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By Rinku Gupta The team of Pancharaaksharam is gearing up for the release of the film this week.  Directed by Balaji Vairamuthu, the film has Santosh, Gokul, newbie Seeman and Madhu Shalini in the lead. Speaking about the film at the press meet, hero Santosh disclosed " The title has a historical , ancient feel to it but the film is a New Age supernatural thriller. Balaji narrated many stories but finally chose this one. He has worked very hard on preparing all details of the film. " Director Balaji who is debuting as a director was grateful to his father for producing the movie. The film focuses on the power of thoughts and how what one thinks wields a force in life.

By Rinku Gupta Ace director and producer Karthik Subbaraj recently announced the first film under his Stone Bench Indie banner. Subbaraj will be releasing Alli, the Tamil version of Chola in Malyalam, under this banner.  The film is directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and stars Joju George and Nimisha Sajayan. Pa Ranjith and Vetrimaaran released the title of  the banner's first indie film Alli, dubbed in Tamil. These are films which have already made a name in festivals across the globe.  They may not find the right distribution network to release independently and reach audiences.  Stone Bench Indie seeks to bridge that gap and bring such films to wider audiences, according to Subbaraj. Stone Bench is already producing 3 films and 2 web-series which are in various stages of production. 

By Rinku Gupta The Dabangg3 franchise seems to have gotten bigger over the years and the latest film is directed by Salman Khan's Wanted director Prabhu Deva. The film has been dubbed in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada as well and us Salman's first direct Tamil release (by KJR studios in Tamil). The story traces the origins of how Chulbul Pandian ( Salman's name in the Tamil dubbed version) got the  name Chulbul ( he is Thanga Tamizh Pandian) and how his enmity with Bali Singh turned him into a cop.  This takes us back to a flashback portion  with Dimple Kapadia and Pramod Khanna, ( brother of the deceased Vinod Khanna who was Chulbul's father in the original) playing his parents.  In comes debutante  Saiee Manjrekar as Susi, his fiancee who gets killed by Bali Singh ( Kichcha Sudeep) for not returning his love.  (Susi names him Chulbul affectionately). His run - in with Bali changes his life path,   transforming it forever. Cut back to the ...

By Rinku Gupta Thambi is the next directorial of Jeethu Joseph ( of Papanasam fame), starring Karthi , Jyotika, Sathyaraj, Seetha, Sowcar Janaki,  Anson Paul and Nikhila Vimal. The film is produced by Viacomm 18 and Jyotika's  brother Suraj Sadanah under his Paralell Minds banner.                                    Suraj sadanah When a politician ( Sathyaraj) living in the Nilgiris, discovers that his long lost son, who left home 15 years ago, is now to be found in Goa, he rushes to bring him home. Unbeknownst to him and the family is the fact that  Saravanan ( Karthi) is a con man who, actually in cahoots with a cop ( Ilavarsan), plans to rob the family and escape. But things don't quite go according to plan. The elder sister in the family,  Parvathi ( Jyotika) is not very accepting of him in the beginning. Things soon go out of hand when a murder...

By Rinku Gupta Hero, produced by KJR Studios, is the second outing of Irumbu Thirai director PS Mithran . Sakthi ( Sivakarthikeyan ) soon gives up his childhood dream of becoming a superhero like Shaktiman, once he grows up. Instead, he becomes a forgerer of degrees and helps students procure seats in colleges,  for a hefty fee. He runs into a motivational speaker ( debutante Kalyani Priyadarshan in a refreshing avatar) who urges him to look deeper within himself and discover the nobler person inside.  Circumstances further lead him to find Sathyamoorthy ( Arjun in a fine performance), a Gentleman, thinking professor who wants to change the way students should learn, by letting them innovate and discover their true potential instead of learning by rote. All his plans of changing the educational system come to a halt when a greedy businessman with international connections ( Abhay Deol who lives the part) , who believes that innovating and thinking minds are a threat t...

By Rinku Gupta After the super pan- Indian success of KGF from Yash of the Kannada film industry, now its another Kannada star who is going pan -India with his film, titled Avane Sriman Narayana. Actor Rakshit Shetty who is also the screen writer of his film,  was in Chennai for the Tamil version launch with his co-star Shanvi Shrivastav. The film is directed by Sachin and produced by Pushkar Films. Rakshit revealed that he was inspired by Tamil  films, actors and directors ( like K Balachander and Kamal Haasan) to a large extent,  as he used to watch several languages films from childhood,  in Udipi. The film is being released by Screenscene and Rakshit was thrilled that it was the same company that had released  Bigil. Shanvi said, "The film is a result of 3 years of hard work and a passion for cinema. " The film is being released in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi after being inspired by the success of KGF across India. " When content is ...

By Rinku Gupta Pa Ranjith's Neelam Productions announced a slate of 5 films, in a tie-up with My Little Red Car and Golden Ratio Films from Mumbai. Neelam will be the creative producers of these projects. The 5 films will be helmed by Lenin Bharathi, Mari Selvaraj, Franklin Jakob, Akiran Moses and Suresh Mari. The scripts have been finalised and the projects will be executed in coming months. The star cast will be announced accordingly. " These two production houses understood my kind of socio-political ideologies and therefore it's a joy to work together, " Pa Ranjith said. " I dont believe in art house cinema. Instead I prefer making films that are a commercial success and bring my ideologies to the forefront." The films will be  showcased in both domestic and international markets. 

By Rinku Gupta Actor Bharat got emotional at the success meet of his latest film Kaalidas, produced by Incredible Films. " 2020 will be my 18th year in films. Everybody in media has always supported me through my highs and lows. Somehow,  things didn't go right because even though movies were good,  commercial success has many factors involved. I came here when I was 16 years old and cinema is my only home. The Kaalidas team and I went through a lot of struggle to release the film.  There were market considerations to be met and nobody had confidence whether people would come and see my film. It was after the press show,  when the media lauded me and wrote praises with the power of their pen,  I never imagined it would establish such a connect ! I still cannot believe what's happening.  Everybody says it's superb, " he said. He thanked his producers, along with Abhishek and Shaktivel for taking trouble to release the film in the right way. He added tha...

By Rinku Gupta The Irandam Porin Kadaisi Gundu film team were elated at the response to their film produced by Neelam Productions and directed by Athiyan Athirai. This is the debut film of the director who has used instances from his personal life for the film. The film stars Dinesh and Kayal Anandhi who were present. Muniskanth has made a stellar re- entry in a comical role yet full of emotions in the film which touched upon several social issues in an entertaining manner.

By Rinku Gupta The grand title launch of Parithabangal Productions' film Production No. 1  was held at a star hotel in the city recently. The film is a unique 100 strong crowd funded venture, starring Gopi Sudhakar and directed by SAK. Jakes Bejoy gives the music while Nijai cranks the camera. The film is titled,  Hey Money Come Today Go Tomorrow Ya.

By Rinku Gupta Directed by PadmaKumar, Mamangam is the tale of the ancient valiant warrior clans of Vallavunadu in Kerala, who for generations prove their valour , challenging in the face of death, the powerful Zamorin. Mammootty , plays one such warrior from the Chandroth House who after a valiant attempt to fight them,  escapes the armies of the Zamorin. But he does not return to his home and instead resides with a group of women,  in an effiminate avatar as a painter. Many years later,  he meets two warriors from Chandroth, en route to Mamangam, who are his relatives ( Unni Mukundan and child actor Achyuthan). While training them further based on his own experiences, he also imparts the futility of continuing with the process,  instead of putting the issue to rest. What happens to the young warriors? Do they continue on their quest  ? The Kalari scenes ( especially of young Achuthan ) are a highlight as are the traditional battles by the Valluvanad...

By Rinku Gupta Suseenthiran's next film is a sports drama with football at the centre this time.  Vishwa, the nephew of actor and producer RK Suresh, makes his screen debut as hero opposite tik tok sensation Mirnalini Ravi and  Sowmika. Narain plays his coach while Manoj Bharathi Raja his father, and Stun Shiva the villain. The story is about how a North Madras boy ( Vishwa) who is talented in football,  becomes part of a good coach's ( Narain) team. But his mother's worst fears come true when his dead father's ( Manoj ) connect with the local thug and politico comes to the fore and her son seeks revenge for his dad's murder, instead of concentrating on building a new life. Does he get his revenge? What happens to him? Newbie Vishwa displays the body language of a sportsman and manages the emotional and action scenes well. Narain has a good role as the mentor as does Manoj. ( But Manoj somehow doesn't quite fit the role of a rough henchman). Mirnalini...

By Rinku Gupta An adult content film starring Jai, Vaibhavi and Athulya, directed by SA Chandrasekhar, Capmaari is basically about a guy who manages to have a love marriage , and at the same time have an affair with his colleague, while making it all look ok. The story as such is nothing elaborate. After a steamy night in a train, our hero ( Jai) marries his lady love ( Vaibhavi, skimpily clad most of the time). But that doesn't stop his bold colleague ( Athulya) pursuing him and managing to get pregnant after a bout of drinking.  As a result, she decides to move in with the husband- wife, staking a claim to the dad of her child. What upheaval does this cause in their lives? Watch it if you like steamy songs, double meaning jokes ( aplenty), skimpily clad heroines, and not much of a story line. The film seens to imply its ok to have illicit reationships after marriage and the whole tone is kept light hearted.  The crass jokes of Sathyan, Sid Vipin and Divyadarshini add...

By Rinku Gupta A thriller directed by debutant Sri Senthil ( of the famed Naalai Iyakkunar show ), Kaalidas stars Bharath, Adhav Kannadasan, Ann Sheetal, Suresh Menon, Velraj and Priyadarshini. Bharath is Kaalidas, an upright, hardworking cop whose wife  ( Ann Sheetal perfectly cast,  in a  wonderful, layered performance) is disgruntled because he never has any time for her.  In the midst of this martial discord,  Kaalidas is caught up in the imvestigation of a series of murders ( or is it suicides) of women. Suresh Menon is the IPS officer who works on the case with him and the team stumble on a series of clues. In the midst of all this,  a stranger ( Aadhav Kannadasan in a good role that he plays out superbly) enters as a tenant in  Kaalidas' home. Who is this person? Is he linked to the crimes? Does Kaalidas solve the crimes? The whodunnit thriller has many things going for it. For one, the casting is amazing.  Suresh Menon, Velraj, Bhar...

By Rinku Gupta Gautham Vasudev Menon and ‘Kidaari’ fame Prasath Murugesan together have wielded the megaphone for the web series titled “Queen”, a biopic based on the life of Former Late TN CM J Jayalalitha. The cast and crew of this web series  were present for the media interaction session along with the  special screening of first episode as well . Speaking on the occasion, Gautham Vasudev Menon said, “I really enjoyed working in this new venture as there weren’t restrictions like limited time factors. Moreover, I felt this as a good and efficient story telling platform. The first season has 11 episodes and we have already started working on the script for second season. I suggest that viewers can have a very good experience watching this series on small screens although it’s available on mobile as well.” Director Prasath Murugesan said, “The script written by Reshma Gatala was one of the major elements in attributing towards the origin of this web series. Wh...

  By Rinku Gupta   Theclatest production house to enter Kollywood is New Saravana Stores Brammandamai which is now entering  film production under this banner. Their debut  film, temporarily called “Production No. 1” has popular Saravana Stores owner, ( who is well -known for modelling in his store advertisements with popular heroines),  Legend Saravanan  , now debuting as an actor and producer in Tamil Cinema. The film is  written and directed by famed duo JD & Jerry . (  click here for full video of celebrities at the function! ) The camera’s  started rolling for this venture on 01 Dec, at AVM Studios, Vadapalani , with the blessings of AVM Saravanan who  lit the inaugural lamp. Ace director S P Muthuraman inaugurated  with the first clap.   Legend Saravanan plays the lead with Geethika Tiwary who also debuts alongside him in this movie, which has  music scored by Harris Jayaraj.  ...

By Rinku Gupta IUKG is produced by Neelam Productions and directed by debutant Athiyan Athirai, starring Dinesh, Munishkanth and Kayal Anandhi. In brief, the story is about a World War 2 bomb which lands up in TN, and makes its way to a scrap yard. Dinesh plays a lorry driver at the scrap yard and in a series of circumstances, lands up with the task of ferrying this bomb, which could go off any minute. He is accompanied by Muniskanth, an assistant. Close on thier heels are the police, unscrupulous villains and activists. In the midst of it all, is his pressing love story, with his lady loves' family forcing her to marry elsewhere. Does the lorry driver survive all the dangers he finds himself in? What happens to the bomb? Do the lovers unite? An unusual story line, racy screenplay, well fleshed out characters, good chemistry between the lead pair, Muniskanth in a brilliant performance as the comical sidekick inviting both laughs and empathy, layered writing, ...