Ltd.
Arun said, “Sinam is based on a current issue and it is the need of the hour. The title means anger and the theme [of anger] runs through the script. It is about the anger that is within everybody. It has got a family connection and we are waiting till the Pongal releases are over.”
Stating that the film was beautifully narrated, Arun said that Sinam would be sent to film festivals as the content had come out well, and because it was the “right blend of family emotions, action”.
“Myself, including close associates of mine, have watched the film and it has come out well. I am sure the audience will like it too,” he said.
While Sinam’s music is scored by Shabir, the cinematography is done by Gopinath. The art director of the film is Michael and the editor is A Rajamohammed. Stunt Silva is the stunt coordinator of the film and R Saravanan has written the dialogues.
The film had wrapped up its shooting in March 2020 before the Covid-19 lockdown came into force.
AV31, the Tamil action thriller film starring Arun Vijay and Regina Cassandra, has wrapped up its shooting, announced the film’s team on Sunday on social media.
The film’s director Arivazhagan Venkatachalam praised the team for filming for 25 days during what he described as “hectic non-stop shooting in a pandemic”.
#AV31 – With Blessings, it’s a complete wrap up with hectic non-stop 25 days shooting in pandemic with such a Great effort from My Actors, Technicians, ADs #AllInPictures & Team. In One Word, a Big Thank 2 My Hero Cum Bro @arunvijayno1 4 All 😊❤️👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/kBXhE0nH0M
Arun told Silverscreen India, “We just wrapped the film. It has been a wonderful experience working with Arivazhagan Venkatachalam. He is very confident about the film. The script gives me a different shade as an actor – it is something I have not done before. The film is more of a pan-Indian film and will have a patriotic theme.”
This is Arun and Arivazhagan’s second collaboration, after the 2017 action thriller film Kuttram 23. It will also feature Stefy Patel and Baks Bagavathy.
Arun said he would be playing a RAW agent in the film, which is set in Delhi and has a “racy” screenplay.
“There will be a surprise in the film which I don’t want to reveal. But as an actor, it was challenging for me to portray. You can see it in the film. I had more scope for action in this film and the sequences were risky. But it was all done very carefully,” Arun said.
The film was shot in New Delhi, Agra, and Chennai. The final sequences were shot with the lead pair at a stadium in Delhi. Arun said that the last schedule was tedious as the team had to shoot day and night.
The final title and the first look will be released by the end of January, said Arun.
The film has Shyam as the stunt coordinator of the film, Sam CS as the music composer, and Rajasekar as the cinematographer. It is produced by Vijay Raghavendra under the All in Pictures banner.
According to a press release, the film was supposed to have been released in summer 2020 but suffered a long schedule break due to the pandemic and lockdown. The entire cast and crew were tested for Covid-19.
The film’s publicity manager told Silverscreen India that the film would be tentatively released in theatres by March or April.
Ahead of the release of films Master, Eeswaran and Bhoomi, voice artist Raveena Ravi speaks to Silverscreen India about not bringing mental baggage to the studio, small sound changes having big character repercussions, and the one recognition that dubbing artists crave, even today.
Raveena says she had no idea all three big-budget films would release together.
“I am very excited about the releases. I don’t know if this has ever happened to anyone. I am lucky and blessed to be a part of three big films that are all releasing this weekend. Last year was a disaster since I had very little work to do. But towards the end, my film Kavalthurai Ungal Nanban was released. Maybe this is to compensate for last year.”
While Master and Eeswaran will release in theatres after a long lull for the Tamil film industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, Bhoomi will stream on the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar.
Raveena says that unlike with acting, there is seldom time to prepare while dubbing.
“Actors get several workshops to rehearse or at the very least, a script is sent to their home. They are told about the plan, schedules, and a gist of the story in advance. Since dubbing can be done within a day, they don’t send the script to our home. We are briefed on the spot about the character, the metre of speech, the type of slang and accent, the emotions expected. Dubbing will be a rollercoaster of emotions and you cannot bring your mental baggage to the studio. So, a lot of mental preparation is needed for the dubbing artist.”
Talking about the difficulties involved in her profession, she says: “It’s even more difficult when different films are scheduled on the same day. The artist has to tackle different characters and different mood swings.”
“Dubbing is part of post-production, and this is what eventually turns out to be the curse of the dubbing industry. While the production team is willing to spend for pre-production and during filming, by this stage they are trying to cut down costs as much as possible. Sometimes it is the studio rent costs. At other times, the director may not be available for much time as he has other commitments. So there is less time to complete the dubbing process. We have to keep such constraints in mind and be ready on the spot to get into character and deliver.”
Raveena says that some things are easier while dubbing, and some things harder.
“During physical acting, there is always the need to express your character. Even when there is no voice presence, come what may, there has to be expression. You need to completely be there. In dubbing, there are no physical challenges like that as it relies purely on voice expression and dialogue. But dubbing is equally tough because we need to express just with our voice. With physical acting, there are elements that will add to a scene. But dubbing has none of these and we need to follow their style. Dubbing brings out the need to imagine more for the character.”
Raveena chuckles, “But since I do both with passion, it doesn’t feel difficult.”
On dubbing for herself:
In addition to dubbing, Raveena has also acted in the Tamil crime thriller film Kavalthurai Ungal Nanban, which released in November 2020.
She also dubbed for her character in the film and she she says she received many “weird comments” for it.
“During dubbing, the sound engineer of the film said I sounded like I was being voiced by some other heroine. Many people didn’t realise that it as I who had done the dubbing. One unforgettable moment was when a colourist for the film heard the dubbing and commented, ‘it was generous of the dubbing artist who has dubbed for top heroines to also dub for the small film and its heroine’. He had no idea that it was I who had dubbed for all of those big films!”
On how it all began
Raveena’s mother, Sreeja Ravi, is a voice artist who has worked in over 1500 films, predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. A recipient of several state awards for dubbing, she has dubbed for Nayanthara, Kavya Madhavan, Manju Warrier, and Shalini, among others.
Raveena’s dubbing career began in 2012, when she dubbed for actor Mahima Nambiar in the Tamil film Saattai.
“At that time, I was in college, studying for a bank management course. I was referred by the recording studios to dub for a school-going character in the film. They said that they had already tested over 25 voices and none of them had been suitable. I remember finishing college that day and then giving the voice test. It all happened randomly, and I did not know it was for the lead character. But it got okayed.”
Despite the random start, Raveena says she always had an inkling that she would be working in the film industry.
“I was doing that course because I wanted to have a backup option. Since my mother studied until Class 12 and did not attend college, my parents were keen that I pursue college. They wanted me to study Vis Comm [Visual Communications]. But I wanted a fallback option and took up banking. Deep down though, I knew cinema was going to be my calling and I also began to get good offers at that time.”
“Firstly, it is a huge responsibility to dub for a big star like Nayanthara. From her first Malayalam film Manassinakkare to Bodyguard, my mother had dubbed for Nayanthara regularly. It was a lot of responsibility for me to take the job that my mother had done all this time. Everyone from the industry would hear about it, including Nayanthara,” she says.
“Secondly, Nayanthara’s character is the mother of a girl child in the film and I needed to bring that maturity into the voice. There is a difference between a heroine scolding someone and a heroine who is acting as a mother scolding her child. I had no experience of doing that in real life. Handling that in a big project with big artists was difficult. But my mother helped me fully prepare for that.”
Romance is also difficult to dub, says Raveena.
“It is something that makes me self-conscious, since the metre followed has to be exactly right. Anything less would turn out to be expressionless, while more can become over-dramatic, as often happens in old films.”
Still from Master
Raveena says that dubbing artists have to pay attention to small details for their cues.
“In Master, the character I dubbed for is a teacher and there are many scenes with Vijay sir. I cannot reveal much. But we step into their shoes by observing what they have done, and especially their mouth movements. Some heroines do not open their mouth fully while speaking and we need to adapt that. Otherwise, it will not sync. We need to watch and observe them a lot and go parallel with them. That completely happens on spot.”
“In Eeswaran, the heroine keeps saying eeshwara eeshwara, but eeshwara is completely different from saying eeswaran, even though there only the difference of one letter. Because while eeshwara sounds like a city girl speaking, eeswara sounds like a village girl speaking. It’s by bringing out such small differences, that a dubbing artist can do justice to a character.”
Since her mother’s time, the competition for dubbing has increased, says Raveena.
“In Tamil cinema, there is always a voice test. During my mother’s time, there would be around 10 dubbing artists, and directors would know whose voice suited which heroines. But now, there are many new faces and at least 35 people turn up for the voice test. So the competition has definitely increased. Directors usually like to fix one tone for a heroine and would like to go by that. But it’s really the character that defines the dubbing modulations, especially when the voice artist dubs for the same actor over different films. I try to bring in the normal, colloquial tone that we hear in daily life and I try to implement that since that is what will sound natural.”
On recognition for dubbing artists
Raveena says recognition for dubbing artists is increasing.
“During my mother’s time, dubbing artists did not have conversations or interviews, except at award ceremonies. Now, social media has given us a boost and there are fans who who try to contact us. Interviews are happening. But the real recognition that each artist craves is an award. There are many award ceremonies, but the inclusion of dubbing categories is rare. I wish that our category was involved in award ceremonies.
On the other hand, if there is too much recognition, people might bored of hearing the same voice across films. That’s why when I dubbed for Master, Eeswaran and Bhoomi, which are all releasing this week, I had to be extra careful about sounding different in each film.”
She says that stars like Nayanthara, Madonna Sebastian, Catherine Teresa, Amy Jackson, and Raashi Khanna, have all appreciated and acknowledged her work.
“I would want 100% occupancy. Logically speaking, there are crowds everywhere. The weekends are fully crowded everywhere, going by ticket sales. The issue is that people seldom realise that beyond the actors, there are many artists involved in making films.
People think of cinema as a luxury but they don’t realise that there are many people whose livelihoods are dependent on it. I don’t think theatres are the only reason for the spread of the virus. There is no difference between 50% and 100% since people would get close in washrooms, parking lots and or food counters.”
While Master will be releasing in theatres on Wednesday, Eeswaran is slated to run from Thursday along with Bhoomi that will premiere on the OTT platform the same day.
Movie Credits:
Star Cast : Vijay Sethupathi, Raashi Khanna, Manjima Mohan, R Parthiban, Karunakaran, Samyuktha
Directed by: Delhiprasad Deenadayalan
Produced by: SS Lalitkumar
Music Composer: Govind Vasantha
Cinematography: Manoj Paramahamsa
Banner: 7 Screen Studio
Production House – Movie Slides Pvt Ltd
Producer – R. Vijayakumar
Director – GNR. Kumaravelan
Music – Shabir
Director Of Photography – Gopinath
Art Director – Michael BFA
Editor – A Rajamohammed
Associate Cinematography – Soda Suresh
Associate Director – Karthik Sivan
Co – Director – Saravanan Rathinam
Story – Dialogue – R Saravanan
Costume Designer – Aarathi Arun
Lyrics – Madhan Karky, Eknath, Priyan, Thamizhanangu
DI & VFX: Knack Studios
DI Colourist: Rajesh Janakiraman
Stills: Jayakumar Vairavan
Stunt – Stunt Silva
Production Advisor: R Raja (Redhan)
PRO – Suresh Chandra, Rekha D’One
Music Label – Muzik247
Promotions – Ctc Media Boy
Posters Design: RedDot Pavan
Abishek Kumar, the comedian who recently became popular on social media for creating the character Mrs. Janaki, calls himself an “accidental comedian”.
He started off in theatre a couple of years ago and slowly made his way into stand-up comedy, creating a name for himself in the circuit and soon garnered fame on Instagram during the lockdown due to Covid-19.
In a conversation with Silverscreen India, the actor talks about preparing for his performances, stand-up comedy and shooting videos even on busy work days.
Kumar says that he will be playing the role of Vishnu in Oh Manapenne, starring Harish Kalyan and Priya Bhavani Shankar in lead roles. He landed the role in 2019 after the film’s director and an assistant director saw one of his performances on stage.
“To be very honest, the movie is already made in Telugu (as Pelli Choopulu). So, I already knew about the storyline and what the character demands. And it is not a character which needs a lot of homework also. It is a very feel-good, casual movie which needed natural acting rather than intense preparation and method acting and all that. I was just trying to fit the role in the most natural way possible,” he said.
He said that he added his own flavour to the character, rather than replicating the Telugu actor who played the original role.
“Both Harish Kalyan and the Hey Sinamika team don’t treat a new-comer actor very differently. They give you enough room to improvise. I have been very fortunate and lucky to land my first couple of films with such professional and nice teams so that you don’t feel the pressure,” he says.
The winner of Amazon Prime Video’s Comicstaan- Comedy Semma Pa Season 1 in 2020, Kumar calls his tryst with stand-up comedy “an accident”.
“The makers (of a show) called me in the last minute after the original performer backed out,” he explains.
While some may believe that he is an actor-turned-comedian, the transition is originally from a theatre actor to a comedian to a film actor.
“The transition was initially from an actor to a stand-up comedian. I was never planning to be a stand-up comedian. I was in theatre for four years from 2016. The transition happened in 2017 when I started doing stand-up, again it is also performed on stage. So, the transition back to acting was not really tough. It was just that the opportunity came a little late in terms of acting in movies. And I am not even complaining. I am grateful,” he says.
With a pan-India stand-up comedy tour in the pipeline, Kumar says he follows a physical form of comedy style.
“I am not the person who stands and delivers, I am more of a performer. I use my theatrics and body-language to bring out humour.”
His style of performance can also be seen in his Animoji character Mrs. Janaki Teacher. His portrayal of a typical Chennaite school teacher became an instant hit on the internet. As someone who likes to multi-task instead of “prioritising one thing over the other”, Kumar says he has no plans of quitting comedy.
Speaking about the current status of his comedy shows, he says, “It is still going smooth. I am still doing shoots. Even during the middle of movie shoots, I continue doing parts of my stand up shows inside the caravan. In fact, all the shows are virtual. I am not going to put a stop to my stand-up at all.”
Kumar, who will be seen playing supporting roles in more films, confirms that his next project is likely to start in the ongoing quarter.
“I always wanted to be a performer. I was not hungry but it was a long term dream to watch myself on the big screen,” he adds.
Vera Farmiga, the American actor, has been cast as the lead in the upcoming English horror film Bad Bloom. She will also be producing the movie.
According to an article by The Hollywood Reporter, the film will go on floors in the second half of 2021. The film will be directed by Bryce McGuire, who previously worked on short films such as Night Swim and The White Room. This film will mark his debut as a feature film director.
Bad Bloom is said to be a horror fairytale film. The story revolves around a family that is living in isolation on a remote island to escape from an unknown creature.
“Their tightly-guarded reality begins to unravel when one of the children learns the monster they feared is not the monster they envisioned,” writes The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is being co-produced by Jon Rubinstein and Galt Niederhoffer for the Authentic Management banner, while Renn Hawkey will produce it under the banner of Ruminant Films.
Farmiga and McGuire previously collaborated on the project Tabloid Dreams, a surrealist comedy series, that was being developed by Bron Studios.
Farmiga is best known as paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the hit supernatural horror film franchise The Conjuring. She has also acted in other successful horror films such as the 2009 psychological thriller Orphan and the television series Bates Motel.
Farmiga is currently shooting for Marvel’s Disney+ series Hawkeye, alongside Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld. She will also be appearing in the upcoming mystery thriller The Salamander Lives, which will be directed by Ant Timpson. Apart from this, she is also starring in The Many Saints of Newark, which is the prequel to the critically acclaimed TV show The Sopranos.
