Actor Srikanth is reportedly playing an important role in Maha, an upcoming ‘female-centric’ thriller that stars Hansika Motwani in the lead. Srikant plays Vikram, an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
His character appears throughout the film and to get his look right, and to give his character that extra edge the actor, reportedly, trained extensively.
The makers released a poster of the movie featuring the actor recently. Here’s a look:
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The actor’s parts reportedly feature some of the film’s most suspenseful moments, and his portions have been filmed in Chennai.
Other actors who have important roles in this movie are national award-winner Thambi Ramaiah and actor Karunakaran. Produced by V Mathiyalagan for Etcetera Entertainment and directed by UR Jameel, Maha also features Silambarasan in a prominent role.
The shoot of the film is happening across locations in Chennai, and the makers have planned a summer release for the film.
One of India’s most exciting filmmakers, Nagraj Manjule (Fandry, Sairat, Jhund)announced today that he’s working on a trilogy on the life of the Maratha king, Shivaji. The director said on his Facebook wall, “Perhaps, this is what [is] called to stand on threshold of a dream…. Today, on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of King Shivaji Maharaj, I am so delighted to announce with Ritesh Deshmukh and Ajay-Atul, The Shivaji Trilogy… Happy Shivajayanti.” There has been talk of this project for a while now. In a 2017 interview, Deshmukh had said to Mid-day, “Marathi films have been driven by good content for a long time. They have thus won many accolades and awards. The team is working hard to make this film one that Shivaji’s followers are proud of. There is a certain pride in playing the role of the great Maratha warrior. It is going to be challenging.”
The trilogy is an Aatpat production (whose first venture into production was Manjule’s Sairat) and will have music by Manjule’s go-to duo, Ajay-Atul. This will be among Riteish’s biggest outings in recent times. As an aside, Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan acted in a play called ‘Sivaji Kanda Hindu Samrajyam’ and then for the rest of his life, the Tamil actor was known as ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan.
The first instalment of the Shivaji trilogy will hit the screens in 2021. The teaser seems to hint that the three parts will possibly be called Shivaji, Raja Shivaji and Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Meanwhile, Nagraj Manjule is making his Bollywood debut with Amitabh Bachchan starrer Jhund. The film is a biopic based on the life of Vijay Barse, who founded the NGO, Slum Soccer. The teaser released in January features a crew of young men walking purposefully down a market place even as the fabulous Ajay-Atul’s music sets fire to the visuals. Jhund will release on May 8, 2020.
The shooting of Simbu-starrer Maanaadu commenced this morning with a simple puja. The Venkat Prabhu film had finally moved forward over the past month after several reports that the film was shelved. The film is about politics and is being bankrolled by V House Productions’ Suresh Kamatchi. He took to Twitter to announce the news.
Director Venkat Prabhu also announced the name of Simbu’s character on the actor’s birthday, 3rd February. He plays ‘Abdul Khaaliq’ (meaning servant of the creator) which also happens to be the Islamic name of the film’s music director Yuvan Shankar Raja. The makers haven’t revealed though if it was a deliberate decision.
On the technical front, Richard M Nathan will handle the camera, Praveen KL will be editing, Sekar will helm art, and Rajeevan will be in charge of production design. Vasuki Bhaskar will handle costumes and Stunt Silva will choreograph stunt sequences.
Director-politician Seeman was also spotted on the sets today, we aren’t sure why exactly though. It is noteworthy that he played the role of a cop in Suresh Kamatchi’s recent Miga Miga Avasaram.
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Meanwhile, Simbu will feature in UR Jameel’s Maha opposite Hansika Motwani, whose first look of which was recently revealed. Jameel mentioned that the actor would feature in the film for nearly an hour, refuting rumours that he would only play a small cameo in the film. He will also feature in the official remake of Kannada hit Mufti, directed by Narthan, co-starring Gautham Karthik.
Simbu had also announced a trilingual Maghaa Maanaadu days after news broke out that he was dropped from Maanaadu. His father, actor-director T Rajendar told Silverscreen, “We are planning the film on a huge scale with a Rs 120 crore budget. It is an out-and-out entertainer like his previous films Manmadhan and Vallavan. It will release in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu”.
He also added, “Direction is by Silambarasan TR and not by me, as some have speculated. The film will be produced by our company Chimbu Cine Arts, and will be a big project for us.” Since Maanaadu is back on, Maghaa Maanadu is unlikely to happen.
The first look and title of Atharvaa Murali and Anupama Parameswaran starrer, tentatively titled Atharava-Anupama affair, Production No.3 has now been unveiled by the makers. The film titled Thalli Pogathey is an official remake of the 2017 Telugu hit Ninnu Kori starring Nani and Nivetha Thomas. Helmed by R Kannan, the romantic drama is also being bankrolled by Kannan’s Masala Pix and MK Ramprasad’s MKRP Productions. This is the second association of the director with Atharva after Boomerang and the first for the lead actors.
Atharva and Anupama are seen head-over-heels in love in the first look poster. They seem to be in Paris, the Eiffel Tower’s behind them.
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Director Kannan took to Twitter to unveil the poster and title.
The team completed its 15-day final schedule at Azerbaijan last month and the film is currently in the post-production stage. The crew is believed to have been working in extremely cold weather. The crew was also previously filming at a huge set built in OMR, Chennai.
Ninnu Kori dealt with a married couple who realise their love for each other after inviting the ex-boyfriend of the girl to stay over with them. The Shiva Nirvana film had Aadhi Pinisetty play a pivotal role apart from the lead pair.
Kannan, director of Thalli Pogathey said, “The shooting was a completely different experience for me. Even though Atharvaa and I have recently forayed into the action and thriller genre, I really wanted to get back to my feel-good love story genre, from where I began my career.”
Apart from the lead pair, the film also stars Amitash Pradhan, Aadukalam Naren, Kaali Venkat, Jagan, Vidyullekha Raman, RS Shivaji, and others. N Shanmuga Sundaram (aka) Shammy is the cinematographer, Gopi Sundar is composing music, Selva RK is editing and Rajkumar is on art. Kannan has also written the screenplay for this film, which has dialogues and lyrics penned by Kabilan Vairamuthu. Stunt Silva is doing his role with Sathish choreographing dance.
The film will hit screens in April.
Meanwhile, Atharva who was last seen in his Telugu debut Valmiki/Gaddalakonda Ganesh will next be seen in Barnesh’s Oththaikku Oththa and Sri Ganesh‘s Kurudhi Aatam. Anupama has Shamzu Zayba’s Maniyarayile Ashokan due for release. The actress has also worked as an assistant director in the film.
Direction Team:
M.JAYAKUMARAGURUPARAN | SHANTHARUBAN | AJMALKHAN AJ | RAHUL SRIDHARAN | SHRAVAN J KARTHICK | PRABHU ARUMUGAM
VIACOM18 STUDIOS Team:
Group Ceo & Managing Director : SUDHANSHU VATS
Coo : AJIT ANDHARE
Marketing : SRIMATI ROY
Sales & Distribution : NEERAJ GOSWAMY
Syndication & International Distribution : GAYATRI GULATI
The 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020 was held at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Sarusajai, Guwahati, on 15 February. The event was hosted outside Mumbai for the first time in six decades. Karan Johar and Vicky Kaushal hosted the night of the awards ceremony.
Ayushmann Khurrana performed to a medley of retro and new beats of Bollywood, to pay special tribute to all the ‘Showmen of Bollywood’. Madhuri Dixit performed to songs of the ‘golden voices of our country’… Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya (Lata Mangeshkar), In Ankhon (Asha Bhosle), Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai (Alka Yagnik) among others. Varun Dhawan and Kartik Aaryan also performed, the latter making his Filmfare stage debut.
65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020 – Kartik Aaryan performing on a medley of retro and latest beats
Both Article 15 (which spoke about caste discrimination) and Sonchiriya (which was about feared dacoits who once terrorised the Indian heartlands), won the Critics Award for Best Film.
The crew of Gully Boy was on its feet through the night receiving more than ten awards including Best Actor in a Leading Role Male (Ranveer Singh) and Female (Alia Bhatt), Best Album (Ankur Tewari and Zoya Akhtar), Best Supporting Actor Male (Siddhant Chaturvedi) and Female (Amruta Subhash), Best Director (Zoya Akhtar), Best Production Design (Suzanne Caplan Merwanji), Best Dialogue (Vijay Maurya), Best Cinematography (Jay Oza) and Best Film.
65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020 – Gully Boy cast winners pose with The Black Lady
If there was one person who was most unhappy with the goings on at Filmfare, it was Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel. She made her displeasure be known as well by lashing out against the winners, Filmfare, Alia Bhatt, KJo, Ananya Panday, and ‘nepo gang’ on Twitter over the course of two days. There were several criticisms over some of the award choices from others as well. In fact, critics of the awards trended #Boycottfilmfare on Twitter disappointed with these choices.
While Ayushmann Khurrana won the Critics Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Male for Article 15, both Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar won the Critics Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Female for their film Saand Ki Aankh based on real-life sharpshooters.
Shahid Kapoor starrer Kabir Singh won Best Album along with Gully Boy which also won Best Lyrics. Best Playback Singers Male and Female went to Arijit Singh and Shilpa Rao for Kalank and War respectively.
In the debutant category, Aditya Dhar won Best Debut Director for Uri: The Surgical Strike while Abhimanyu Dassani bagged Best Debut Actor for Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Ananya Pandey(!) Best Debut Actress for Student Of The Year 2.
Actress Ananya Pandey at the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020
On the technical front, Best Action and Best VFX went to War, Best Background Score to Gully Boy, Best Choreography to Kalank, Best Costume to Sonchiriya, Best Editing and Best Sound Design to Uri: The Surgical Strike and Best Original Story to Article 15. Several awards were given in the short film category too.
Filmfare RD Burman Award completes 25 years with this edition and to mark this occasion, Ranveer Singh danced to a couple of old classics. This year the award went to Sashwat Sachdev for ‘Upcoming Music Talent’ for the film Uri: The Surgical Strike. A Lifetime Achievement Award went Ramesh Sippy’s way and the award for Excellence In Cinema went to actor Govinda.
Vicky Kaushal performed an ode to ’65 years of Filmfare Awards’ and Akshay Kumar also performed to a medley of songs. There was also a special performance of a traditional Assamese folk dance by a group of dancers. Assam has been in the grip of a series of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Filmfare’s decision to host this event there this year has raised a few eyebrows with several critics of the current dispensation wondering if this was done as a diversion.
65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020 – Vicky Kaushal giving an ode to 65 years of Filmfare Awards (1)
Deepak Lamba, CEO, Worldwide Media has said in a statement, “With this year’s Filmfare Awards we have curated a host of strategic partnerships and moved the ceremony to Assam for charting a new course of history in the 65-year old legacy of the awards. Collaborating with like-minded partners like Awesome Assam, Amazon and Facebook will have a resounding positive influence on the way Filmfare fans consume, perceive and share the content.”
Jitesh Pillai, Editor of Filmfare said, “Since our first edition, the Filmfare Awards have been known for recognising and acknowledging the best of talent who have played a telling role towards changing the landscape of Indian cinema. This is the first time in our 65-year-old legacy that Filmfare has brought the Bollywood fraternity to celebrate the achievements of the industry along with the notable performances of the year. As we embark on a new chapter, we hope to transcend boundaries by bringing together people and communities through this celebration of excellence in future editions as well.”
The television broadcast of the show will be on 22 Feb, 7.30 PM on Colors Cineplex.
Since February 2018, Irrfan Khan has been away from India to receive treatment for his neuroendocrine tumour. The actor in this time, has also been away from films. However, on 13 February, fans were treated to a surprise from the actor himself, as he shared a heartfelt message to audiences, with an audio message about his health and his new film, Angrezi Medium.
Listen to the actor’s message here:
The actor who’s in London for treatment for a rare cancer, says in Hindi, “Hello, brothers and sisters. I am with you and not with you. This film, Angrezi Medium, is very special to me. I wanted to promote this movie as passionately as we made it, but there are some unwanted guests in my body… They say ‘when life gives you lemons make lemonade.’ It’d good to hear, but when life really gives you lemons, making shikanji is really difficult…”
Once the trailer was released, Irrfan’s fans clamoured for an early release of the film, the makers said and they have needed the message. The film is now releasing on 13 March, 2020.
The film’s director Homi Adajania said that he is Irrfan’s biggest admirer. He said, “There was no alternative to Irrfan Khan. This film was meant to be made with him, so we waited for a year.”
The filmmaker has apparently been wanting to cast Irrfan in one of his films since The Namesake. “Irrfan and I met at the film’s screening and got along well. He’d watched Being Cyrus and agreed that we should collaborate,” he said.
Angrezi Medium began shoot last summer, and according to the director, Irrfan Khan was quite doubtful about his ability. Recalling the first day of shooting, the director said, “He came in like an almost clean slate, wondering whether he’d forgotten acting. But there was never a false beat with him; Irrfan is incredibly organic. Acting is in his blood, I’ve never worked with anyone like him before. There was no stress on the sets as it is a positive and happy film,” adds Homi.
Angrezi Medium, also stars Radhika Madan, who plays Irrfan Khan’s daughter, and Kareena Kapoor. The film releases on 13 March.
Cricketer Harbhajan Singh is making his acting debut with a multilingual film titled Friendship. Losliya, a formerBigg Boss Tamil contestant, will play the female lead in the movie.
South Indian actor Arjun Sarja will also be joining the cast of the film. Arjun has acted in over 150 films across all South Indian languages. He made his debut with Shankar’s Gentleman (1993), for which he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. He’s known for his action roles and some character roles in films such as Jai Hind (1994), Karnaa (1995) and Kurudhipunal (1995). Kurudhipunal was India’s official entry for the 68th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Arjun was last seen in PS Mithran’s Hero starring Sivakarthikeyan.
In the #MeToo movement in India, Arjun was accused of sexual harassment by actress Sruthi Hariharan, who filed a complaint against him. She said that the actor misbehaved with her during the shoot of the bilingual film Vismaya. A case was then registered against the actor at the Cubbon Park police station. However, the actor denied the allegations and filed a Rs 5 crore defamation suit against Sruthi at the Bengaluru City civil court. The suit was filed on Arjun’s behalf by his nephew, Dhruva Sarja.
Arjun will play a pivotal character in Friendship. The film is being directed by John Paul Raj and Sham Surya and is being produced by JPR and Stalin. Friendship will be made in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu, and will release this year.
Earlier last year, Hotstar Specials announced that it will be collaborating with Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday, Special 26, M.S, Dhoni: The Untold Story) for a project. This international spy thriller show, we hear now, is titled Special Ops. This marks the digital debut of the director.
According to a statement from the makers, the show follows a 19-year timeline, and is centred around events that are of national significance. The show is being shot across multiple locations across countries, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Jordan, and India.
Produced by Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia for Friday Storytellers – the digital arm of Friday Filmworks, the show will be co-directed by Pandey and Shivam Nair. The show has also been written by Pandey, along with Deepak Kingrani, and Benazir Ali Fida.
Speaking to the media about this collaboration, Neeraj Pandey said, “We have been at the forefront of creating genre-defining content and are excited to collaborate with Hotstar Specials for our first digital series. We have made sure that our writing will help recreate real-life events with authenticity, and I am sure that viewers will watch this and realise the impact of these events in our lives.”
Further details about the show are awaited. Hotstar Specials’ other original shows include Roar of the Lion, Criminal Justice, and Hostages.
The shooting schedule of SJ Suryah starrer Bommai, directed by Radha Mohan, has been wrapped up. The film stars Priya Bhavani Shankar as the female lead. The two are coming together in this film following the success of Monster. “The schedule of the film went on without a hitch. The film’s wrap was celebrated with the cast and crew,” the makers said.
Bommai is now in post-production. The film also features Chandini, ‘Doubt’ Senthil, Arul Shankar, in important roles. The movie is being produced by V Maruthu Pandian, Dr Jasmine Santhosh, Dr Dheepa T Durai, and is presented by Angel Studios MH LLP.
The film’s music is being composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, and the cinematography is by Richard M Nathan. Anthony will be editing the film and the art direction is being handled by K Kathir.
Dhanush released the first look of the film in December 2019. Interestingly, Bommai is also the title of Veena Balachander’s 1964 Tamil cult classic. It was inspired by Hitchcock’s Sabotage.
1. The movie begins with a dedication to Kamal’s mentor Ananthu.
2. The film was a family enterprise — Kamal’s then wife, Sarika, handled costumes while daughter Shruti Haasan had a cameo in the film; she also worked in the sound department.
3. Ilaiyaraaja stepped in at the last moment as the music composer when noted violinist L Subramanian opted out.
4. The period drama fetched three national awards for its crew — Sarika bagged one for costume design, Atul Kulkarni for supporting role and Manthra for visual effects.
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5. Kamal Haasan reportedly said that he’d pursue direction full time if Hey Ram became successful. It was critically acclaimed but saw a below-average run at the box office.
6. Shah Rukh Khan acted as Kamal’s bestie in the film for free. At a special screening of Hey Ram for ‘Gandhi 150’, last year in Chennai, Kamal said that for him, SRK was the hero of the film. It was Amjad’s story all the way.
7. Rani Mukherjee played Aparna, a teacher in the movie, and was also part of a bittersweet romantic track with Kamal Haasan.
8. Shadaab Khan, son of famous villain Amjad Khan, played Altaf, the tailor who rapes and murders Rani’s character in the movie. Amjad Khan memorably played the baddie in Vikram, which also had Kamal in it. Also, Altaf’s debut film — Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat — had Rani Mukherjee in the lead role.
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9. The Delhi hotel in which Kamal’s character Saket Ram stays in the film is the same in which Nathuram Godse stayed before he assassinated Gandhi. It is said that Kamal stayed in this place to understand the character better.
10. Hey Ram was India’s official entry for the 2000 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
11. Naseeruddin Shah fulfilled a lifelong dream when he played Gandhi in this film. The actor had earlier unsuccessfully auditioned for the titular role in the Richard Attenborough directed biopic, Gandhi.
12. Hey Ram was supposed to be Kamal’s debut directorial effort. But due to several unforeseen reasons, that did not pan out. Chachi 420 was his debut.
13. Through Hey Ram, Kamal Haasan brought Hema Malini back to Tamil cinema.
14. Kanchi Sankaracharya was also supposed to be a part of the movie. An interview segment with the Godman was shot to be used in the movie. But according to reports, the Kanchi Mutt supremo got cold feet and asked the makers not to use his portions in the film.
15. The English version of the film titled Confessions of an Assassin was announced in 2004, but it is yet to materialise.
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16. When the first poster of Hey Ram was released, Tushar Gandhi called Kamal Hassan and asked him to stop making the film. He said if Kamal played Gandhi’s killer people would sympathise with the killer. Kamal explained the film to him and later roped him in to play a part in Hey Ram as well.
17. Hey Ram set before and after the partition, spans across multiple regions from Mohenjo-Daro, Calcutta, Thanjavur to Madras, Bombay, Varanasi and Chandni Chowk, and features characters who speak Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, English, Hindi, Malayalam, making it a pan-Indian film, where the actors all spoke Tamil and Hindi in Live Sync Sound.
18. Kamal Hassan has said that Hey Ram was the foundation that led him towards his political journey.
19. Shah Rukh Khan only got a wristwatch for acting in Hey Ram because, by the end of it, Kamal said in an interview, ‘I had nothing left in hand.’
20. Shah Rukh Khan has bought the Hindi remake rights of the film.
The first look poster of Sivakarthikeyan’s next with Indru Netru Naalai fame director R RavikumarSK 14 titled Ayalaan is out now. It is being jointly bankrolled by RD Raja’s 24 AM Studios and Kotapadi J Rajesh’s KJR Studios. While the two production houses are associating for the first time for the film, KJR Studios is pairing up with the actor for the third time after Hero, and Doctor.
Sivakarthikeyan and an alien are seen lying on grass with lollipops in hand and butterflies all about them. Both are smiling and staring in the exact same manner. A pretty and intriguing poster, I think.
On January 30, the film commenced with its next schedule after a long gap. The news came from a tweet by RD Raja’s 24 AM Studios. The film which went on floors at the end of June 2018 had wrapped up the fourth schedule of the film last March. The film’s shoot will wrap up entirely after two schedules.
The sci-fi bilingual film reportedly has Hollywood technicians and is being made on a big budget with high-end equipment. An Alexa LF camera, which is particularly used in Hollywood, has been used for filming the project, marking the first Tamil film to make use of a hi-tech camera. While actor Vijay‘s previous film Bigil had also used the same, the Ajay Devgn, Junior NTR, and Ram Charan starrer RRR helmed by SS Rajamouli is currently doing so.
Rakul Preet Singh will be seen alongside the actor in Ayalaan. While Sivakarthikeyan reportedly plays a farmer in the film, Rakul Preet will be playing the role of a ‘working woman’. Apart from the lead pair, the film also stars Karunakaran, Yogi Babu, Bala Saravanan, Isha Koppikar, Bhanu Priya, Kalakka Povathu Yaaru fame Kothandam, and Ram-Leela fame Sharad Kelkar in pivotal roles. AR Rahman is composing the music, cinematography is by Nirav Shah, art is by T Muthuraj, editing is by Ruben, stunt is by Anbariv and costumes by Neerajaa Kona.
The team has reportedly shot across Chennai, Hyderabad and Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh. The film will release in five languages worldwide.
Meanwhile, Sivakarthikeyan will also be seen in Doctor. The film’s first look poster released yesterday. Helmed by Kolamaavu Kokila fame Nelson Dilipkumar, the film co-stars Priyanka Mohan. His previous outing Hero is streaming on Amazon Prime. The action-thriller by PS Mithran that spoke of the business of education and destruction of intellectual property saw Sivakarthikeyan playing the role of a superhero.
Actor Sivakarthikeyan is one of those Kollywood actors who has truly toiled and made it big in the industry with his own fandom. Starting as an anchor for Vijay TV, he went on to feature in films thanks to his comic sense and spontaneity and has now become a popular household name. As the actor turns 35, here’s a look at five films that make for a fun watch.
Ethir Neechal, 2013
The first film that saw the actor take up a serious role compared to his previous rural dramas. Even though a complete changeover for the actor, he delivered a wonderful performance as sportsman Harish. RS Durai Senthilkumar‘s film also starred Sathish, Priya Anand, Nandita Swetha and Jayaprakash in important roles.
Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, 2013
Returning to his rural drama roots, the actor nailed this role, playing Bose Pandi. His sangam, its policies and all the humour associated with it leaves me in splits even today. Ponram‘s film also starred Sri Divya, Soori, Sathyaraj and Sriranjani in important roles.
Maan Karate, 2014
While we have Jayam Ravi and Madhavan for actual boxing, who could you possibly think of someone other than Siva if we need someone to fool around with the game? And that iconic pose of ‘Peter’ makes it all the better. Thirukumaran‘s film also starred Hansika Motwani, Sathish, Vamsi Krishna, and Arunraja Kamaraj.
Rajini Murugan, 2016
An entertaining family drama that works. To make it better, there’s double trouble from Sivakarthikeyan at the near climax… I’ve also always wanted to drink some tea from Rajini’s ‘vapour wafting tea stall’ as its name goes in the popular song. Ponram’s film also starred Keerthy Suresh, Soori, Rajkiran, and Samuthirakani.
Velaikkaran, 2017
The actor’s first social film that spoke extensively of marketing and how everything affects only the working class. Once again, he proved successful with Arivu, a role that demanded a great deal of seriousness. Oh and I cannot help but mention how Fahadh complemented Siva’s role as the vile entrepreneur. Mohan Raja‘s film also starred Nayanthara, Robo Shankar, Sneha, and Prakash Raj.
Every family has a different story to tell, and to “enlighten” audiences about this comes Amit Tandon. A stand-up comedian known both locally and internationally, Amit is now coming to Netflix with his own hour-long special, Family Tandoncies.
Set to premiere on 28 February, on the streaming platform, the comedy special focuses on the Tandon’s perspective on life, and marriage and all things that make family. Prior to getting his own spot on Netflix, Amit Tandon was also part of the platform’s comedy special, Comedians of The World.
The special is pegged as a perspective that will “spill the tea on what many of us think, but are too afraid to speak out loud.”
Once you’ve seen Imtiaz Ali’s reboot of his 2009 film, Love Aaj Kal, it’s clear why Kartik Aaryan had to play Ali’s Veer and Raghu. A clear and transparent Aaryan’s face remains expressionless throughout, not only because there is hardly an acting muscle there but also that it is a face that has conveyed sentiments to this effect in several films so far, strongly under the tutelage of Luv Ranjan and his films. Both Veer and Raghu aren’t gentlemen. They can be quiet and cunning, soft and ruthless, caring and unstable. Kartik Aaryan’s face manages to convey all these even outside of any film. This is not Imtiaz Ali making Love Aaj Kal, the millennial version. It is too soon, the original Love Aaj Kal can still pass off as the millennial version and most of it still works. There are echoes of it here, not just in the setting but in scenes, like the ones in the railway station or Veer getting beaten up, outright in the first act. So, this is not about time at all. This is Ali trying to make a fuckboi version of Love Aaj Kal that he assumes is a monumental subversion. Why does he want to be Luv Ranjan, of all people? It’s still a great twist, instead of being a straight-up remake of an older film, but Ali doesn’t know what to do with it, apart from casting the perfect male actor for the role.
Love Aaj Kal is a colossal misfire. The first film was about a rift between purity and the fleeting nature of time, tracking a logical evolution in idioms of a heterosexual relationship. There, Ali still played with urban metaphors, even for settings of the past. He chooses Udaipur here and Ali cannot create the magic that, say, the school of Anand L Rai consistently has with a small town. The earlier film also had the lightest of touches, as one of Ali’s minor works and one is thankful for it. Here, he plays with the characters but maintains a tone that’s more natural to him, something that waltzes in varying degrees of melodrama and high romance. The tone hardly matches the content. Randeep Hooda is the earnest older Raghu, who feeds Zoe (Sara Ali Khan) with his personal star-crossed love story, set in 1990. He cheats, literally and figuratively. It begins with Maine Pyar Kiya’s Dil Deewana and, right there, it didn’t feel right (incidentally a phrase Veer keeps repeating at the most inappropriate places). Ali’s registers do not work in the realms of the puppy love of Maine Pyar Kiya. They are more in the tragic territory of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, I’d imagine. Sure enough, QSQT makes an appearance and is the film that is directly referenced multiple times. Ali wants to codify that times might change but people remain the same and it is more important to live and love in the present. Or something. The film is a frustrating mixed bag of ideas — at one point it looked like he wanted to take a shot at polyamory — without a single well-formed strand. He either chickened out or he never had an idea of what this film should be. It’s clear he is toying with cynicism here but his material inspires no curiosity about these people. It only begs the question, when did Ali turn cynical? What hope is left for the world if even he can be turned?
Almost every conflict in the film is a contrived piece of mess. His male protagonists are both assholes of different kinds. But Ali goes out of the way in trying to portray them as men who need love but are unable to express it in a fashion they see fit. There are traces where he hints at the mental health troubles of the two characters (and Zoe) but the easy resolutions belittle their issues and do no justice to the characters. Two terrible scenes involving Zoe are more disturbing than anything else in Love Aaj Kal. She is supposed to be this cardboard cut-out of a modern career woman who cannot give the Uber driver the correct directions and one of her work-related scenes involves her pitching her ideas to a big client. She unbuttons her blouse before going in, something the prospective client notices. And then she delivers a convoluted reasoning for it. On whom exactly is Ali casting these aspersions? It makes for a neat microcosm of the film — Ali has spun himself into a web and he has no way out. The other scene involves an inebriated Zoe, this time unable to open the Uber app or forgetting about it altogether. Don’t ask silly questions. Ali’s camera has an uncomfortable gaze over her, sexualizing her in distressing ways only for Veer to save the night. Zoe becomes a clay figure that Ali keeps toying with, she never exists as a whole, and that’s a constant discomfiting thought throughout the film’s run.
At one point, the older Raghu asks Zoe and I am paraphrasing, “Oh you want that love story, the Romeo-Majnu wala, that’s what everyone wants, right?” It seems like a direct question from Ali to the audience. Do you want me to always work in those registers? The registers of Rockstar, Tamasha and, more recently, his script for, well, Laila Majnu. The 2018 film was Imtiaz Ali at his best, creating characters that aren’t like you and me, they are people with so much love that they’d explode into blood-soaked rose petals, people who talk in rhythm and, if given a free rein, may even go for the iambic pentameter. It’s a wonder that Ali hasn’t made a direct adaptation of Shakespeare yet. That’s one direction to go. Leave the modern people and their modern romance, they have podcasts for that.
The Love Aaj Kal 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.
The first look poster of Sivakarthikeyan-Priyanka Mohan starrer Doctor is out now. The film helmed by Kolamaavu Kokila fame Nelson Dilipkumar is jointly bankrolled under Sivakarthikeyan’s home banner Sivakarthikeyan Productions and Kotapadi J Rajesh’s KJR Studios. This will mark the second association of KJR Studios with the actor after their previous Hero.
A spectacled Sivakarthikeyan is stylishly seated on a sofa with bloody hands in the poster. We also find surgical scalpels, their blades, penknives, and a bunch of scissors all over with a slightly blood-stained floor.
Doctor-sivakarthikeyan
Sivakarthikeyan took to Twitter to announce the news.
Priyanka Mohan who shot to fame in Telugu with Nani‘s Gang Leader will play the female lead. Apart from the lead pair, Yogi Babu, Archana, Ilavarasu and Kolamaavu Kokila fame Tony will also play significant roles in the film.
Vinay Rai will reportedly play the antagonist in the action-thriller. He was last seen essaying a negative shade in director Mysskin‘s Thupparivaalan. Anirudh Ravichander is composing music, Vijay Kartik Kannan will handle the camera, Nirmal will edit and DRK Kiran will helm art. Anbarivu master will choreograph action sequences with Pallavi Singh designing costumes.
“The film will have a perfect mixture of action, thriller, and comedy elements and will not stick to just one genre. We have planned on shooting in Chennai and Goa with the stellar cast brought on board,” said director Nelson.
Speaking about his rapport with Sivakarthikeyan, the director said, “I have known Siva for about twelve years, right from his television days. We always use to talk about working on a film together. Once I completed Kolamaavu Kokila, I tailor-made a script for him and narrated it. He immediately agreed to work on it and now we’ve gone on floors.”
Doctor which commenced its shoot in December, will hit screens in 2020, although the exact date hasn’t been revealed.
Meanwhile, Sivakarthikeyan will also be seen in SK14titledAyalaan which recently commenced with its fourth schedule. Helmed by Indru Netru Naalai fame director R Ravikumar, the film co-stars Rakul Preet Singh. His previous outing Hero is streaming on Amazon Prime. The action-thriller by PS Mithran that spoke of the business of education and destruction of intellectual property saw Sivakarthikeyan playing the role of a superhero.
Actor Bose Venkat is making his directorial debut with the film Kanni Maadam featuring newcomers in the lead roles. The audio launch of the film was held on Sunday, where the cast and crew as well as industry well-wishers were present to talk about the movie.
Actor Robo Shankar, who is also singing playback for this film, said, “This is a special event for me since I have also lent my voice for this album. I am grateful to Hari Sai, for giving me this opportunity.”
Speaking of her role in the film, Gayathri said, “I am thankful to Bose Venkat sir and Hasheer sir for choosing me a part of this film. I have a good role, and I hope everyone who watches this film enjoys my portrayal.”
The main person of the evening, music director Hari Sai said, “I can’t Bose sir enough for giving me this opportunity. I hope people love the songs of this album. Kanni Maadam is a content-driven film, and people are going to love it.”
Actor Sreeram Karthik, who makes his debut as a hero with this film, said, “Bose Venkat sir and I shot together for a film and he promised me that he would make me the lead when he makes a movie. I am amazed that he remembered his words and chose me to do this role. It’s a dream come true for me and I thank each and everyone in the team of Kanni Maadam for helping me in my journey.”
The film has inspired quite a few of the cast members with its story. Lyricist Viveka shared an interesting anecdote about his role in the film. He said, “As soon as I heard the script, I was inspired, and instantly wrote the lyrics to the songs. I had to know more, so I visited Bose sir’s office the next day to hear the complete story. This film is going to get a lot of love from the audiences.”
Kanni Maadam has been shot on a tight schedule, and a shoestring budget. However, the cinematographer Iniyan was able to give it his best. He said, “I was under a lot of pressure and on an extremely tight schedule. I was so caught up one day that I didn’t realise that I had told our producer to move out of the shot. I apologise now for that, but, he is a gracious person and has been really friendly to us throughout.”
The producer of the film, Hasheer of Rooby Films said, “When Bose Venkat narrated the script to me, I was sure that this film was going to be a good story to invest in. I have always had a vision of backing good content and Kanni Maadam will be a good milestone for our production house.”
Kangana Ranaut will be seen next as an Air Force pilot in Tejas. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, the film is to be directed by Sarvesh Mewara. The first look poster dropped this morning. Kangana is seen in uniform holding a helmet in hand, next to an IAF jet aircraft.
She was last seen in Panga which received great reviews but seems to have tanked at the box office
Dear @Ashwinyiyer ma’am don’t get disheartened by low collections, you made a really nice film and rest is not in our hands, you know it all after all Nitesh sir made such a lovely film about loosing( Chichore ) let’s loose with love 😁🙏🥰 https://t.co/EEpRK3C1V8
Kangana, who received a Padma Shri this Republic Day, was snubbed at the filmfares held in Guwahati yesterday, and her sister Rangoli took to Twitter to let her displeasure be known. She lashed out at ‘KJo’, Alia Bhatt, Ananya Panday and most people who won yesterday.
Alia got award for her mediocre performance last year, she has a long way to go but still she was in the lead role, how do you get lead role award in a supporting role is beyond me ..😁
Meanwhile, Kangana is also working on her Jayalalithaa biopic Thalaivi. Arvind Swami’s look as MGR created a lot of buzz, when it was revealed a few weeks ago.
The first look poster and title of director Adhik Ravichandran‘s film with actor-choreographer-director Prabhu Deva has been unveiled on Friday evening on the occasion of Valentine’s day. The film has been titled Bagheera and the poster features a bald and bleeding Prabhu Deva adorning third eye sunglasses. A bunch of eyeballs also fill the background leaving us with an eerie, creeped out feeling. And you cannot miss the angry cartoon bear clinging on to the title?!
RV Bharathan is bankrolling the thriller under his Bharathan Pictures banner.
The film is being promoted with the hashtag ‘Kadhalan Returns’ but on the contrary, also features the words ‘No More Valentines Day’. In a recent video, Prabhu Deva revealed that the film is a different from his previous ones and that he will be seen in many different avatars.
While Anegan fame Amyra Dastur will be paired opposite the actor in the film, the rest of the cast is yet to be revealed. On the technical front, Abinandhan Ramanujam is handling camera, Anthony Ruben is editing, Ganesan Sekar is composing music and Siva Yadav is helming art. Rajasekar and Anbarivu are handling stunts with Baba Baskar choreographing dance. PA Vijay is the lyricist and Sathya NJ is working on costumes.
Meanwhile, Prabhu Deva whose last directorial Dabangg 3 starring Salman Khan did not fare well in the BO, is busy with his next Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai starring Salman. He will also feature in AC Mugil Chellapan’s Pon Manickavel co-starring Nivetha Pethuraj which is due for release soon. His previous films, Devi 2 (Tamil), Abhinetri 2 (Telugu) and Khamoshi (Hindi) did not fare all that well at the box office too.
Dabangg 3 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. It also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan, Kiccha Sudeep, and Saiee Manjrekar. Read our review of the film here.
Actress Ramya Nambeesan recently ventured into the world of digital content creation with her own YouTube channel Ramya Nambeesan Encore on 3 January. The actress had announced that her inspiration for this channel was a trip to Wayanad.
The channel which is still quite nascent will be the main source of content that he actor creates. She has recently directed a short film, The Hide (UN)Learn that speaks about the trials and tribulations faced by women in our society. This will be the first video that the actress is launching exclusively in Tamil.
Speaking of this new creative venture, the actress said, “My journey with Ramya Nambeesan Encore has been good. I find the warmth of people all over the world for my work very gratifying.”
Her need to push her creative boundaries stems from the response to her venture. She said, “I was quite motivated to go ahead and innovate. A space like YouTube offers me creative freedom, I have tried my hand at a short film, The Hide (UN)Learn, which can be called my directorial debut.”
The film revolves around the issues from contemporary times that women face. The actress more about her plans for the platform, she said, “I am really thrilled to present this as the first video for my newly launched channel, which will feature content exclusively in Tamil. My channel will feature content across genres – music, short films, dance, and be a platform for me to explore my creativity.”
The film even though pointing a lens at a relevant issue, however, the actress says that it will also discuss some kind of solution to the issue.
Conceived, narrated and directed by Ramya Nambeesan, The Hide (UN)Learn is produced by Ramya Nambeesan Encore and Poetic Stories. Apart from handling the narrative and technical departments, the actress has played the lead role alongside Sshritha Shivadas. Badri Venkatesh has written dialogues for this short film, which has cinematography handled by Neil D’Cunha, musical score by Ramya Nambeesan’s brother Rahul Subramaniam and editing by Rojin Thomas.
