The experience of watching a family drama gets personal when it rubs off on real relationships back home. Recently, after the film Love Today, some couples experimented with exchanging mobile phones like in the movie. Similarly, one expected the latest release, Gatta Kusthi, featuring Vishnu...
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s film Kalaga Thalaivan (Rebellious Leader) directed by Magizh Thirumeni revolves around a chemical factory and whistleblowers, and one cannot help but see similarities with the Thoothukudi Sterlite issue. The screenplay is based on true stories, such as Wikileaks...
New Tamil films, particularly small ones sans star value, face a catch-22. If they have to attract large crowds of viewers so they become hits, they must continue to be on show in theatres. But if they have to be continuously on show, they must attract viewers in large numbers. When films fail...
Love Today tells the story of the generation gap and the clash in values with humour. Love being an eternally touchy subject in our society, older folks are skeptical of its truth and value, for good reason. But, instead of taking sides, the film plays both ways, trying to get both the old and...
Actor Sivakarthikeyan’s films set off pre-release expectations just as those of the top heroes Ajith and Vijay. In the post-pandemic period, his films Doctor and Don turned blockbusters, raising his stock among fans. Now comes Prince, the first pre-Deepavali release. Anudeep K.V. who has...
Kannada film Kantara, released simultaneously with Ponniyin Selvan-1, in Karnataka on Sept. 30, has sparked off an unexpected storm. Rave reviews and fabulous box-office collections have brought the film into limelight that seems to give it an edge over the glamourous Ponniyin Selvan-1 in the...
Cinema is primarily a business and only then an artform. This is the reality borne out by the roaring success of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan-1 (PS-1). News reports are pouring in about the film’s fabulous box-office collections not just on its home turf of Tamil Nadu but in other states and...
Ponniyin Selvan sticks to the script. It's less a Mani Ratnam movie and more a faithful adaptation of Kalki's novel. Raja Raja Chozhan was a glorious emperor, about whom Kalki wrote a well-researched story Ponniyin Selvan in the early 1950s – serialized in the Kalki magazine for nearly...
Among the many unwritten rules that are a product of the unique reality of Tamil filmgoers is the timing of film releases. Big budgets jostle and edge out smaller banners to arrange multi-theater release during festivals. The festive mood brings along with it an urge to entertain oneself and...
Actor Dhanush in his film Padikaathavan says: “Guys like me are not liked on sight; will be liked as they are seen more and more.” I have often thought if these lines were written keeping in mind music composer A R Rahman. The reason is that there is a critical opinion right from his early days...
