The Coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. As the weeks pass us by, the situation has only been worsening and turning harder for workers and employees across industries.
While several organisations and individuals belonging to the Tamil film industry are collecting funds and helping daily wage workers, director Pawan Kumar has been raising funds for workers of the Kannada film industry.
He announced that he would be doing so through a live chat on Instagram last Sunday, on March 22. While Manasaare,Parijatha fame actors Aindrita Ray and Diganth Manchale had joined Pawan Kumar for the live chat at 10 am, Popcorn Monkey Tiger actor Daali Dhananjaya and Lucia, U-Turn fame composer Poornachandra Tejaswi had joined him at 12.30 pm.
A post shared by Pawan Kumar (@pawankumarfilms) on
The director has so far collected around Rs 8 lakhs and has decided to give out the money to the neediest workers from the 17 departments that work on a daily basis. This includes makeup, costume, lightmen, dancers, outdoor unit, art assistants, carpenters, painters, still photographers, managers, and supporting artists.
He has reportedly spoken to senior officials of the unions and actor-social worker Chetan Kumar, who has worked for the betterment of workers, and chalked out a plan to help them. Instead of providing all the workers equally with a meagre share, they have decided to identify workers from each department who are deprived of basic needs without income and provide them with Rs 2000 immediately.
A share of the money that he received has been given by popular actors, directors, and producers of the Kannada film industry, disproving rumours that the cine industry hadn’t contributed to the fundraiser.
The director had also gone live with his film U-Turn’s lead actor Shraddha Srinath on Instagram. The duo acted out a love story titled Adam and Eve written by the director and intended on making viewers aware of the fundraiser.
A post shared by Pawan Kumar (@pawankumarfilms) on
On Saturday, the director posted on Facebook that he was facing trouble with the limit of UPI transactions that could be performed in a day.
“Damn … Arghh… The UPI freaking limits. I have 7.7 lakhs sitting in my account to be given out to daily wage workers who are all requesting for money. And I am unable to give it to them on time bcoz of all the security restrictions. I spent the whole of yesterday giving the money out to just 10 people, bcoz that is the UPI limit per day. I woke up at 5 am today to do another batch of 10, and I am still getting the same errors(sic)” read the post.
He also added that the other methods of money transfer did not seem either practical or quick enough and could not be considered as options.
“Raising the fund was easier than distributing it. Everyone who is reading this please create enough noise about taking out the limit on the UPI payment, I know it’s a security measure, but at least for the next 3 weeks it should be removed. UPI payment is the safest and fastest way to donate money to people in current times. ANY IDEAS(sic)” he added.
On Sunday morning, the director announced that he would be doing a bulk NEFT payment to a random 350 workers out of the 800 workers whose details he had managed to acquire.
Actor-director-producer Kamal Haasan has refuted rumours that he’s on quarantine through a press statement. The rumours surfaced due to a quarantine sticker that had been pasted outside his old house and current political party office building (Makkal Needhi Maiam) in Alwarpet, Chennai. The sticker, that has now been removed, read that the members of the house have to be quarantined from March 10 until April 6.
. @chennaicorp pastes home quarantine notice at @ikamalhaasan residence and then removes it immediately calling it a mistake.
Kamal Haasan said in his statement, “Based on the notice stuck outside my house, news has been spread saying that I have been quarantined. But, most of you already know that I have not been living there for the past few years and the Makkal Needhi Maiam party office has been functioning from there. So, the news that I have been quarantined is not true. As a precautionary measure, I have undertaken social distancing as I requested the public too. I would again reemphasize all of us to undertake social distancing as a precautionary measure. I also request all news agencies to verify news before breaking it so that fake news does not get spread.”
— Makkal Needhi Maiam | மக்கள் நீதி மய்யம் (@maiamofficial) March 28, 2020
A report on The News Minute mentioned that the authorities had done so assuming veteran actress Gautami, Kamal Haasan’s previous partner, was present at the residence. “Our staff pasted a quarantine sticker at Kamal Hassan’s residence because Gautami has returned from Dubai recently and her passport has this address,” said G Prakash, Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation.
A few days back, Kamal had offered to provide his party office building, if the government was willing, for treating COVID-19 positive patients with the help of the doctors working for his party. He was willing to convert the quarters into a temporary medical centre to help the people in crisis.
இந்த நெருக்கடி நேரத்தில் எளியோருக்கு பணி செய்ய மக்கள் நீதி மய்யத்தில் இருக்கும் மருத்துவர்களை கொண்டு, என் வீடாக இருந்த கட்டிடத்தை, தற்காலிகமாக எளிய மக்களுக்கான மருத்துவ மய்யமாக்கி,மக்களுக்கு உதவ நினைக்கிறேன்.அரசின் அனுமதி கிடைத்தால்,அதை செய்ய தயாராக காத்திருக்கிறேன்.
உங்கள் நான்
Recently, the actor had also released a two-part video on his social media handles with advice for tackling the Coronavirus pandemic. From social distancing to washing hands, and the need to stay indoors, the actor’s video covers it all. The actor also talks about how the fourth and fifth week has been crucial as that’s when the growth is exponential in most countries. He explains why this is so as well.
Last year was eventful for Kollywood that saw a host of big films being released. We saw new attempts (good and bad) that eschewed age-old templates. While some films were celebrated and some were oversold, there were a few films that did not receive the appreciation they deserved. Here are five such films.
Vellai Pookal
Although a little stretched out, it was a great thriller headlined by Vivek. These days Tamil filmmakers just go ahead with titles that make no sense, this film’s title had underlying meanings intertwined with its plot. Directed by Vivek Elangovan, the film also features Dev, Pooja Devariya, and Charlie. Vivek is cast superbly as the retired cop and the twists are satisfying.
Not a gamer but I thoroughly loved the idea of ‘three chances’ used in the film. The detailing in posters, editing, and Taapsee‘s performance were all brilliant. Directed by Ashwin Saravanan, the film also features Sanchana Natrajan, Vinodhini and Ramya Subramanian.
Streaming on Netflix.
Kolaigaran
Yet another crime thriller where Vijay Antony‘s poker face worked wonders. It is based on the Japanese novel The Devotion of Suspect X which was itself made into a film titled Suspect X. Directed by Andrew Louis, the film also features Arjun Sarja, Nasser and Ashima Narwal.
Streaming on Hotstar.
100
A good, cop film that spoke about the pressure policemen face inside the control room. Atharvaa successfully joined the list of actors who donned the cop uniform with this movie. Directed by Sam Anton, the film also features Hansika, Yogi Babu, and Radha Ravi.
Little girls in red frocks are playing hide and seek in an empty park. It’s finally Aishu’s (Baby Aaradhya) turn. Just when she’s ready to seek, she’s taken away by mysterious hands…
This isn’t just the first scene of the series, Kaanmoochi, streaming on Zee5, it’s the entire series discreetly summed up at the very beginning. And the great thing about this is that you’re still left guessing, as to what’s going to happen until the end of the five-episode season. The credit for this goes to the engaging and tightly-knit screenplay by Avinaash. I kept waiting for something unconventional but wasn’t too disappointed with the mainstream ending either.
Priya (Poorna) and her daughter Aishu originally from Bengaluru, shift to Chennai and stay at Skyline Apartments in Kelambakkam, along with a housekeeper Poongavanam (Saranya). One day, Aishu goes missing, in the midst of a religious procession. Befriending a food delivery personnel, Santhosh (Amzath Khan), Manju (Shwethaa) and her brother Balu (Smarab) who’s also mentally ill, Priya finds her abducted daughter.
Poorna At The ‘Kannamoochi’ Press Meet
Though I knew that the story was going to progress in a particular way, I never lost interest and was pretty glued to the screen. And Sundaramurthy KS’ background score majorly aided the narrative. It was perfectly along the lines of a thriller and never traversed to the horror side. Prasanna S Kumar’s camera and angles also help set the mood of the series.
On the downside, in Kannamoochi, things that could have been established without visuals were visually represented and things that needed proper corroboration were taken for granted. Santhosh’s backstory needn’t have been spoonfed to the audience while Priya’s purse dropping off and the tracing of her child demanded a little more explanation. In one instance she’s drowning, and in the very next she’s somehow on the right track inside a forest.
You’re on one path, the main one, dealing with child abduction and pedophilia but then you’re also introducing two other stories with no connection whatsoever. The random arrest of a man watching child porn and another episode of pedophilia, which was predictable at the very first instance… In the end, there was a random link between both episodes. How would a montage of both of them be sufficient to bring that story to an end? Or is it a cliffhanger for the second season? I hope it’s the latter. Except for two of the police station writers, the cops had nothing to do with the plot. Inspector Ravikumar (Sri Charan) although given a solid introduction, was rendered useless throughout.
Mysskin At The ‘Kannamoochi’ Press Meet
Given the amount of controversy and debates around caste and religion now, I found it absolutely unnecessary for the script to have a prolonged Christian procession just for the child to go missing. I strongly believed there would be a reason for it somewhere later, only to find out that it was just to deceive the viewer.
If they hadn’t revealed the abductor way before the climax, it might’ve gone down well, emotionally. But once you knew, it only made the stretched out climax tiresome. And tasteless.
Throughout the show, you see Priya and not Poorna. She shoulders the series brilliantly and is spot-on in emotional sequences. She is a powerhouse of talent that the industry needs to make more space for. Saranya too was superb. Radhakrishnan, who plays a doctor was off-note.
Kannamoochi though dealing with a simple idea, keeps you guessing and engaged until the end. Despite the loopholes, I’m glad they didn’t seek to solve several ‘children’s issues’ and focussed on one to a great extent.
The Kannamoochi review is a Silverscreen India original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Silverscreen India and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Actor-producer Prakash Raj who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, 27 March, has provided shelter for eleven stranded workers from Chennai, Pondicherry, and Khammam as a birthday deed. Owing to the national 21-day lockdown announced because of the Coronavirus pandemic, several daily wage workers have been left in crisis.
The actor had reportedly allocated space for the workers in his farm and spoke to their families and assured their safety. He has also helped them deposit money for their well-being.
On my birthday today ..I did this .gave shelter to 11 stranded workers from Pondichery..chennai.. Khammam.. it’s not just government s responsibility..it’s ours too. #COVID2019#21daylockdown#kuchKaronna .. let’s celebrate humanity .. let’s fight this united .. 🙏 #JustAskingpic.twitter.com/OX9hWqH05N
A few days back, the actor had donated bags of rice through his Prakash Raj Foundation to the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) after they had put out a statement concerning the livelihood of daily wage workers and employees of the South Indian film industries.
He had also reportedly paid his personal staff and the staff at his house, farm, foundation, and production house their salaries up to the month of May in advance. He has also charted a way to pay at least half of the salaries of the daily wage workers of his upcoming films that have come to a halt in the wake of the global threat.
The Sarileru Neekevvaru actor has also promised to continue to empower more such people and has requested others to help out too. “Time to give back to life, time to stand by one another,” he said.
The actor was last seen in the Kannada comedy-crime film Mayabazar 2016 helmed by debutant Radhakrishna Reddy. He was last seen in Telugu in Anil Ravipudi’s action-comedy Sarileru Neekevvaru and in Tamil in MR Bharathi‘s emotional drama Azhiyatha Kolangal 2. He will next feature in Kannada in Yuvarathnaa, in Tamil in Agni Siragugal and Annaatthe, and in Telugu in Naarappa, AA20 and Vakeel Saab.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar has said that following ‘popular demand’, 80s television serial Ramayana will be re-telecast from Saturday, March 28 on DD National. He also said that two episodes will be aired in a day, one from 9 am to 10 am and the other in the evening from 9 pm to 10pm. This announcement came in the wake of a nationwide 21-day lockdown because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Happy to announce that on public demand, we are starting retelecast of ‘Ramayana’ from tomorrow, Saturday March 28 in DD National, One episode in morning 9 am to 10 am, another in the evening 9 pm to 10 pm.@narendramodi
@PIBIndia@DDNational
Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana aired during 1987-1988 and starred Arun Govil as Ram, Sunil Lahri as Lakshman, Deepika Chikhalia as Sita, Arvind Trivedi as Raavan and late Dara Singh as Hanuman.
It broke the viewership record for any Indian television series during the 80s. It even entered the Limca Book of Records as the ‘Most Watched Religious Series’. The television show is also believed to have helped the Ramjanmabhoomi movement and marked a flashpoint in Indian politics.
It is unclear how the I&B Ministry or Doordarshan assessed this ‘popular demand’ or how people communicated this demand, following the lockdown.
I want to see Buniyad, Hum log and Rajni @DDNational please telecast these too
# Ramayana BJP Govt revives Ramayana on Doordarshan from March 28. Opium for the locked down masses–we can’t protect your livelihood but we can help you forget your woes.https://t.co/I83ZY1Wq1Zpic.twitter.com/JAyXFEYWW4
I finally saw Parasite. And now I plan to show the ‘flood scene’ in the film to anyone who cares to watch. Bong Joon-ho, in those five minutes conveys so much, while saying so little, that it should be compulsory viewing in any talk about climate change and extreme weather events.
I have spent the last four years talking and thinking about the floods that ravaged Chennai in 2015. I have tried my best over several talks about the floods, to explain what it is like to be in the throes of a disaster. The horror and inequity of it all. The rage and the pity one feels for oneself… I tried over several pages to explain this feeling, in Rivers Remember, last year. I try reading excerpts at book events in the hope that I can help others be prepared. I am going to stop that now. Instead I will direct everyone towards this scene.
In this part of the film (that made history at the Oscars) the Kim household goes under, after a river breaches, following heavy rains. I read about how Joon-ho staged this flood scene. He built the set inside a water tank so he could submerge the home easily. That itself reads like a metaphor for what happens in cities to water bodies and why homes flood. While the actors in the film got a mud bath, as the makers added clay with healing properties, the scene actually conveyed in grim detail how the Kim home was submerged in… sewage.
The entire sequence is utterly powerful. Their home and everything in it is gone. The father reaches out to a medal that’s precious. They are submerged in neck-deep water and one of them receives an electric shock. Almost all of these things happen in a real flood and they are exacerbated in poor neighbourhoods.
The most striking part of the scene however, is the one where the toilet is spitting sewage out relentlessly. What makes this so powerful is of course the fact that this happens in real life. In real floods. It happened in my childhood home. After trying to stop the toilet from throwing more sewage into her home, Jessica ‘only child’ gives up, and sits on it. For a smoke…
parasite-bong-joon-ho
At this point of the film, I sat back and sighed. I feel you, Jessica… I muttered. “How does one pack 21 years of one’s life and into what? Where does one go for boxes large enough and how does one know how much time one has?” I’d asked myself while writing about my home flooding.
The sequence is intercut with further helplessness of those further down in the underground in the Park household… Making for an unpalatable five minutes that combine the horrors of extreme weather events and economic disparity.
The poor family having just returned from the comforting embrace of Parks’ home that only has a view of the rains and is not affected by the floods, feels the burden of their own poverty further. The next day when the woman of the rich household says the sky is clear and is thankful for the rains of the previous night, you can feel the rage building in her driver.
And even before the floods, the poor family in the film, has to deal with drunkards who use the outer wall of their semi-basement home as a toilet…
While Parasite is an editing marvel, showing us how the maker can play with metaphors while at the editor’s table (like with the ending for instance), this particular scene is not only made richer by the metaphors and meanings it conveys in such a short time, but also by the cuts it goes to and comes back from, bringing home that ‘something is about to go very wrong’ feeling.
Parasite is now streaming on Amazon Prime in India.
The motion-poster and title logo of director SS Rajamouli‘s RRR has been unveiled on Wednesday afternoon. The film titled Roudram Ranam Rudhiram has Ram Charan and Junior NTR in the lead roles with Ajay Devgn in an important role. It is being bankrolled by DVV Danayya under his banner DVV Entertainment.
The motion poster features a blazed up Ram Charan running towards a water-expelling Junior NTR. While the two represent Roudram and Rudhiram respectively, they join hands for Ranam, giving us the title of the film. The R that stands for Ranam also has thee words ‘India 1920’ and the spokes of the Indian flag embossed on it.
While Roudram Ranam Rudhiram is the Telugu title, it’s Raththam Ranam Rowthiram in Tamil, Rise Roar Revolt in Hindi and English, Rudhiram Ranam Roudram in Malayalam and Roudra Rana Rudhira in Kannada.
After much speculation, the female lead and the antagonists of the film were revealed by the makers in November 2019. Olivia Morris, a British theatre artist will be seen opposite Junior NTR while Irish actors Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody essay the antagonists in the magnum opus. Earlier, Daisy Edgar Jones who was part of the film had walked out of the project due to unavoidable ‘family circumstances’.
Alison Doody who has been a part of films like A View to a Kill, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Major League II, King Solomon’s Mines essays the role of Lady Scott while Ray Stevenson who has worked in King Arthur, The Other Guys, Kill the Irishman, Thor will be playing Scott in the film. Jennifer, Olivia Morris’ character will romance Junior NTR who plays Komaram Bheem.
Ram Charan essays the role of Alluri Sitarama Raju (an independence revolutionary) and will be seen opposite Alia Bhatt who plays Sita. Samuthirakani also has a significant role in the film. KK Senthil Kumar is cranking the camera, MM Keeravani is composing music, Sreekar Prasad will edit and Sabu Cyril is helming art. The Alexa LF camera which is predominantly used only in Hollywood is being used to shoot the film.
In January, Tanhaji star Ajay Devgn joined the sets of the film. Stills of the cast with SS Rajamouli did the rounds on social media.
The team began shoot in November 2018 and has reportedly shot in Hyderabad, Pune, Gujarat, and Bulgaria. Eighty percent of the film has been completed. RRR is set to release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam on 8 Jan 2021. It was earlier slated to hit screens on 30 July 2020.
Your love and support have made all our hard work and hectic schedules worthwhile! We are working round the clock to give you a cinematic experience like never before. And with a huge worldwide release planned, we have had to postpone the date of release.
On Monday afternoon, the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) put out a statement concerning the livelihood of daily wage workers and employees of the South Indian film industries. It spoke of the troubles they are facing owing to the Coronavirus outbreak which has halted film shooting, and other work. The federation made a request to the film fraternity to donate money for the procurement of rice bags, a basic need, for the employees.
The statement mentioned that the organisation comprising 25,000 members, has seen various strikes including ones against the producer council for salary appraisal and government for various needs but hasn’t faced such a threatening strike. It also added that 15,000 of these members are daily wage workers who live off the income earned from shooting sets every day.
“One of the workers called me and asked me the duration of this strike. When I told him it would go on for about 15-20 days he told me that he would rather succumb to the virus than watching his family and children die out of famine. This has disturbed me to an extent that cannot be expressed in words,” said FEFSI president RK Selvamani in the statement.
Film Employees Federation of South India popularly known as #FEFSI asks all those who are part of the film industry and others to financially help the daily wage workers who are without work as there is no shoot.
The Tamil Film Press Association, the Salem head of ‘Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’, production houses Axess Film Factory, 11:11 Production, producer Dhanu, actors Radha Ravi, Manobala, directors Hari, Santhana Bharathi, and Sanjay Bharathi and several others have also made their contributions in kind by donating a certain amount of rice and dal bags.
On Tuesday, The South Indian Artists Association a.k.a Nadigar Sangam also put out a statement calling for donations for supporting artistes of all ages and genders. It added that 70% of the members are daily wage workers who are currently in a crisis owing to the global threat. The statement also added bank and account details to which contributors could donate.
#Siaa Members willing to donate to help our junior artistes-drama artists who r suffering due to lock down,can send money to this account.The Special Officer wl do the needful to help the needy.THE SOUTH INDIAN ARTISTES ASSOCIATION
BANK:HDFC
A/C: 50100130847592
IFSC:HDFC0002082. pic.twitter.com/nx6qPmm9TJ
In response to this, Ishari K Ganesh of Vels Film International has donated 10 Lakhs to the association.
Producer Dr.Ishari K Ganesh, @VelsFilmIntl Who has a Helping Mind, donates Rs.10 Lakhs To Nadigar Sangam Immediately in response to this attached letter from Special Officer due to Corona Virus Issue . pic.twitter.com/FduQPNzscR
— Vels Film International (@VelsFilmIntl) March 24, 2020
In this exclusive interview to Silverscreen, Aditi Rao Hydari opens up about why it’s a joy working with Mohanakrishna Indraganti, and how her experience of working with the likes of Mani Ratnam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Mysskin have shaped her approach to acting.
In 2018, Aditi Rao Hydari made her Telugu film debut in Mohanakrishna Indraganti’s Sammohanam (2018), a romantic drama in which she played a film actress, Sameera, who falls in love with a cartoonist, Vijay. Critics drew comparisons with Notting Hill (1999), a film which was a huge influence on Sammohanam apart from My Week With Marilyn (2011), and Aditi’s heartfelt performance as an actress, who’s trying to move away from an abusive relationship, struck a chord with the audience.
It has been two years since she was seen in a Telugu film, her last release being Sankalp Reddy’s space drama Antarishkam, (2018) in which she played an astronaut. Aditi is back in Telugu with Mohnakrishna Indraganti’s upcoming thriller V, which also stars Nani, Sudheer Babu, and Nivetha Thomas. The film revolves around a cop (Sudheer Babu) and a criminal (Nani) that the former has been chasing. However, the actress refuses to divulge any details about her role at the moment. “I loved the story and Mohanakrishna Indraganti is someone whom I love to work with,” she says, without elaborating further.
Excerpts from an interview…
You are collaborating again with Mohanakrishna Indraganti after Sammohanam for V…
I can’t reveal much about my role or the film, but Mohanakrishna Indraganti is one of those directors who’s really good with actors. Some directors communicate so well with the actors that you trust them and surrender to their vision. In fact, this film is almost like a reunion for those who are from Mohanakrishna’s school (laughs), since Nani, Sudheer Babu, Nivetha and I have all worked with him in the past.
Your performance in Sammohanam was heartfelt and the way you internalised the emotional turmoil Sameera goes through was quite striking. Did the film change you as a person in any way?
Every film changes you a bit, but I wouldn’t be able to say exactly how the film changed me. It does, however, impact other things and choices you make in life. I’m a very loyal person and every time I work with people who are kind and gentle, it helps me grow. Sammohanam is very close to my heart in so many ways, and it’s so sweet and heartwarming at the same time. Mohanakrishna Indraganti is all heart and I cherish working with him.
Talking about Mohanakrishna, what makes him so interesting to work with?
It’s difficult to pinpoint, but let me just say that he has a way with words that will put you in that zone instantly. He’s very clear and understands what he wants, and at the same time, he gives actors complete freedom to figure it out. Every scene has a different timing and vibe, and he helps you get there quicker. Also, the atmosphere on the sets is really good. It’s important to work with people who nourish and nurture you, because you are spending nearly 30-50 days on any given film.
Aditi Rao Hydari, Dulquer Salmaan and choreographer Brinda who’s debuting as a director with ‘Hey Sinamika’
Over the years, you’ve used those two words – nourish and nurture – when you worked with filmmakers like Mani Ratnam. Is that what you look for before saying yes?
I think intent matters the most, and each time, I’m trying to figure out if their intent is clean and clear. I’m drawn to people who have a lot of conviction in their work because their passion is infectious. Sometimes, a few directors might not be able to communicate as much, but that’s when you have to think on your own, make sense of what they want and deliver it. It’s also part of the learning process. I’ve worked with all kinds of directors, and the most important thing is to trust them. I’m a director’s actor. I listen like a sponge and deliver my best.
Whether my part is for 20 minutes or two hours, as long as the audience takes me home, I feel that I’ve done my job right. There have been times when I wanted to really work with a director, but I had to politely refuse the film because I didn’t see myself in the character written for me. As an actor, you’re constantly judging if you’ll alienate the audience or not, if you play a certain character.
Was working with Mysskin, who directed your recent Tamil film Psycho, a different experience?
Oh yes, absolutely. Mysskin is a very ‘in the moment’ person, and he makes you reflect on a lot of things which you wouldn’t have paid attention to. I put my heart and soul into it. Having worked with Mani Ratnam in the past on a couple of films, you get used to a certain style of working and comfort. It was my dream right from my childhood to work with him. Psycho was my first film in Tamil outside the Madras Talkies banner, and it feels like I’ve learnt a different language from another person. It’s also quite tough because he doesn’t give you an easy way out. When you fall in the dirt, there’s nothing to cushion for your knees, metaphorically speaking. I wanted to kill Mysskin (laughs), but he’s also quite a humorous person. But when it comes to work, like all good directors, he doesn’t give any concessions. I love that sort of turmoil, because it makes everything seem like there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
From ‘Psycho’
As an actor, what’s it like being in a Mysskin’s film?
When it comes to Mysskin, right from the way he frames a sentence to his thoughts, everything is so different from what I’m used to. I’m quite used to being shot in close-ups, a technique which Sanjay Leela Bhansali often uses. But in a Mysskin’s film, there are a lot of shots which are long, and it completely changes the dynamic. Sometimes, it’s just your foot or toe in the frame, and he brings out drama in that moment. Like I said, it’s the intent which matters the most and how passionate a filmmaker is about his or her craft.
You have a couple of films in Tamil, The Girl On The Train’s Hindi adaptation. And then, this year, you are also making your comeback in Malayalam almost 14 years after you first appeared in Prajapathi…
Oh, that was just a cameo in Prajapathi and I wasn’t even an actor back then. So, let’s just say that Sufiyum Sujathayum is going to be my full-fledged debut in Malayalam cinema. It has a beautiful, fairy-tale like vibe to it. I’m lucky to have found such a lovely team to work with and it’s so rare to find people who’re so sensitive and indulgent. My work schedule was all over the place due to my other commitments, but the crew were very helpful and sweet to me. I always keep saying that as much as the box-office result matters to you, it’s the journey of making a film that is equally important because that’s what stays with you in the long run.
For me, Visu will always remain Naradhar Naidu, the talkative do-gooder of Manal Kayiru, a film he wrote and directed. For years, I tested my memory by remembering the eight conditions (nine if you included Condition number 1 (A)) that Kittumani places before him when it is time to find him a wife. In this day and age, a film about a wedding built on lies might seem like overkill, but in the 1980s, when marrying a daughter off was of utmost importance to parents. Especially when an inter-religious weddings had repercussions on the marriageability of the others at home.
To think, I listened to Manal Kayiru, recorded by a studio in Paramathi Velur, on a stereo set! The recordist had doodled the title on a white background on the cassette cover. I watched the movie many years later. That’s the thing about Visu’s movies. They were ideal for listening too. Conversation-rich, everything was placed upfront; there was no need for any stylistic filmmaking or subtle acting.
In almost all his films, Visu played some version of Narada, the person who always poked his nose in others’ affairs. In Penmani Ava Kanmani, which I watched again yesterday, after hearing news of Visu’s demise, he played the elderly father who couldn’t not step in, to right the wrongs. Two types of ‘mother-in-law – daughter-in-law’ issues, two drunkards brought back from their addiction… the film is a goldmine of emotions. Add to it the exasperated son (Prathap Pothen) who has to often change houses, but eventually sees his father’s logic. Also, has Seetha ever looked more beautiful than in this film? Or has anyone else used her fetching eyes, as well as it was used in this film?
Visu is part of our nostalgia, because his films, even those made later, were set in a time when even the landline was a luxury. When retired fathers woke up early to go buy milk at the local vendor. Sadly, it was also the time when men decided whom their daughters would marry, “Kazhutha neeta sonna neetuva!” and this was a sign that they’d raised their daughters well.
The tropes were familiar — the joint family, with its attendant joys and grievances, the employed woman and her ‘arrogance’, the taming of the shrew, as it were, the ‘good’ daughter-in-law versus ‘bad’ daughter-in-law. Despite playing to the gallery with dialogues that were a great hit then, but might make us wince now, Visu pushed the envelope often, and how. He even discussed sex and desire in his films. Think Madhuri’s character Vasantha in Samsaram Adhu Minsaram taking a cold shower at night, because her husband only sees her as his younger brother’s tutor. Or, Seetha’s character Uma in Penmani Ava Kanmani, initiating sex with her husband Dilip, despite being injured in the leg by her mother-in-law.
Widow remarriage was in Sakalakala Sammandhi, where Saranya plays the daughter of the house who restricts her colourless life to her room, till Visu’s character walks into the house and makes everyone realise how wrong they all are.
Visu’s films came with their staples, in terms of cast. The highly-underrated Kamala Kamesh, Delhi Ganesh, Manorama in all her glory (her Kannamma is meme gold), Visu’s brother (late) Kishmu, Dilip, Ilavarasan, Ilavarasi and Lakshmi (in one of her finest roles as Uma in Samsaram Adhu Minsaram).
Visu wrote his women well, only they were either black or white. Aruna’s character in Penmani Ava Kanmani is a journalist, but she is also shown as deeply arrogant and prone to throwing a fit and being unmindful of her family. She gets her comeuppance, but it all falls within the ‘Taming of the Shrew’ template. Something similar happens to Sarojini’s (Ilavarasi) character in Samsaram Adhu Minsaram. The ones who shine in Visu’s films are the women who play by societal rules, the coy yet firm wives, daughters and daughters-in-laws.
That said, in the time Visu’s films were set in, the man who wanted to push the envelope, probably had to get into the envelope and meet societal expectations before he put forth his ideas, and nudged it out of the space it was tethered to.
Everyone acknowledges Visu, the writer-actor-director and his enviable body of work. But, I’d also like to remember the gentleman, who later went on to make a successful career, holding public debates, and as a gourmand too. Visu loved his food. I think he loved it as much as Ammayappa Mudaliyar of Samsaram Adhu Minsaram did. The man who described kesari, rasagulla and filter coffee with a love that can only be summoned by someone who is a devotee of food. I hope he’s in a place where’s he eating a spot of naatu vellam with some fresh-fried Rajapalayam mormolagai.
It’s been a somewhat eventful couple of days for Indian movie personalities with great privilege. They’ve shown very little civic responsibility in the face of a pandemic.
First, Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor who eventually tested positive for coronavirus broke quarantine. MPs, MLAs and former CMs partied with her, when requests for social distancing were already in place from government. Several are under quaratine now.
South Indian superstar Rajinikanth followed suit by posting an ill-informed video about the Janta Curfew yesterday. We wrote about it, here.
Today, Amitabh Bachchan joined this hall of fame. He tweeted,
‘AN OPINION GIVEN : 5 pm ; 22nd Mar, ‘amavasya’, darkest day of month ;virus, bacteria evil force at max potential & power ! Clapping shankh vibrations reduce/ destroy virus potency Moon passing to new ‘nakshatra’ Revati. cumulative vibration betters blood circulation.’
Screenshot of the now deleted tweet.
Following strong criticism, the tweet was deleted.
Mr Bachchan, if you can’t throw your weight in support of doctors or donate from that Panama a/c for vents etc, may be… don’t peddle lies about an ongoing pandemic.
It’s like you never went to school. Im also reporting you to @TwitterIndia for lying abt magical remedies
Dear AB sir, this is incorrect information. Yesterday at 5 PM, neither Moon was in Revati Nakshatra nor there was Amavasya. Yesterday was 13th Lunar Tithi (त्रयोदशी) and Moon was transiting in Shatbhisha Nakshatra. Moon will be in Revati on 25-26 March.
Your ardent fan. 🙏
— Priyanka (Astrology Guidance) (@AstroAmigo) March 23, 2020
A few days back I was laughing at a ‘corona’ meme on social distancing — the social distancing practised by Visu in Samsaram Athu Minsaram. It was that epic scene in which Godavari crossed the ‘veetukku naduvula kodu’ (line in the middle of the house). This is the level of influence Visu’s cult movies have had in the collective minds of Tamil cinema audience.
I was shocked to hear of Visu sir’s demise yesterday. If you were in TN in the 80s or 90s, you would have spent many Sunday evenings watching his movies on Doordarshan, like I did.
His movies were set in a house that was usually as small as mine and the comedy was such that my grandmother, mother and I could laugh together. Typically the lead character would be sitting on an easy chair and reading the newspaper on his front porch. This man was a diabetic craving sweets and snacks on special occasions. It totally reminded me of my grandfather. My father would say, “Oh! People are standing next to doors, pillars and window panes and talking. It must be a Visu movie.”
There was a movie made with someone like my grandfather and in a place somewhat like my own home. My sister would quote dialogues in our conversations for a few days after a Visu movie came on TV. I was more than thrilled watching them, because I could relate to them.
Later, when I became a screenwriter, I truly understood what his movies meant. And people standing and talking near doors and pillars? How he made every day places and conversations interesting is a masterclass in staging and direction. He would sometimes even set a nail-biting climax or intense interval point in a living room. He was able to achieve wonderful things with very little space. A skill that everyone who wants to make films should aspire to imbibe.
What made people from three different generations laugh for a Visu joke? His humour was clean and relatable (which is a rarity these days). He could take something as simple as making kesari, and turn it into an interesting scene. His dialogues were like choreography with words. His magic was evident in myriad settings such as the heated argument in Samsaram Athu Minsaram or the interview scene from Thillu Mullu which has the audience in splits decades after the movie first released.
Why did I feel like my grandfather was playing the leading role in his films? Visu’s characters were ordinary men and women. The on screen equivalent of RK Lakshman’s “common man”. No wonder common people felt represented. He explored themes that were never explored before, themes that were deemed too simple, such as problems created by an old man who never worked a day in his life (Kudumbam Oru Kadambam) . The balancing act of a father, the head of a joint family (Samsaram Adu Minsaram). A guardian who tries to find a bride for a man who has an unreasonable set of conditions (Manal Kayiru). These were everyday issues but were novel and fascinating on screen. He showcased the day-to-day life of middle class families. Like Charlie Chaplin’s tramp, Visu created a middle class motormouth as his iconic character. Almost all his films were blockbusters. Many of them were among the top five grossing films of their respective years.
Since we didn’t have a cable connection, I watched his famous ‘Arattai’ Arangam during summer holidays when I went to my maternal grandparents’ house. The tone and delivery of his speeches were unique. The show became an integral part of Tamil popular culture.
A few years ago, when I watched his interviews on Youtube, he sounded very different. My colleague and friend Rajmohan told me that Visu sir was operated upon for throat cancer, which was why his voice sounded strained. When I met him in person, he was undergoing dialysis three days a week. I clearly remember, he said “I’m going to think there are only four days in a week and I’m going to be active for those remaining days”. What an inspiration! A writer, actor, director, theater artist, orator, TV show host. What an exceptional career he had!
After almost 30 years, his films inspire many creators to make clean family movies. ‘Visu Padam’ is a genre of its own in Tamil cinema. He has left giant footprints in the Tamil film industry. In the age of social media where nuance has lost meaning, where flamboyance is the way of life, we have a thing or two to learn from his work. Rest in Peace, Visu sir.
Bala Kumaran is a screen writer and a stand up comedian.
The album of AR Rahman‘s 99 Songs was released on Twitter by the composer himself. While Jio Studios is presenting the film, Rahman’s production company YM Movies is bankrolling it with Ideal Entertainment co-producing it. The composer has turned writer and producer for the film being helmed by debutant Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy.
The album comprises 14 tracks and has gone down well with the listeners.
“Cheering you in these difficult times with the release of the ”#99Songs” whole album on 20th Mar. This includes 14 tracks. Go post your covers, all you birds stuck in your nest,” Rahman tweeted on Friday.
The movie follows the journey of a young man named Jay whose life centers around music and his girlfriend Sophie. Starring debutants Ehan Bhat and Edilsey Vargas, the film also stars Tenzin Dalha, Lisa Ray, Manisha Koirala, Rahul Ram, Ranjit Barot, Diwakar Pundeer and Neel Tyagi in important roles.
On the technical front, Tanay Satam and James Cowley are handling cinematography, Aparna Raina is handling production design, and Akshay Mehta is editing. Eka Lakhani is designing costumes with Hussain Dalal penning dialogues.
The musical romantic-drama will release in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Listen to the album on the Gaana app.
Recently, the trailer of the film was launched and it has garnered over 1.5 million views. It’s a beguiling watch and boasts of superb production quality, spanning beautiful locations with great visuals.
The past week has seen a lot of us work from home, in rather closer proximity to partners, parents and other family than ideal. It’s a bit churlish to complain about having to work from home and not, you know, be out on the frontlines fighting a dangerous new virus, but it is hard to spend all day at home.
But family in close quarters makes for some excellent sitcoms, such as Sarabhai versus Sarabhai, streaming on Hotstar right now. Sarabhai…, which ran from 2004 to 2006 (and again in 2017, in an ill-advised second series), is set in a high-rise apartment complex in Mumbai’s Cuffe Parade. The titular Sarabhais are a wealthy Gujarati family. The matriarch, Maya Sarabhai, played by (the) Ratna Pathak Shah, does her best to be an upper class socialite, throwing cocktail fundraisers and hobnobbing with Mumbai’s glitterati. This provides her husband, Indravadan Sarabhai (Satish Shah in his possibly second best role after Commissioner D’Mello in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron) with many opportunities for amusement at Maya’s expense. The elder Sarabhais live with their two sons, Sahil (Sumeet Raghavan), a cosmetologist, and Rosesh, an aspiring theatre personality, as well as Sahil’s very middle class wife, Monisha (Rupali Ganguly). Other recurring characters on the show are Indravadan’s sister Ilaben and her husband Madhusoodan, and Maya and Indravadan’s daughter and son-in-law, Sonia and Dushyant.
Because it aired on network television, Sarabhai was the sort of “clean comedy” you could watch with your family. Sahil Sarabhai was the show’s straight man, trying to keep his wife and mother in harmony. This is hard – Monisha is not very good at keeping house, and spends all her time hunting down the next bargain, much to Maya’s horror. For her part, Maya mercilessly mocks how middle-class Monisha is, launching into long tirades about how Monisha shops for bargain clothes at Mumbai’s Linking Road, reuses gift-wrapping paper and leaves things all over the floor of their apartment at every opportunity. Rosesh, Sahil’s brother, is a mummy’s boy, and can do no wrong in Maya’s eyes. While Sahil has a real job, Rosesh spends his time trying out for theatre roles and writing terrible poetry – for instance, “Khatarkhun Khatarkhun/ Chale Mere Dil Ki Dhun” and “Hai hava mein victory ki aroma/ jeet gayi Momma, jeet gayi Momma.” For his part, Indravadan spends his time playing practical jokes on Maya and harassing Rosesh (or Maya Part 2, as he calls him).
The writers of the show exploit these relations – and other things only too familiar to middle class Indians — for some gentle laughs. Monisha is a middle class housewife, and so naturally she spends all her time watching serials with titles like Uska Pati Sirf Mera Hai. Rosesh’s theatre associates are as air-headed as he is, praising his awful poems because theirs are just as bad. As for Maya, she spends her day flitting from one social event to another, to establish just how sophisticated she is. Satish Shah gets some of the show’s best lines when Indravadan is mocking Maya’s snobbery (such as how she hosts a cocktail party for the benefit of child victims of alcoholism). Rupali Ganguly provides a terrifically uninhibited performance as Monisha, while Ratna Pathak Shah is just snobbish enough to make Maya Sarabhai truly lovable.
Sarabhai might be all laughs and silliness on the surface, but its true genius lies in how it holds up a mirror to its intended audience. It’s no coincidence that Sarabhai was made in 2004, more than a decade after liberalisation, when more middle class Indians found themselves much wealthier than they had been before, and suddenly exposed to much more than the India of state sponsored entertainment. Sarabhai was telecast on Star Plus, not Doordarshan – the people watching Sarabhai had paid for cable television. And while this class could now do things like attend cocktail parties and travel abroad, some things remained just the same. Maya might serve wine to her dinner party guests, but she always does so wearing a handloom cotton saree, carefully pressed and starched by the househelp. The food is strictly vegetarian – Maya would remind you that Gujaratis like them do not eat meat. And house help – some shirk work, yet others are too attractive for the female Sarabhais’ comfort. The joke is really on the Sarabhais – their posh exteriors and fancy houses depend on paid labour by domestic help and the Sarabhais are only too aware of it.
Indeed, the show is at its best when it picks on how uncomfortable it is to be posh. While Maya manages to seamlessly integrate tradition into her sophisticated lifestyle, Indravadan doesn’t quite do as well. He might be successful professionally, and wealthy enough to live in Cuffe Parade, but left to himself, he would rather be eating chaat at Khau Galli and loudly cheering at cricket matches with Monisha, than socialising with Maya’s posh friends. He takes out his frustration on Rosesh – who is as posh and sophisticated as Maya would like him to be, but who has also never done a day’s work in his life – and on Maya herself, with his gags and puns. Truth be told, Sarabhai is as funny as it is, because we are all Sarabhais to varying degrees. Post-liberalisation India can be snobbish and entitled like Maya, even as we grapple with the kind of entrenched middle-classiyat that Monisha possesses.
Naturally, at the end of the day, Sarabhai is about family – the Sarabhais are stuck with each other, and stick by each other through times thick and thin. The show’s characters very rarely cease bickering and plotting against one another, but when they do, the results are genuinely sweet and heartwarming. And that’s exactly what we need right now.
As India braces for uncertainty over the Coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Modi has called for what he’s calling a Janata Curfew. Just 14 hours of curfew, with people staying indoors, tomorrow, March 22, between 7 am and 9 pm, as opposed to complete lockdown that may be required. Rajinikanth, earlier today put out a video in support of Modi’s curfew. What was interesting about the video the actor — who recently said he does not want to be CM of Tamil Nadu but wants to be the head of a political outfit — had put out was that it came with just a hashtag #ISupportJanataCurfew. The tweet that had the video as well as a second tweet that had a link to YouTube with the same content have now been removed by Twitter. Twitter has said the tweets violated Twitter rules. The video is still up on YouTube however.
Rajinikanth said in his video that for 12-14 hours if people don’t go out, we can stop the spread of Coronavirus from stage 2 to 3. There is no proof of this at all. For instance, this graphic from Business Insider shows how long the virus can survive in various surfaces:
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Moreover, the medical community has doubts about the stage in which India is currently in, in this fight against the virus. On NDTV last night, Dr Arvind Kumar, the chairman of Center of Chest Surgery in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said that “people who think that we still are in stage 2 have shut their eyes to reality.” NDTV reported that “according to him, this infection is simmering in the community and just waiting to explode anytime.”
Watch Dr Arvind Kumar’s interview here:
While Italians may have ignored calls for curfews, and right now the army has been called in to ensure the same, there is little by way of science to explain how Modi’s Janata Curfew can stop the virus in its track and prevent an Italy-like situation here. Rajinikanth also asked everyone, in his video, to express gratitude to the medical community at the forefront of this fight at 5 pm tomorrow, per Modi’s request.
Cast: Aaditi Pohankar, Vijay Varma, Kishore Kumar G
Writers: Imtiaz Ali, Divya Johry
On paper, Netflix India’s She, a seven-part police procedural created and co-written by Imtiaz Ali, has one of the most intriguing premises. Picture this: Bhumi (a riveting Aaditi Pohankar), a timid, lower-middle-class, Marathi junior constable stumbles upon the secret to weaponsing her sexuality while on an undercover police operation, moonlighting as a sex-worker.
Female sexuality has been a topic fraught with problems, in Indian screens. Even when films touch upon its existence like Veere Di Wedding (2018), which saw an urban embrace of women’s desires, did, they tend to view it in isolation – far removed from patriarchal structures that endanger it in the first place. But by placing its protagonist thick in the cauldron of patriarchy, She seemed to have aimed its gaze on female sexuality through an interrogation of Indian society. For instance, Bhumi is in a profession where excellence is equated with a display of masculinity; she is undercover in another profession that is, to an extent, under the mercy of a display of masculinity; she shares an estranged relationship with a husband who resents her for making him feel emasculated.
Yet on-screen, in She – three episodes too long – that interrogation never quite happens. It becomes a pointless, repetitive misfire that reduces the promise of its premise to dull police procedural and soon ends up as a caricature of its own making. Directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das (although it isn’t clear how exactly the directing duties have been divided), the biggest letdown of the series is that it reiterates the same old clichés that abound narratives of female liberation. One which confuses on-the-nose surface-level feistiness with sexual liberation.
She finds its bearings when Bhumi infiltrates a brothel tasked with nabbing the attention of Sasya (an efficient Vijay Varma), a low-level smart mouth involved in the underworld narcotics business. The job at hand is simple: identify if he is the guy the Anti-Narcotics Team is after and help her bosses arrest him. Sasya falls hook, line, and sinker for her, but even after a detour that puts Bhumi’s safety in question, his plans of a night-long romp are thwarted when the cops ultimately locate them and arrest him. Things get more interesting when Sasya puts forth a condition to the cops after his arrest. He will only divulge information if she interrogates him. The action spread over the first two episodes, makes for a compelling build-up and is compounded by the fact that Pohankar and Varma share electric chemistry (that seems to be the only silver lining in the series).
For some inexplicable reason, the makers leave their story midway (and completely forget about Sasya’s existence for a while – nothing good can come from underutilising Varma) to introduce its principle villain. The elusive Nayak (Kishore Kumar G), who as it turns out is Sasya’s boss and the narcotics kingpin. There is some talk about him planning something that is supposedly going to put the whole country under threat, but the storyline never quite explicitly draws out what is at stake.
It doesn’t help that the very forgettable Nayak is introduced only in the sixth episode, resulting in a hurried summarisation of his significance to the plot. There’s a parallel track with Bhumi’s family that weakens the show instead of informing it, another subplot with her borderline abusive estranged husband that leads to more questions than answers, and Bhumi’s preparation angle that should have been a montage and not entire episodes.
The police drama in She doesn’t fare any better: it isn’t just ineffective, unable to build an engaging, distinct cop universe or explain its mechanisms but also is incredibly juvenile. Neither the directors nor the writers seem to have a grasp on the narrative – the timelines contradict each other on more than occasion, stacked to the brim with unnecessary flashback scenes that further complicate the plot.
There’s a crackling scene here and there, like a sequence in the third episode where a confrontation with a waiter staring at her suddenly culminates into a moment of seduction. Even then, She never gets close to achieving a sense of metamorphosis, partly because the writers — aided by the sloppy cinematography and incoherent direction — aren’t as invested in exploring Bhumi’s psyche. What we get are contrivances that the makers sell as easy justifications, which reaches its unforgivable peak in the show’s trainwreck of a finale. *Spoiler alert* In it, a revelation of childhood abuse, sold in a brief flashback scene without any exposition, is called upon to justify Bhumi’s sexual frigidness. It isn’t just an unbearable cop-out, but also a prime example of the ignorance of Indian writers who choose to exploit the trauma of sexual abuse and its effects on the sex lives of women rather than delving deep into its consequences.
In that sense, the proceedings in She are burdened by what I like to call, the “well-intentioned male gaze” (the series is co-written by Divya Johry, Ali’s first collaboration with another writer). This makes She the kind of a show that thinks it speaks on behalf of its female protagonist when it actually commits the mistake of speaking for her.
For a show seemingly documenting the sexual coming-of-age of a woman, She always keeps Bhumi at an arm’s length. Never does it afford her the steering wheel. She leads a passive existence built around following the orders of every man around her. The show treats lust, sex, and female desires as a means to an end. The sex scenes are cringe-inducing in just how much they adhere to the template of male fantasies. In a way, this is its biggest deceit. She wants you to believe that it is a story about a woman who stumbles upon her sexual awakening. While in reality, it is yet another narrative in which men get to dictate the terms for a woman’s freedom.
The She review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
