Movies / The New Indian Express
Telugu serial actor Chandrakanth aka Chandu died by suicide on Friday. The actor, known for his role in Trinayani, apparently chose to end his life following the death of his co-actor Pavitra Jayaram in a road accident. Chandrakanth was found dead at his residence in Alkapur in Rangareddy district of Telangana. Chandrakanth's father told the police that his son was incredibly depressed for the past few days. Pavithra Jayaram died in a road accident on Sunday, May 12 after the car in which she wa
CANNES, France: Much attention has been paid to the $120 million of his own fortune that Francis Ford Coppola put up to make the futuristic epic Megalopolis, but the director himself isnt much concerned. I dont care. I never cared, Coppola said of money, speaking to reporters at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. The money doesnt matter. What is important are the friends. Because friends will never let you down. Money may evaporate. Coppola sold a piece of his winery business to finance Megalop
NEW DELHI: Sahara Group has criticised the upcoming series titled Scam 2010 - The Subrata Roy Saga, calling it an abusive and grossly condemnable act and said it is contemplating suitable legal action against the makers. The series, dubbed as a dust-to-diamonds story of maverick businessman Subrata Roy, is the third chapter of filmmaker Hansal Mehta's smash hit series Scam for streaming service Sony LIV after Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story and Scam 2003: The Telgi Story. The latest instalmen
Jackie Shroff will be collaborating with international filmmaker Sandrine Bonnaire for the biopic 'Slow Joe'. The film chronicles the life of the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha, affectionately known as Slow Joe. He was a drug addict living in Mumbai who later became a musician after moving to Goa. Speaking about the collaboration, Jackie said in a statement, I am thrilled to have Sandrine Bonnaire on board to direct 'Slow Joe'. Her exceptional talent and vision will undoubtedly elev
Vasanthabalans films consistently explore political themes, addressing caste, class, or societal issues. In his latest work, 'Thalaimai Seyalagam', Vasanthabalan delves into the core of politics, presenting a narrative about feudalism and the rise of Naxalism as a counterforce. Spanning eight episodes with three interwoven storylines, the series takes viewers across India, ultimately linking all threads to a single individual. 'Thalaimai Seyalagam' is a political thriller with a whodunnit elemen
'Inga Naan Thaan Kingu' begins with a prologue detailing terrorist serial bombings. Then the film introduces us to Santhanams Vetrivel and his wacky attempts to get married. And then new characters barge into the frame and the whole affair turns into slapstick comedy. And before you catch a break, the film pulls the carrying-the-dead-body comedy trope and drags you along with the corpse for the remainder of the story. Such a cornucopia of randomness might work well for the kind of chaotic energy
It wont be an overstatement to believe that the protagonist of 'Election', Natarasan is the grown-up version of Kumaresan, the boy from director Thamizhs first film 'Seththumaan'. Kumaresan helplessly looks on as his grandfather dies due to a drunk duel between two caste Hindus, he does not understand what is going on. In 'Election', Kumaresans confusion is verbalized by Natarasan, when he says, I dont understand what is this politics about, in more than one instance in the film. Natarasans fath
'The Garfield Movie' is a harmless, enjoyable ride. It is almost nostalgic for how it is reminiscent of the feeling we experienced when we watched television cartoons in the evening after school. We would be amused by the wacky adventures and goofy humour of these animated characters, so engrossed that we still wouldnt have changed out of our school uniforms. On such occasions, the adults who pass by might take a gander at the screen and find themselves chuckling, forgetting the broad notion tha
The fourth season of Pankaj Tripathi-led courtroom drama 'Criminal Justice' was announced by the makers on Friday. The new installment will mark the return of actor Pankaj as advocate Madhav Mishra. In a statement, the actor said, In the hall of fame of on-screen lawyers, I feel that Madhav Mishra has earned his place with 'Criminal Justice'. I could not believe how much Madhavs character in the series resembled me. Every victory felt like my own and every defeat felt like a personal loss, while
Marriage dramedies are not new to Telugu cinema, but these films often come embedded with a moral code in the guise of old-school fables that emphasise the conservatism and sanctity required of marriage. It is important for these films to be guided by a definitive voice that proclaims a happy ending when content with the protagonists method of finding resolution. So when 'Vidya Vasula Aham' begins with the Vishnu and Lakshmi deities deciding to take stock of the world below and have a look at th
Switch { case n: Director: Chethan Shetty Cast: Vijay Lalitha Surya, Shwetha Vijaykumar, Prithvi Raj, Vijay Siddaraj, and Karthik Vaibhav Rating: 2.5/5 As its title itself implies, debutant director Chethan Shettys 'Switch { case n': is a film steeped in coding references that interestingly and cleverly merges software coding concepts with cinematic storytelling, making it particularly appealing to those fluent in languages such as C++ and Javascript. That being said, director Chethan, who himse
Aachana Rai, who started her career in Tulu cinema with the blockbuster 'Circus' that set a record, has now stepped into Kannada cinema with films like 'Sri Ranga', as well as the yet-to-be-released 'Happy Birthday To Me', 'Bhuvanam Gaganam', and 'Ashoka Blade'. This young actor cant contain her excitement and is over the moon to have bagged a big-ticket role, starring alongside Challenging Star Darshan, in the upcoming Prakash Veer directorial Devil - 'The Hero'. I am currently overloaded with
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, the dancer and actor who has been juggling across languages, made her last appearance in Kannada cinema with the film 'Raymo'. Now, she marks her return to Kannada cinema with 'The Judgement'. Balancing her projects in Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Lakshmi faces the challenges of securing meaningful roles amidst a bustling schedule. Being busy has not been a problem, but getting good roles has been, she admits, highlighting the perennial quest for quality projects. In 'The Ju
KRG Studios and TVF have teamed up for the comic entertainer 'Powder', which is set to release on July 14. Announced last August, Powder marks the first collaboration between KRG Studios and Arunabh Kumar and Vijay Subramaniams TVF. It has already generated a certain curiosity with its title Powder. The newly released teaser hints at a hilarious adventure featuring a group of small-town youngsters with big dreams. Going by the teaser, 'Powder' follows the misadventures of a band of down-on-their
Aniruddha Jatkar, who gained fame through the serial Jothe Jotheyali, is set to make his silver screen comeback after a five-year hiatus with 'Chef Chidambara'. The film is scheduled for a statewide release on June 14, meaning it will clash with the Daali Dhananjaya starrer Kotee at the box office. It is interesting to see the actor in the role of a chef in this new venture. 'Chef Chidambara' is directed by M Anandraj, who previously helmed the film 'Raaghu', and produced by Roopa DN under the D
After a short prologue, Sureshanteyum Sumalathayudeyum Hrudayahariyaya Pranayakadha (SSHP) opens with a sequence involving the natural death of an elderly woman, which ultimately makes way for one of the films titular protagonists, Sureshan, to return to his roots. Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduvals quintessential quirkiness in presenting satire is on full display here, with the dead womans family feeling anything but grief. Interestingly, this is quite reminiscent of how the directors debut film, A
In Malayalam cinema, we are generally used to seeing stories pivoting around couples, friends, siblings or even strangers, but we dont often come across a story about two brothers-in-law. Vipin Das latest film explores one such quirky tale of bromance. The thread is woven around Anandan (Prithviraj Sukumaran) and Vinu (Basil Joseph), who are soon-to-be family. Vinu is about to marry Anandans sister, Anjaly, much to the two families delight. Strangely enough, there is a stronger, sweeter relation
A spinoff revolving around the character Caine, played by Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4, is being developed by Chad Stahelski at Lionsgate. Yen will reprise his blind assassin character from Stahelskis John Wick film in the spinoff, which will go on floors in 2025. In the fourth part of the John Wick franchise, Caine gets relieved from his High Table obligations, and the spinoff will build on this event. Working on John Wick: Chapter 4 was an extraordinary experience. The reason these films
After delving into the lives of scamsters Harshad Mehta and Abdul Karim Telgi, the Scam franchise is returning for a third installment. The makers, Applause Entertainment, made the announcement on social media with an animated video. The new series will be about Sahara tycoon Subrata Roy and is titled Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga. The show will be directed by Hansal Mehta. Subrata was the founder of the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar. He was arrested on the account of investor fra
Actor Fahadh Faasil and director Jeethu Joseph are set to team up for the first time. The announcement was made on Thursday by E4 Entertainment, who will be producing the film. The banner has earlier backed films like Fahadhs North 24 Kaatham, Guppy, Godha, and Ezra. The upcoming film is scripted by Santhi Mayadevi, who also co-wrote and starred in Jeethus Neru. Further details about the plot and other team members are awaited. Jeethus upcoming projects include Nunakuzhi with Basil Joseph and th
As time and seasons change, each character in Netflixs regency drama Bridgerton gets to become the main character in narrating their stories. In the upcoming third season, the oddballs i.e., the wallflowers of the Bridgerton and Featherington families are set to take centre stage as Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgertons (Luke Newton) friendship is brewing into romance in the series adaptation of Julia Quinns book. A few videos that were unveiled before the trailers relea
As a part of the Day 3 proceedings at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, a film on Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman will be made by SF Studios. The film production company had backed most of Bergman's directorials. Actor Robert Gustafsson of the Disappeared and The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window fame, will be portraying the auteur. The untitled film is a political thriller which is set in 1976 during the Swedish election when Bergman was arrested due to alleged tax evasio
CANNES: Entrepreneur and 'Shark Tank India' judge Namita Thapar made her debut at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. On day 2 of Cannes 2024, she attended the premiere of Chris Hemsworth-starrer Furiosa A Mad Max Saga. Taking to Instagram, Namita shared pictures from the French Riviera. She looked stunning in a ruffled, off-the-shoulder gown by Lebanese fashion designer Elio Abou Fayssal. Cannes 2024 :), she captioned the post, leaving her fans elated. So proud of you, a social media user comment
Cannes opening films have rarely ever been scintillating. Quentin Dupieuxs The Second Act also follows that long-standing tradition even while scoring one of the most enjoyable starts for the festival in recent times. It is eminently likeable in its own sloppy, quirky way, and concurrently disconcerting with its contentious take on issues like the MeToo movement plaguing the film industry. Reportedly, the working title of the multi-starrer had been To our beautiful profession, aptly tongue in ch
Despite a robust independent film scene, spearheaded by a bunch of talented young filmmakers, it has taken 30 years (since Shaji N Karuns 'Swaham' in 1994) for an Indian film to find a place in the competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. This has been so when our films have played and competed consistently at other festivals the world over. What took so long for Cannes to come around? What is it about Payal Kapadias debut feature 'All We Imagine As Light' that has helped break the dry s
Actor Vipin Sharma, who catapulted into the limelight with the role of the young protagonist Ishaans dismissive father in 2007s 'Taare Zameen Par', plays a gentler, more affirming character in Dev Patels action extravaganza 'Monkey Man'. Donning a petticoat, with flowing hair and long, painted nails, he gets into the skin of Devs mentor in the film, a transgender, boldly named Alpha. Its a brief but integral character, somebody who helps the protagonist, Kid, find his feet after he is down and o
Actors Suhasini Maniratnam and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar will next be seen in a legal drama set in the US, titled as 'The Verdict'. The cast of the film also includes SruthiHariharan, Vidyulekha Raman, and Prakash Mohandas in prominent roles. The film is directed by debutant Krishna Sankar, who has apparently completed the filming in just 23 days. Pointing to how extensive pre-production could help in a smooth shooting, Sankar says he took nine months for prep work before going on floors. The pre-pr
Raj B Shetty, known for his distinctive style, is an actor-director who has charted his own path in Kannada cinema. From his unconventional approach in films like Ondu Motteya Kathe, Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, and Toby , to his latest, Swathi Muttinha Male Haniye , he continues to carve out his niche. Now, Raj is ready to bring his unique flair to the Malayalam industry. With Turbo marking his Malayalam debut, he will be seen alongside Malayalam superstar Mammootty in the film. Apart from t
Rakshit Theerthahallis 'Entha Kathe Maaraya', which delves into current environmental phenomena, has received a direct OTT release and is now available on platforms like Airtel Xtreme, Hungama Play, etc. The film, screened at the Chennai International Film Festival, highlights the ongoing water crisis and global warming issues in Bangalore. Rakshit Theerthahalli has based his film on the story of Kadina Nentaru Forests which serve as the primary source of water. A significant aspect of Entha Kat
Rap Rap singer and music composer Chandan Shettys debut as an actor with 'Vidyarthi Vidyathiniyare' is gearing up for release, and an official announcement is set to be made soon. Meanwhile, the makers recently released the trailer, which is present in a vibrant setting in the backdrop of a college campus. Directed by Arun Amukta, the film is expected to be a teenage student drama. Interestingly, the films trailer will be released in two parts, as Side A and B, with the latter being released clo