Several writers, musicians, movie artistes and cultural personalities will take part in an anti-CAA march scheduled to take place in Kozhikode city on Thursday. Titled ‘Art Attack’, the protest march will begin at Mananchira Square in the city and end in Kozhikode beach.
Among the attendees are actor Mammukkoya, writer PK Parakkadavu, musician Shahabas Aman, and directors Muhsin Parari, Zakhariya and Asharaf. Actor Parvathy, and directors Pa Ranjith, Kamal and Aashiq Abu have expressed solidarity for the protest march.
മാമുക്കോയ പങ്കെടുക്കും ❤️നാളെ കോഴിക്കോട് കലാപ്രവർത്തകരുടെ പ്രതിഷേധം.#RejectNRC #RejectCAA
Unlike in other film industries in India, a large number of Malayalam movie artistes have openly spoken against the citizenship amendment bill that divides citizens on the basis of religion. This is the second protest march in Kerala led by the state’s artiste community against the controversial citizen amendment bill.
On December 23, a massive protest rally , spearheaded by Collective Phase One, a production house founded by filmmaker Rajeev Ravi, Kamal KM and others, was held in Kochi along with another rally, The People’s Long March, attended by hundreds of people. The artistes’ march in Kochi was attended by writers NS Madhavan, Unni R and S Hareesh, screenwriter Syam Pushkaran, poet Anwar Ali, director Venu, Geetu Mohandas and Dileesh Pothan, actors Rima Kallingal, Unni Maya, Nimisha Sajayan, Shane Nigam, Manikandan, Ranjini Haridas and others.
Members of director Ritwik Ghatak’s family, including his twin sister Pratiti Devi have released a statement.
It reads, “We, the undersigned, family members of the late Shri Ritwik Kumar Ghatak, strongly condemn the reported misappropriation and misuse of his politics and his cinema by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha to defend the controversial and discriminatory National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).”
The statement has 24 signatories and notes that “Ghatak’s cinema reflected his deep empathy for the underprivileged — in particular, the displaced and marginalised victims of political and social upheavals. He was secular to the bone, as everyone who knew him can attest, and his writings and cinema are proof of this.”
Ghatak’s family took strong objection to using his work to justify CAA/NRC. “To use any part of his filmography — divorced from context —to justify laws that will make every citizen of the country pass through an ordeal to re-establish their citizenship and might render millions from one particular community stateless, is deemed unacceptable by us. It violates the fundamental principles he stood for.”
The family also demanded that the material “spreading disinformation be repealed with urgent and immediate effect.”
According to The Telegraph, “The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP’s young wing, had made a six-minute clip using scenes from Ghatak’s Partition trilogy — Meghe Dhaka Tara, Subarnarekha and Komal Gandhar — to drum up support for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.” While the BJP has claimed that no one family owns Ghatak, Section 57 of the Copyright Act (that does not allow anyone to distort a work of art or do anything that would be prejudicial to the artist’s honour or reputation), might not be in its favour.
The Telegraph also quotes Maitreesh Ghatak, the director’s great nephew as saying, “The decision to issue the statement was spontaneous. Ritwik Ghatak’s message should only be used for inclusive humanist causes, not for divisive political causes.”
Soon after the former Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa passed away, several filmmakers and writers announced that they will be chronicling the life of the politician right from her childhood to her life in politics and death. Despite several announcements, only three filmmakers have managed to start work while the others have ended up shelving their projects.
Madrasapattinam and Deivathirumagal director AL Vijay is directing the biopic titled Thalaivi. Kangana Ranaut plays Jayalalithaa in the film and Aravind Swami plays MGR. The film is being bankrolled by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh under their Vibri Motion Pictures and Karma Media & Entertainment banners. The film commenced shoot on 11 November 2019 and is all set for release on 26 June 2020.
The first look poster and teaser of the film were recently released, and it got mixed reactions from audiences, critics and the film fraternity. Thalaivi is being filmed in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu simultaneously. Babumoshai Bandookbaaz fame Vishal Vittal will be handling cinematography, GV Prakash will compose music along with Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara for the background score, Rangasthalam fame Ramakrishna Sabbani and Monika Nigotre Sabbani will handle production design and Ballu Saluja and Anthony will work on the editing.
At the beginning of the year, Deepa Jayakumar, Jayalalithaa’s niece had filed a case against the makers of Thailaivi stating that they hadn’t taken permission from the family members before they began work on the film. In response to this, AL Vijay had mentioned that an NOC was granted by her brother Deepak Jayakumar after which the pre-production began.
Recently, a dance rehearsal video of Kangana was released by the makers where she was found practicing Bharatnatyam for the role essayed in the film.
A Priyadarshini, a former assistant of director Mysskin, has also announced her debut film, which is a biopic on Jayalalithaa called The Iron Lady. Initially, speculations were rife that Varalaxmi Sarathkumar will essay JJ since director AR Murugadoss, had revealed the title poster and had tagged Varalaxmi. Later on, the makers revealed that actress Nithya Menen will headline the film and that Varalaxmi would play the role of Jayalalithaa’s long-time friend and companion Sasikala.
Although the makers of the film, Papertale Productions, made the announcement in August 2018 after Independence Day, it was confirmed by the director only on the politician’s birthday this February. The film is tentatively set to hit screens on 20 February 2020.
While the technical crew and cast of the film are yet to be announced, fans and film enthusiasts have been awaiting announcements from the makers regarding the status of the film. In response, the director had recently let out a press release about the film. She mentioned that the pre-production phase is being worked on slowly and carefully since it would deal with the leader’s life over six decades, right from her childhood to her hospital days. She also mentioned that the crew information will be revealed at the right time.
Gautham Vasudev Menon and Kidaari fame Prasath Murugesan are also making a teleseries Queen based on the politician for the OTT platform MX Player with actor Ramya Krishnan essaying the title role. Anikha Surendran will play the younger version and Anjana Jayaprakash will play the teenage JJ. While Indrajith Sukumaran has been roped in to play MGR, Gautham Vasudev Menon will also feature in a small role. Darbuka Siva will be composing music for the series while the rest of the technical crew is yet to be revealed.
Recently, the makers released the teaser of the series on Twitter and have decided to drop the trailer of the same tomorrow.
Queen will run for three seasons, with the first season running for eleven episodes. Sources close to the production told Silverscreen that the first season will dwell on JJ’s childhood and end with her entry into politics. It will talk about all the struggles she faced and how she unwillingly entered the film industry. “All the characters’ names have been altered carefully with no direct reference to any of the politicians,” added the source.
Silverscreen recently spoke to Gautham Vasudev Menon who said that his associate Reshma had penned the script. “It’s nice to bring my sensibilities to someone else’s writing,” he said. The series will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Bengali. The air date will be announced soon.
The Thalapathy 64 team had flown to Shimoga, Karnataka for the second schedule about two weeks ago after completing its short five-day schedule at Chennai. The latest is that the lead actor Vijay has completed shooting his portion on the sets in Shimoga and will be heading back to Chennai today. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew will reportedly shoot till the end of the month without the actor.
Thalapathy 64 is being helmed by Kaithi fame director Lokesh Kanagaraj under Xavier Britto’s XB Film Creators banner. Petta fame Malavika Mohanan will be seen opposite Vijay in the action flick. Vijay will reportedly play a professor in this commercial film and will be seen in a new avatar, as compared to his other flicks.
A few days ago, the makers officially announced that Andrea Jeremiah is a part of Thalapathy 64, wishing the actor on her birthday. Actors Nasser, Rajesh, Kaithi fame Dheena and Mahanadi Shankar are also reportedly a part of the cast and have recently joined the sets of the second schedule.
The crew was recently found filming a song with the actor choreographed by dance master Sathish. Malavika Mohanan, Ramesh Thilak, Sai Dheena, Shanthnu, Arjun Das, Prem Kumar, Srinath, Nagendra Prasad, and Sanjeev Venkat were also spotted at the sets. A source revealed to Silverscreen that Shanthnu has completed shooting his portion of the film in Shimoga and returned to Chennai a few days back.
On the technical front, Sathyan Sooryan is handling cinematography, Anirudh is composing music and Philomin Raj is on the edit. Aadai fame director Rathna Kumar has been brought on board to pen the additional screenplay and Stunt Silva for the action sequences. Dinesh Kumar has choreographed the opening song of the film.
Sun Pictures have bagged the satellite rights of the untitled film for a whopping price. Thalapathy 64 will hit screens in Summer 2020.
Recently, videos of the actor greeting his fans before setting out for the shoot went viral on social media. Every day, fans of the actor were seen assembling outside his hotel at Shimoga.
The first look poster of actor Siddharth‘s Takkar is out now. The film helmed by Kappal fame Karthik G Krish is being bankrolled by Sudhan and Jayaram for Passion Studios, who had also commissioned Kappal. Siddharth earlier worked with Karthik for Saithan Ka Bachcha which is yet to hit theatres.
Siddharth is seen sporting a suit and adorning wayfarers in the first look poster. Just like in the title poster, we find a Mercedes in this too. His goatee, well, no comments.
Actor Vishal took to Twitter to release the first look poster.
The film is being touted as a romantic action drama. It deals with two egoistic and hot-tempered characters, whose lives go through transformations after encountering each other. Speaking about the project, director Karthik says, “I narrated the gist of Takkar to Siddharth on the sets of Saithan Ka Bachcha and he immediately asked me to develop it into a full-fledged script.”
Takkar has Divyansha Kaushik opposite Siddharth while Abhimanyu Singh, Yogi Babu, Munishkanth and RJ Vigneshkanth have been roped in for significant roles. Nivas K Prasanna is composing music, Vaanjinathan Murugesan is handling cinematography, Ga Gowtham is on the edit and Udaya Kumar on art. The lyrics have been penned by Umadevi, Ku Karthik and Arivarasu. Dinesh Kasi has choreographed action sequences.
Shooting began in February and has been wrapped up. Takkar is in post-production. It will hit the screens in January 2020.
Here are the first-look posters.
Takkar-first-look-siddharth
Meanwhile, Siddharth will also feature in Kamal Haasan starrer Indian 2. Helmed by director Shankar, it is yet to be revealed if he would play a cop or Senapathy’s grandson in the film. Recently, the actor also took part in the protest demonstration against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act at Valluvarkottam, Chennai. He has also been booked by the police for the same.
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer-Tiwari (Bareilly Ki Barfi), the trailer of Panga starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead is out now. Kangana plays Jaya Nigam, a 32-year-old former kabaddi world champion yearning to make a comeback in the hopes of playing for India again.
It’s good to see Kangana back in a rooted role after a few indulgent misses. Ashwiny, whose films deal with the ordinary, with a keen sense of humour and diligence, seems in control of her craft. There is also a supportive husband (Jassi Gill), cheerleading son, naysaying mother (Neena Gupta) and a friend (Richa Chaddha), and rousing music in the trailer. Kangana looks earnest and the setting lived in, as Ashwiny’s films tend to.
Panga is produced by Fox Star Studios and has music by Shankar Ehsan Loy. The film will release on 24 January, 2020.
The ZEE network has released a statement to the press on its channels being illegally blacked out in Tamil Nadu by operators such as Arasu, SCV and VK Digital. The claim is that the law of the land dictates that unless a consumer rejects the channel or the broadcaster discontinues the channel, the operator is responsible to deliver the channel to the consumer, which is not happening in this case.
According to a news report in The Economic Times, “The issue, operators say, is related to dispute over discounts. The timing is crucial as ZEE is launching a Tamil movie channel, Zee Thirai, in the market.” The report also quotes a local cable operator as saying, “The whole dispute is because these multi-system-operators (MSOs, the term used for large cable operators) are trying to extort more discounts from ZEE.”
Zee’s statement read, “Vide this press note, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) wishes to clarify that all of its television channels in Tamil Nadu are fully operational across leading cable and DTH operators, including Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd., SCV and V K Digital. The channels are also available across all leading DTH operators viz. Airtel Digital TV, Tata Sky, Dish TV, d2h, and Sun Direct. There has been no change in the consumer price (MRP) of the individual channels or channel packs whatsoever. ZEEL has issued all the required communications to its esteemed viewers informing and urging them to approach their respective cable operators with a request to reactivate the channels, for which they have already paid Rs. 10, as part of their monthly subscription. This communication is purely issued in the interest of all our viewers, since ZEEL has received several complaints and requests through emails and social media platforms, wherein the consumers have mentioned that their cable operators have removed the ZEE Bouquet from their channel packs, without any communication or reason. Hence, viewers have expressed their disappointment for not being able to view their favourite ZEE Channels, despite having paid for the same.”
The network pointed out that several influencers from TN have been tweeting about this over the last few days.
It’s disheartening to see #ZeeTamil being disconnected by few cable operators abruptly.. Hope they bring back it soon.. @TRAIhttps://t.co/9pohqaney3
Used to have VK Digital until few months ago. Hearing that lot of service providers have taken off @ZeeTamil from the listing. Any specific reason behind this? @rssharma3@TRAI
Hareendran (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is a superstar. According to his colleagues, media, and industry trade unions, he shoulders the film industry. He has a humongous volume of fans – some of whom are powerful bureaucrats and politicians – who would do anything for him.
He lives in a sprawling mansion that has an in-house elevator and walls decorated with his giant-sized photographs. He is someone who isn’t equipped to see beyond his nose.
In Lal Jr’s Driving License, a dramedy, this superstar is taken on by one of his fans. Unlike Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan (2016) or Balu Mahendra’s Julie Ganapathy (2003) which is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, Misery, this clash isn’t a result of a hysteric idol worship.
The fan in this David vs Goliath tale is a government officer, a motor vehicle inspector, who is reasonable enough to keep his fandom within the limits of harmlessness.
Kurivila (Suraj Venjarammood) is a cheerful family man whose only area of power is the driving test track. He watches Hareendan’s films on the day of the release. He hoots, claps and whistles along with the many hundreds of fans inside the movie hall.
After the show, he sends text messages to the star – probably a few corny lines of flattery, but sure he must mean every word of it. He is slightly hurt about not getting even a single reply, but he is mature enough to understand that he’s just one of the many lakhs of the star’s fans.
Driving License isn’t about the psychology of fandom, but something closer home –the abuse of power. Though, the film, not remotely self-aware, would rather be a banal potboiler than take narrative risks and explore this theme in-depth.
Hareendran approaches Kuruvila through a friend, an influential politician, and asks for a favour – to arrange a driving licence in his name within a couple of days, bypassing the due course and official procedures. The latter readily agrees, and in return, he requests the superstar to visit his office once, allow him to be photographed with him, and may be, accept him as a friend.
The star is irked, but since he doesn’t have too many options, agrees to meet Kuruvila. When they meet, Kuruvila is shocked to see that the man he had idolised all his life is a self-absorbed callous person in real life. Humiliated in front of the entire office and his little son, Kuruvila decides to stand up for himself and take revenge.
The screenplay by Sachy adds little twists to the tale to complicate the seemingly simple conflict between the men. Hareendran has to board a flight to New York to be with his wife, and Kuruvila’s interventions keep damaging his plans.
Also, there is Hareendran’s professional rival, Bhadran (a hilarious Suresh Krishna) who uses everything, from astrology to hired stone hurlers to bring him down.
But never does the writing acknowledge the toxic use of power by the elite class in society. Hareendran, though initially upset by the public controversy and alarmed by Kuruvila’s response, gets back on his feet rather soon.
All he has to do is call a press conference or two to turn the tides in his favour. He has an endless barrel of resources at his disposal, while Kuruvila and his family have to flee the scene at the very first instance of mob violence unleashed by his fans.
At one point in the film, a set of senior actors – Vijayaraghavan, Idavela Babu and Innocent (voice) – appear in a cameo, as a AMMA officials. The scene is a reiteration of what senior male actors state during every public controversy around the union, that the actors association is a traditional family where members should settle matters within its four walls. The senior actors watch on affectionately as Hareendran regains his confidence and cleverly deals with the press.
Driving-Licence-review-759
The rivalry between the two characters loses its momentum when it becomes apparent that they are massively unequal in terms of their social positions. Rather soon, Lal Jr and Sachy run out of ideas to keep the fun going.
Instead of calling out the undue privileges that Hareendran enjoys in society – even government officers and cops bow to him – the film simplifies the friction between them by labelling it as an ‘ego clash’. The second half of the film is made of lackluster instances postured as comedy, where the superstar manipulates the hostile media into taking his side, and solving his problems one by one.
Interestingly, in this very male-centric film, the one who scores the best in comic scenes is Mia George. She plays a homemaker with a sharp tongue. The actress’ wholehearted performance makes up for the dire lack of originality in her character, which is made up of many stereotypes and cliches.
It’s a great sign that actresses like Mia and Anusree (Prathi Poovankozhi) are breaking the mould and entering a different turf, comedy, which is an area dominated by male actors in Malayalam cinema.
Driving Licence is what it is – a popcorn movie that will not have a life beyond the holiday season – because it aspires to little else. It follows a template of mediocrity, and replaces intelligent writing and reflection with buffoonery.
Thanks to the actors playing the lead, Prithviraj and Suraj Venjarammood, who make even the silliest instance convincing and keep the narrative engaging that Driving Licence is a watchable flick.
The Driving Licence review is a Silverscreen.in 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.
There is a lot of red in Prathi Poovankozhi. From the minimally done title cards to the plastic sheet tied to the antagonist’s window in a scene towards the end, the colour stands out, signalling the main motif of the film – female rage.
The sheen of the film’s source material, Sangadam, a short story by Unni R who has also written the screenplay and dialogues, is brightly reflected in the characterisation of the protagonist, Madhuri (Manju Warrier), a saleswoman in a textile shop in Kottayam town. The decisions that she takes in different points in the film aren’t simplistic. The people around her find it hard to comprehend her anger and her sense of justice. The film doesn’t try to explain to the audience the psychological nuances of her actions. It isn’t interested in delivering easy catharsis either. The stress is on the plot, on the complex array of twists and turns she encounters in her pursuit of revenge against a man who physically violated her one day in a public place.
Director Rosshan Andrrews, who has also played the antagonist in the film, opts for a straight-forward narrative. It opens to an everyday scene from Madhuri’s life. She is getting ready for work. After exchanging a few pleasantries with her uncle and mother, she walks to the village bus stop from where she boards a private bus to the city. There is a familiar order to her life. She is plucky, and she likes to stay happy. She has friends and people who watch out for her. She has a bad bank loan hovering above her head, but she is confident about settling it soon. She isn’t entirely against the idea of getting married, something her mother has been pressing on for a long time.
After introducing to the audience the middle-class warp in which she lives, the film breaks its walls little by little, to present a bunch of women who don’t fit into the stereotypical frameworks.
An interesting solidarity runs among the female characters in the film. When a little girl customer at Madhuri’s textile shop is screamed at by her father for wearing a sleeveless top, she consoles the kid and whispers to her that the top only makes her pretty and not ‘disgraceful’ as the father alleges. Her best friend Rose (Anusree) doesn’t agree with Madhuri’s resolve to seek revenge against her attacker but she never leaves her side even as the latter storms into the dangerous male-dominated underbelly of the town.
The film doesn’t moral police the women for their choices either. Rose has multiple lovers whom she skilfully manages using many phones, WhatsApp accounts and her ability to lie through her teeth. One of the sub-characters Madhuri approaches to find out the whereabouts of the villain is a part-time prostitute who speaks confidently of her identity. There is a freshness in the way the film looks at these characters; objectively, without being self-congratulatory.
Andrrews and Unni R refrain from using expository scenes and dialogues. They tactically leave many ends undone. You never learn of the true intention of the sweeper at Madhuri’s workplace (Grace Antony) who goes the extra mile to help Madhuri find Antappan (Andrrews). In subtle glances, smiles and nods of head, she hints that she too has an axe to grind, perhaps a similar experience of sexual violation from the past that she has been waiting to avenge. But the beauty of the film is in these gaps that it leaves unfilled. It allows the audience to work their moral compass and form opinions.
But there are some serious missteps too, especially when the film moves away from its source material and tries to play to the gallery. One of the blandest instances in the film is when it tries to crack a joke at the expense of a man for his physical features, his economic background and caste. The post-climactic scene in the film is loud and stripped of nuance; unlike the rest of the film, it is eager to make a statement of empowerment.
The visual aesthetics that Andrrews employs are a mix of mainstream film and stage. The camera and editing are largely unobtrusive, resorting to no gimmickry. The stunt scene where Antappan announces to the market his dominance, is shot using all kinds of commercial cinema elements. The dramatic red spotlight that soaks Madhuri while she’s brooding alone in her bed room is an unreasonable whimsical choice. But, strangely, this approach goes well with the film which doesn’t totally dwell on quasi-realism. It has the whimsies and free-flowing nature of a work of fiction. It is gripping and edgy.
Prathi Poovan Kozhi-m3db-poster-2
Prathi Poovankozhi is an interesting addition to the growing discourse on how Malayalam cinema handles the theme of sexual violence. Like recent films such as Uyare and Stand-Up, female body becomes a spot of political conflict here. But the difference here is that, Unni R treats Madhuri’s battle as a very personal journey, where popular ideals and societal opinion have no place. And Manju Warrier’s energetic and immensely affecting performance adds to the dimensions of the character.
The Prathi Poovankozhi review is a Silverscreen.in 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.
Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has carved a niche for herself with roles that bring good amount of screen space her way. As she turns 30 today, here are five films that trace the journey of the leading actress.
Kalloori, 2007
I can never forget Shobana and her transition from the detached girl to one who would risk ‘anything’ for her bunch of friends. Even after essaying what the industry calls ‘glamourous roles’ the actress was able to pull off this no-makeup college student look with ease. The film deals with the life of college students in a village. Directed by Balaji Sakthivel, the film also features Akhil, Hemalatha, and Vinoth.
Ayan, 2009
This film marked the comeback of the actress. Yamuna was not a mere damsel in distress but instead served as a major plot point in the film, aiding Deva (Surya) with his plans. The film dealt with drug trafficking and smuggling with an emotional backdrop. Directed by KV Anand, the film also features Prabhu and Karunas.
Paiyya, 2010
This movie served as a perfect example of how a character can be impactful without doing much. All she ever does is warm the seat of the car and shake a leg, gracefully though, with Karthi. But there’s no story without her. Directed by N Lingusamy, the film also features Jagan and Sonia Deepti.
Kandaen Kadhalai, 2009
I can not imagine anyone other than Tamannaah reprising Geet from Jab We Met. Anjali is full of zeal, charm, and emotion. Directed by R Kannan, the film also features Bharath and Santhanam.
Baahubali: The Beginning, 2015
After a couple of next-door girl roles, she became the brave and fierce soldier Avanthika. Directed by SS Rajamouli, the film also features Prabhas and Rana Daggubati.
Dharmadurai, 2016
While live-in relationships and a new life after divorce are still considered big taboo, she pulled off the role of a divorced woman who lives with and supports her college best friend Vijay Sethupathi. A strong character in itself, she added more value to Subashini with a superb performance. Directed by Seenu Ramasamy, the film also features Aishwarya Rajesh and Srushti Dange.
Suriya’s 2D Entertainment is presenting the anthology film Sillukarupattireleasing on 27 December, 2019. The film is being released by Sakthi Film Factory (B Sakthivelan).
The producer of the film Venkatesh Velineni of Divine Productions said to media, “It is a privilege that 2D Entertainment and Sakthi Film Factory have taken such an avid interest in the movie. We are truly grateful. We really took our time making this movie. From the cast, to the technical crew, we ensured that every person was the right fit.”
About the film’s making, the producer said, “I can affirm that this is a first-of-its-kind attempt in Tamil cinema. It’s an anthology film that is based on relationships in an urban milieu. When Halitha narrated the script, we wanted to take it slow. We patiently waited for the right people who would fulfill their role in the film to perfection”.
He also added, “When big banners like 2D Entertainment and Sakthi Film Factory show an interest in our movies, it drives us to do better and gives us the motivation to focus on content-driven films with new filmmakers. We will be making more announcements with regard to our upcoming projects.”
Sillukarupatti features an ensemble cast —Samuthirakani, Sunainaa, Leela Samson, Nivedhithaa Sathish, Sara Arjun and Manikandan in the lead roles. Apart from writing and helming this film, Halitha Shameem has handled editing as well. She is a former associate of filmmakers Pushkar-Gayathri and Samuthirakani.
Mysskin’s next starring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Nithya Menen, and Aditi Rao Hydari, titled Psycho, is gearing up for release. The makers managed to retain the title and have obtained all the necessary clearances from the CBFC, Producer Arun Mozhi Manickam has announced the film will have a pan-Indian release on 24 January 2020.
Interacting with the media about the film’s upcoming release, Arun Mozhi Manickam said, “As a producer, Psycho has been a gift. There were never any issues with the making of this movie. To top it off, the film was handled by a director as brilliant as Mysskin. It has been a very rewarding journey.”
This is the first film that Double Meaning productions is releasing on this scale, and the producer had this to say, “The CBFC has really cooperated with our request and ensured that we retain the film’s title. We hope that the film finds acceptance across the country since the movie has a great premise and presentation.”
“I know that as the producer of the film, when I praise it people will think I am doing marketing for the film. But, I genuinely believe that audiences will go on an exciting journey with this movie because of all the plot elements in the movie,” the producer added.
Psycho stars Udayanidhi Stalin, Nithya Menen and Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead roles and has a music score composed by Ilayaraaja. The film was originally supposed to release on December 27 but is now set to release on 24 January 2020.
Over the last week, protests have intensified across India and beyond, against the proposed National Register of Citizens, following the passing of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill. As has violent pushback from the police.
While some artists have come out vociferously against the Act, the Register and police brutality, others have paid lip service, without really saying anything. (Hrithik Roshan for instance, tweeted this: As a parent and a citizen of India, I am deeply saddened by the unrest across various educational institutions of our country. I hope and pray for peace to return as soon as possible. Great teachers learn from their students. I salute the world’s youngest democracy.)
Fans meanwhile were ‘petitioning’ Hasan Minhaj, who previously spoke about the Indian elections in March this year, to speak about this in his show, Patriot Act, streaming on Netflix, and bring the issue international attention.
The trailer of this Sunday’s episode of Minhaj’s Patriot Act dropped yesterday. It’s about NRC CAA.
As an American whose parents hail from UP’s Aligarh (where violence against students last week was unprecedently brutal), Hasan’s voice is potent and pertinent. Which explains the anxiety of both, those leaning towards the right in India and those of NRI Hindus, about his show.
This show too is sure to spark off more pushback from NRIs. Just ten days ago Hasan posted a video where someone heckles him and calls him anti-Indian, in public.
At some point in its production process, Valiyaperunnal must have been a movie with a vision.
The quirkiness in its initial parts is a proof. A set of white tourists are on a ‘deprivation tour’ in Mattancherry. The tour guide talks about the stark economic disparity, poverty, class conflict and other dark aspects of the region in a sympathetic tone, as the camera moves through the rickety old slum structures. But at once, these tourists are at the centre of the giant problem that looms over the impoverished locals. A real estate mafia is preparing to throw many hundreds of lower-class locals out of their homes and make space for a high-end tourist resort.
Every instance of violence and chaos in the film is firmly connected to the dire state of deprivation the characters live in. The protagonist, Akkar (Shane Nigam), a long-haired dancer who comes from one of the slum homes, does an impromptu hip-hop performance in front of a Hindu temple; there must have been two reasons – to assert his identity, and to provoke the hostile relatives of the girl he loves. When a lawyer asks a bunch of young slum-dwellers who are on trial for a robbery case what prompted them to do the crime, one of them starts to talk about the dream home he wants to build, which doesn’t leak on a rainy night, where he and his parents can dine, talk and sleep in peace.
In spite of this sociological grasp and the upbeat observational account of old Kochi that it offers, the film, directed by debutante Dimal Dennis, turns out to be a feeble and exhausting watch. To begin with, it is 180 minutes, too long. Its choice of aesthetics – the fast non-linear cuts in particular, which worked well in films such as Parava – doesn’t help the viewing experience. And most of all, the narrative structure is messy, packed with numerous forgettable characters, moments and set-pieces that smother the main plot track and the protagonists.
The movie begins with Shivakumar (Joju George), a taxi driver, being threatened by two loan sharks over a humongous sum of money he owes them. The scene is well-written. The dialogues imply that the men must have shared a warm relationship in the past. His wife brings them tea, addresses them as brothers, and quietly weeps in the kitchen overhearing the bitter conversation between them. Shiva, who looks visibly distressed, gets involved in a violent car robbery in the following sequence. A gang of masked robbers attack his car, stab one of the passengers and get away with a bag of jewellery that he had been carrying. From this point, the film shifts base to Mattancherry, and it would be long before the audience would learn of Shiva again.
While the Mattancherry scenes in the beginning are well-staged and shot, throbbing with a sense of life, it starts to resemble a perpetual (and boring) carnival as the film proceeds. The instances of happy gatherings and chaos start to go in circles. The elders in the neighbourhood, such as Akkar’s father, appear and disappear, sometimes offering some words of wit and advice to the youngsters. They are dressed to look like icons, but the screenplay doesn’t care to flesh them out as memorable characters.
The writing fails Akkar too. Had he not been portrayed by Shane Nigam, who brings aboard a wild energy that few of his contemporaries can muster, Akkar would have been a thoroughly insignificant man in the scheme of things. He is a dancer, a part-time criminal and a rebel, much like many youngsters in his locality. The film is unable to create an arc for him in which he will have to rise to the occasion, act smart and be a hero. The mass hero moments in the second half of the film are overtly dependent on slow-motion shots and a chest-thumping background score (composers Neha Nair and Yakzan Pereira) but without the good foundation of a context. Before the audience can develop an emotional connect with Akkar and his girlfriend, a romantic duet arrives. And worse, the song visuals are too cliched and clinical – lovers on a bike, lovers watching the sunset and picturesque waterfalls, lovers dancing together and hanging out in Fort Kochi.
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Pooja (Himika Bose) is a fantastic partner to Akkar on and off the dance floor. She has sworn to stand by him forever, irrespective of what he becomes in life. But she is little more than a lifeless property in the film. Her existence is entirely tied to Akkar. The lack of good writing that renders her bland also turns the romantic track cold and forgettable. The hip-hop sequences are lacklustre, shot without a design. At the same time, the film pays an unreasonable amount of attention to some of its sub-characters such as Chekku, a Bombay-returnee who likes to pretend that he is a RGV movie hero.
Valiyaperunnal could have been a relevant film for this dark age. It makes an effort, though inadequate, to side with the downtrodden. It contrasts state-sponsored violence against the inescapable whirlpool of violence people like Akkar are caught in. In the first half, it uses the elements of an ethnographic documentary to make an interesting commercial drama. But without an unambiguous language and a directorial sense to separate wheat from chaff, none of this really matters.
The Valiyaperunnal 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.
Most films these days in Kollywood either miss out on writing or the execution part or sometimes both, somehow forgetting the entire concept and motive of making a film. Rarely do we find a film like Thambicomprising a blend of great writing and brilliant execution. Once again, director Jeethu Joseph proves that the thriller genre is right up his ally.
A family of four comprising politician Gnanamurthi (Sathyaraj), his wife (Seetha), teacher Parvathy (Jyothika), and paralysed grandmother (Sowcar Janaki) live in Mettupalayam yearning for their long lost son Saravanan to return. A cop Jeevanandham (Ilavarasu) strikes a deal with Vicky (Karthi) in Goa to impersonate Saravanan and swindle the family. On entering the house, Vicky develops a strong bond with the family while also signing up for some surprises. Right from Jyothika narrating a fable to the children to Karthi speaking to his conscience, nothing is tiresome, meaningless and most importantly clichéd. It aided the engagement factor of the first half which does not really delve into the story. Despite the presence of several characters and information, you are not exactly sure where it is headed. If you think back on all the events that took place prior to the climax, everything seems plausible without giving us the impression that it was all constructed just for the climax.
Karthi And Sathyaraj At The ‘Thambi’ Audio Launch
Thambi works as a clear example of ‘What you see is not what you get’. Every character, right from Karthi (literally) to Jyothika, is not really who they portray themselves to be. Most of the plot points have been crafted really well.
While the film successfully manages to keep you engaged until the end, coming to think of it, the story isn’t all that new from the director. It also has its share of flaws. Just before the announcement that Kuttu (Ashwanth) has passed away, Parvathy claims that her parents are in Hyderabad. Without any sign of arrival, they are suddenly found resting in their beds the very same night when a few henchmen gatecrash their house plotting to kill them. Sowcar Janaki who is initially hyped up giving us the idea that she would serve as a major plot point does little and conveniently disappears towards the end. Hareesh Peradi and Bala Murugan turn out to be loosely connected to the plot.
Jyothika At The ‘Thambi’ Audio Launch
Karthi transitions from the wacky youth to the responsible and emotional one gradually without much effort. His charm and comic timing work in all instances. Jyothika’s Parvathy is levelheaded throughout the film, clearly justifying the ‘second mother’ she plays in the house. Ashwanth has always essayed the precocious, talkative one in all of his outings, but is impressive and natural in this one. Sanjana (Nikhila Vimal) appears only for a short while but moves easily on-screen. Sathyaraj also delivers a great performance. Inspector Kanna (Anson Paul) is a major drawback in the film. Sowcar Janaki makes a great comeback in Tamil after Vanavarayan Vallavarayan (2014). Govind Vasantha’s songs are pleasant and fresh but the background score has a striking similarity to that of 96’s.
The Thambi 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.
To imagine is to have freedom. Is to have a superpower. Imagination is the superhero in Hero. The archenemy, Hero suggests, is the system. There are overt references to Shaktimaan and Arjun’s Gentleman, throughout Hero, and the film takes these tribute angles very seriously. Kicha from Gentleman passes on the mantle to this Hero. It’s also a very down-to-earth superhero film (the only two homegrown superhero films I’ve liked too are down-to-earth; Bhawesh Joshi Superhero and Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota), and its pace is pretty slow (at times too slow), but as an idea, it is a remarkable thing.
Sivakarthikeyan is Sakthi, grows up on Shaktimaan and wants to be a superhero. He even jumps off a building, like kids did back when the series was running thinking his friend Shaktimaan will come and rescue him. His father then tells him that no one will come to rescue us. This is what Hero is about. That we must rescue ourselves. This kid who wants to be a superhero ends up as a fraudster, making fake mark sheets because our system is more interested in mark sheets and money.
A great (even if every man) superhero deserves a great villain. To wrap your head around who it is, (the system? Parents? Capitalism? Capitation fees? Coaching centres?) in this film takes long. The villain represents everyone trying to keep us like cattle, in check. Productive. One seemingly (rather unconvincingly) all-powerful man, Mahadev (a stylish but poker-faced Abhay Deol). This is why he chooses to lobotomise children whose ideas could change the world. He doesn’t want them dead. He just wants them to stop thinking, asking questions and coming up with solutions. (I chuckled at the ‘Rio’ University jokes). In the most effective scene in the film, Mahadev explains why he does this: he makes a kid (who was an innovator but has been lobotomised) do his bidding — raise your hand, stand up on the bench, finger on your lips. Each of these is intercut with shots of teachers making kids in schools do this. This one scene is more effective and conveys the philosophical underpinnings of Mithran’s venture than many elaborate dialogues through the film.
There’s the threat of a romance angle, very elaborately set between Sakthi and a motivational speaker (an effective Kalyani Priyadarshan) but it fizzles into nothing when things take a turn for the worse. The people who make Sakthi a real-life Shakthimaan are Sathyamoorthy (Arjun who plays the role with great ease and is very good; through the film, I was acutely conscious of the fact that here’s a man who didn’t even need to be “rehabilitated” after being named in #Metoo. He’s just carried on without any consequences,) and his students. Sathyamoorthy is like the Phunsukh Wangdu of 3 Idiots except he runs a school for kids who fail, and spots the genius in them.
The problem with Hero is one that is age-old. It wants to solve too many problems. Hero takes a simple but profound idea and turns it into a nearly three hour (!) excruciating PSA and lecture. Many dialogues are just plain taxing to sit through. Is Kollywood the only film industry that makes people pay money to have heroes and villains lecture them endlessly? There are no punchy lines, and the punches too, are few, there’s just lengthy non-witty banter and songs that are not even remotely memorable. (Only one worth even remembering. It’s been sung by Ilaiyaraaja). It takes too long to set up, and there are very few thrills. Plus, kind of too much of a stretch to say a bunch of kids release a satellite into space, by themselves?
The Hero 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.
Cast: Salman Khan, Saiee, Sonakshi Sinha, Kiccha Sudeep
Dabangg 3 re-introduces you to a young Chulbul Pandey and tells you why he became an inspector of police. The story, written by Salman Khan himself is a cheat-sheet to all the classic Dabangg tropes — from the rosary around Chulbul’s neck, the reason why he wears his sunglasses at the back of his shirt, to how he finds Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha). Everything is explained. In detail.
Can a thoroughly entertaining movie be equally problematic? Salman Khan’s Dabangg 3 is both.
This Chulbul mistakenly places an entire cot along with his asleep mother (Dimple Kapadia) on a goods train while he wants to seek revenge from his annoying relative who despises him. In a small town, Tundla, he finds Khushi (Saiee Manjrekar) whose photograph is brought to seek a suitable matrimonial match for his step-brother Makhhi Singh (Arbaaz Khan). While Makkhhi says ‘Isko dekhke humein behen jaisi feeling aa rahi hai’, Chulbul says, ‘Tumko ise dekhke behen jaisi feeling isliye aa rahi hai, kyunki humein isko dekh kar patni jaisi feeling aa rahi hai’. The unemployed — good for nothing Chulbul who believes in ‘being human’ first, goes to Khushi’s house to seek her hand for marriage and startles her family by offering Dahej (dowry) to educate her for the next five years and help her become a doctor.
Salman Khan, Saiee M Manjrekar At The ‘Dabangg 3’ Press Meet
Khushi, played by debutante actress and actor Mahesh Manjrekar’s daughter Saiee, is not the most nuanced performer. Khushi lays the foundation for seeking revenge, but the performance fails to do justice to the role due to the lack of a character arc. Khushi has to look good, deliver slow-motion dialogues and act with hwe eyes. Saiee manages to do two out of three things, except acting. For once, Salman convinces the audience with blood-smeared face and red watery eyes, but Saiee seems blank in one of the most crucial scenes. *Spoiler alert* If one has to learn how to die onscreen, Yami Gautam’s performance in Sriram Raghavan’s Badlapur is a benchmark.
Before we move to Salman’s performance, which by all means is thoroughly entertaining, let’s talk about Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep. Full marks to the casting director for choosing Sudeep as the villain. Kichcha Sudeep’s stellar fitness, body language, and his eyes that do the real talking infuse the right amount of bitterness in the comic-action movie. His stunts, his close up shots, eye-movement, and crazy action sequences accentuate the urge in the audience to think how Chubul will take his revenge. He almost outshines Salman in most of the scenes that the duo share, except one — the big fight.
Director Prabhudeva has not missed out on showing the chiseled bodies of the two actors. In a massive fire lit climax, when Sudeep takes off his shirt, his six-pack reminds you that you’ve been watching a Salman Khan movie for almost 120 minutes without seeing his bare chest! Sudeep does the needful and tears off Salman’s shirt too. Because a villain can’t overshadow the hero (which he almost did) in a fight sequence by looking fitter than the much worshipped main man.
Cinematographer Mahesh Limaye does a commendable job of managing to shoot Sudeep and Salman in the same frame, which is quite a challenging task because the former is almost five inches taller than the latter. The fight and action sequences don’t miss a beat. After every intense scene, there’s a song. Songs that are too long, too claustrophobic, and give you a forced feeling of a recreation of 90s sequences where the background dancers and the main leads change their clothes more than five times. Keep a bucket of popcorn for the songs, you’ll need it to kill time.
Sonakshi Sinha’s fitness and command over being in Rajjo’s skin for so long works to some extent. The film pays a tribute to late actor Vinod Khanna who played Chulbul’s father in the other two films in the Dabangg franchise. He’s replaced by actor Pramod Khanna, the late actor’s brother. Also, a minute of Sohail Khan’s cameo in the movie is more powerful than Arbaaz Khan’s stretched role.
Salman Khan’s Dabangg 3 is overall a thoroughly entertaining movie, mostly due to the tremendous amount of hard work that’s gone into the sound mixing, stunts and humorous dialogues, written for a screenplay sketched by Salman, Prabhudeva, and Alok Upadhyay.
But, it doesn’t end there.
Salman Khan drives masses (no matter what) to the theatres up to 60 percent occupancy on the first day first show of his movies. Young men laughed, blew whistles, women hooted and many gold seat viewers clapped throughout the movie.
Salman influences masses, and that’s not just his ‘x’ million Twitter fans. Ther are many living outside that world. His movies are trendsetters in fashion (the Tere Naam haircut!) and dialogue-baazi (dosti ka ek usool hai). In Dabangg 3, Salman Khan is a good cop who seeks revenge from criminals, helps accused prisoners to start a new life and is involved in other‘being human’ activities, but that is exactly why Dabangg 3 is problematic on many levels. It romanticises the idea of a messiah who’ll save anyone in trouble. That idea of a fictitious happy ending is a niggle.
Prabhu Deva At The ‘Dabangg 3’ Press Meet
The film, indeliberately, is a bank of ideas on how-to-commit heinous crimes against women. Bigg Boss fame Dolly Bindra plays the leader of a girl-trafficking sex racket in Dabangg 3 who supplies girls to Bali Singh (Sudeep) and other politicians. She gets caught by Chulbul who schools her for slapping a female police officer while she’s been arrested. On one hand, he condemns slapping women, and then he does it himself. He then slaps her twice for being a woman who cannot respect other women. What happens to the girls he rescues? They’re simply made to go home. ‘The good news is that bad times are over,’ says Chulbul. That’s it. While Kichcha Sudeep is great as the villain, his character is the 2019 version of SRK from Darr, Suniel Shetty from Dhadkan and more such obsessed, criminal-minded lovers who want the woman they set their eyes on.
Salman Khan delivers some powerful lines towards the end before balancing scales with Sudeep that he kidnaps women, rapes them, throws acid at them and doesn’t respect them to which the Kicha star says that he hasn’t raped anyone, but from now on, he will. Bali Singh buries dead bodies of women and men in his plush lawn and plants roses over each of them. He has torturous ways of hanging and slitting the throats of people.
Dabangg 3 entertains you with the comic timing but I was constantly reminded while watching this film that we live in times where two women have recently been burned to death after being raped. Nirbhaya is still in the news. No one comes to rescue women within seconds when they need cops. I was very aware of the fact that I was watching a work of fiction, and after these 2 hours 30 minutes, will be back to reality where there are no Chulbul Pandeys waiting to rescue us.
The Dabanng 3 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.
Karthi-Jyothika starrer Thambi is all set for release on Friday, 20 December. Ahead of the release of the film, director Jeethu Joseph along with actors Karthi Sivakumar and Nikhila Vimal speak about their experiences and the film.
Speaking about how director Jeethu Joseph decided to take up the project, he says, “I was narrated the script of Thambi by Rensil D’Silva and Sameer Arora when I was in Mumbai. Just as I was instantly attracted to the story, Karthi and Jyothika too approved of the script immediately. The presence of two brilliant actors added a lot of value to the script. Even before I decided to work on the script, the actors had already signed up for the project with producer Suraj Sadanah. They are as dedicated as actor Mohanlal.” He adds that there were four brains behind the screenplay of Thambi. “Though the script has been penned by Rensil D’Silva and Sameer Arora, it also has the contributions of Manikandan (penned dialogues for Vikram Vedha) and myself. Rensil and Sameer hail from Mumbai and I from Kerala, so we brought Mani on board to capture the essence of the Tamil culture that had to be adopted,” said the director.
The film will deal with the relationship between people residing in two different families. Despite the several bonds in a family, Jeethu is said to have thrown light on the bond forged between siblings thus giving equal screen space for the lead actors. The thriller will also have its share of comical elements. “A man is said to change his behaviour and attitude according to the circumstance he is put in. And that is exactly what Karthi does right through the film. I have made sure to include all the aspects required to keep them glued to the screen while also leaving them with a smile at the end of the film,” said Jeethu Joseph.
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The film supposedly cannot function even if one character is taken out of it. All of them are said to hold importance, have a motive and connect with the narrative. “Karthi is a very dedicated and talented artiste who takes effort to understand his character and perform. He is excellent right from emotional to action sequences. Jyothika has already proved her acting prowess with her earlier outings. I admire the way she pulls off her roles in every film. In order to give her best performance in this too, she requested for her lines two weeks in advance. Sathyaraj who plays an essential yet non-typical father of the siblings has performed well,” said Jeethu.
Thambi is said to have started off as a big story, later shortened. To fill the loopholes in the narrative, fresh sequences were written and added after taking in the opinions of the crew. Speaking about screenplay and the language barriers he faced, Jeethu says, “I am not sure of whether I’ve created a perfect film, but I do know that every character has been written clearly and interpreted carefully. Language has never been an issue for the film. I got the actors to perform by writing down the dialogues in English.”
Karthi plays Saravanan in the film. His journey begins in Goa and transitions to Kerala eventually.
Speaking about how he was roped in to the film, Karthi says, “I was very impressed with the one-liner narrated by the writers. On hearing the entire script, I was thrilled to be a part of it. On knowing that Jo anni was also part of the project gave me immense happiness. We agreed to work on the project only after we were convinced that both of us had good screen space. Only later was Jeethu roped in as director.”
Karthi says, “Just as Paiyya revolved around two characters, this will also have a special element. I don’t wish to reveal what it is, but all I can say is that I resonated with the character deeply”.
He also adds, “I have admired his Malayalam films and Papanasam especially for their unique treatment. I’m glad I got to work under his direction”.
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Speaking about his female co-stars, Karthi says, “I have never got a chance to witness Anni perform on set. She is extremely dedicated and hardworking. Sowcar Janaki ma didn’t seem like she was 88 years old. She was so lively and dedicated. At times she even cooked food for the crew.”
Thambi features Nikhila Vimal opposite Karthi in the film. The actress has earlier worked in a couple of Malayalam films and in Prasath Murugesan’s Kidaari.
Speaking about Jeethu Joseph and her experience on set she said, “A few years back, I was to feature in a Jeethu Joseph film but the dates clashed and I couldn’t. Unlike other directors, he kept up the promise he made of casting me in one of his films later and called me for Thambi. He was frank about my role and that impressed me very much. The outstanding technicians and crew also made me want to work in the film. I was able to meet Surya sir and the family members of Sathyaraj sir too.”
Nikhila adds, “Karthi sir is one of the few actors who does not want to be typecast and is willing to perform any role be it a commercial subject or content-oriented one. He is also one of those rare actors who is concerned with the performance of their co-stars even if they’ve completed their portion. Many a time I would ask him if I could rehearse my lines looking at him and he would agree without a second thought. This is the first time I’m encountering someone like him. Jyothika ma’am too was very helpful on set. She has a very gentle approach,” says Nikhila.
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Thambi also features Ilavarasu, Hareesh Peradi, Anson Paul, Seetha, Mahanadi Shankar, Master Ashwanth, Sowcar Janaki, Ramesh Thilak, Nedumudi Venu and others in significant roles. RD Rajasekar is handling the camera, Govind Vasantha is composing music, VS Vinayak is editing and Prem Navas is on art. There are three songs in the album – a duet, a festival song and a temple song featuring Karthi.
The Tamil-Telugu bilingual has been shot in Ooty, Palakad, Coimbatore, and Goa. The makers had wrapped up the film in 65 days, as per their original plan. Recently, the trailer of the film had dropped garnering more than 2.7 million views.
Nasir, directed by Coimbatore-based filmmaker Arun Karthick, has been selected to the Hivos Tiger Award competition section of International Film Festival Of Rotterdam which begins on January 23. It is the first Tamil film to compete for the prestigious award which was founded in 1995 to discover and reward up-and-coming international film talent.
Nasir, centred around a Muslim man working at a textile shop in Coimbatore, is based on writer Dilip Kumar’s short story ‘Oru Gumasthavin Kathai’ (‘The Story of a Clerk’) which is set against the backdrop of a communal riots in the south Indian town. In 2018, it had won the Netherlands Film Fund (NFF) and Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) Co-production Scheme. It is jointly produced by Mathivanan Rajendran and Netherlands-based firm Rinkel Films. Kumaran Valavan, a France-based theoretical physicist and the founder of founder of India Nostrum Theatre, has played the titular protagonist.
Nasir is 28-year-old Arun’s second feature film after Sivapuranam/A Strange Case of Shiva which was screened at IFFR’s Bright Future category in 2016. In 2017, Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s Sexy Durga had won the Tiger Award. In the same edition of the festival, Prantik Basu’s Sakhisona had won the Tiger Award for the Best Short Film.
Four Indian feature-length films have been chosen to be screened at IFFR 2020. This includes Nasir, Saurav Rai’s Nimtoh/Invitation which will be screened in Bright Future section, Deepti Gupta’s documentary on Sona Mahapatra, Shut Up Sona and Gurvinder Singh’s TheBitter Chestnut which will be screened in Voices section. Nimtoh, which premiered at MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October 2019, had won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize for screenplay. Pune-based filmmaker Lubdhak Chatterjee’s short film Aahuti has also been selected to be screened at the festival.
It is the season of end-of-the-year compilations, and among them is “who was in the news the most”. The year 2019 has been interesting for Bollywood in terms of both numbers and content. And to look at what worked and what didn’t, Wizikey, Asia’s first PR and communication platform, collated all this into a report using its AI and ML-based technology.
This was also a year of gossip, including relationships big weddings, and global stars. There were some people, however, who emerged as the top newsmakers.
Sharing the report with the media, the CEO of Wizikey, Ansul Sushil, said, “It is always interesting to see which stars shone the brightest. These Top Newsmakers of Bollywood were in the news for more than just their movies. The AI and ML capabilities of Wizikey has given us some really interesting insights into how people view their favourite stars.”
Salman Khan moved past the shadow of his hit and run case, the report said, with a clean chit and emerged with the third film in his mammoth film franchise. Add to it his hosting gig with Bigg Boss, and some rumours around his upcoming projects and the star was in the limelight.
The second place holder of this ranking, Akshay Kumar, has also had an interesting year in the media. His movie Mission Mangal, was quite hyped, as are his upcoming projects, Laaxmi Bomb and Good Newzz. However, the end of the year was interesting for Akshay Kumar when his application for Indian citizenship was widely covered in the media.
Priyanka Chopra’s year in the spotlight was more around her association with the Jonas family than it was about her work. There was a lot of negative press around her role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador. However, her film The Sky Is Pinkhelped her positive ratings.
The list would be incomplete without a mention of brand SRK. Despite having no film release in 2019, the star was still in the news. SRK’s appearance on David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction occupied a lot of coverage, and not to mention his birthday which is usually the talk of the town.
Finally, there is Alia Bhatt who had a stellar year on screen and off. Beginning with the rumour mills churning overtime with her plans of getting engaged to boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor in 2020 to closing the year with acting honours for her film Gully Boy.
