First Day First Show | Reviews of ‘Dasara’, ‘Viduthalai’, and more

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Around Tinsel Town

The trailer of  Ponniyin Selvan 2, the much-anticipated second instalment of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus, was released by the makers on March 29 during a grand trailer launch event in Chennai.

A still from ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’

During the event, actor Kamal Haasan remarked like how the Chola empire reached its Golden era, Tamil cinema has also now reached its own.

Bollywood

Priyanka Chopra Jonas on moving to the U.S.: Was being pushed into corner in Hindi film industry

Priyanka Chopra.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu’s ‘The Crew’ begins production

Amit Ravindernath Sharma gives a glimpse of the golden era of Indian football in ‘Maidaan’

Vaani Kapoor to make digital debut with YRF Entertainment series ‘Mandala Murders’

New poster of ‘Adipurush’ is out, the film is set to release on June 16

Indore outfit approaches police against actor Tapsee Pannu for ‘hurting’ Hindu sentiments

Hollywood

Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson and aliens unite in Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’

Jennifer Aniston says a whole generation of kids finds ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’ offensive now

Jeremy Renner set to attend ‘Rennervations’ premiere in person, first press event post snowplow accident

Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans reunite for the anime version of ‘Scott Pilgrim’

Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for ski collision, jury decides

Jessica Chastain to star in Apple TV+ series ‘The Savant’

Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of The Flower Moon’ is to release on October 6

First look of ‘Killers of The Flower Moon’
| Photo Credit:
Apple

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ is three-hours-long

Legal notice sent to Netflix for ‘Big Bang Theory’ episode on Madhuri Dixit

‘The White Lotus’ season three to be set in Thailand

Jonathan Majors arrested on assault charge in New York

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on April 28

Robert Downey Jr, Robert Pattinson to lead new film by Adam McKay

Samuel L Jackson and Vincent Cassel to headline action thriller ‘Damaged’

Matthew Macfadyen boards ‘Deadpool 3’

Disney’s ‘Elemental’ is set to release on June 16

Protests erupt in NYC — not for Trump but for ‘Joker’

Liv Tyler will return as Betty Ross in ‘Captain America: New World Order’

‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ to release in India in November

Netflix announces the fifth and final season of ‘You’

Regional Cinema

Innocent, veteran actor and former MP, passes away

Ravi Teja’s ‘Tiger Nageswara Rao’ to release on October 20

Mahesh Babu’s ‘SSMB28’ to release on January 13, 2024; first-look out

Mahesh Babu in the first look poster of ‘SSMB28’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Ram Charan-Shankar’s film titled ‘Game Changer’; first-look out

Hollywood action choreographer Kenny Bates joins ‘NTR 30’

Nivin Pauly announces his next; shares poster

Flautist Sudhakar, who collaborated with Ilaiyaraaja on many memorable songs, no more

Bombay Jayashri’s road to recovery on right track, says family

New in streaming

Coming to Netflix in April: Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s ‘BEEF’, ‘Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now’, ‘War Sailor’, and more

New on Amazon Prime Video: Toni Collette and John Leguizamo-starrer ‘The Power’, ‘Rahul Talks to People’, ‘Love & Death’, and more

Coming to Apple TV Plus: New episodes of comedy-drama ‘Ted Lasso’, Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves’ ‘My Kind of Country’, Vincent Cassel and Eva Green’s thriller series ‘Liaison’, and more

K-Dramas coming to Netflix in 2023: ‘The Glory’ Part 2, ‘A Time Called You’, ‘Doona!’, and more

Essential reading

1) Makers of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ on their Oscar win and the triumph of Indian non-fiction

>> The duo behind ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ talks about their historic win at the Oscars and the roadmap for documentary filmmaking in India

2) “Samantha is the perfect choice to portray Shakuntala’s quiet inner strength”

Director Gunasekhar and producer Neelima Guna on how they tried to make ‘Shaakuntalam’ appeal to a contemporary audience

Samantha Ruth Prabhu in ‘Shaakuntalam’.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

3) How the ‘John Wick’ franchise revitalised an entire genre

>> The Keanu Reeves series has created a watershed moment by opening up a new avenue for action films to gain inspiration from

4) Soori on ‘Viduthalai’ and his takeaway from a 25-year journey

>> Actor Soori talks about Vetri Maaran’s ‘Viduthalai’ in which he is turning lead for the first time, the arduous journey that led to this epic project, and what the future holds

5) Actor Innocent was one of a kind in Malayalam cinema

>> Every role was safe in Innocent’s hands. Even in the company of stalwarts of Malayalam cinema, he commanded attention.

6) Poorna Jagannathan on finding agency in Hollywood

>> Poorna Jagannathan, who will soon be seen in the final season of  Never Have I Ever, talks about celebrating South Asian excellence at the Oscars, and her new projects

7) ‘RRR’ and ‘Baahubali’ writer on what keeps him ticking

>> The eminent filmmaker and scriptwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad speaks about his masterclass ‘RRR: Behind the Screenplay’

8) Sara Ali Khan says she does not associate herself as a royal

>> For the 27-year-old actor, coming up with ‘Murder Mubarak’, ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ and more, it’s all about keeping it organic, from humour and fashion to films

9) Rahul Subramanian talks about his Amazon Prime Video special ‘Rahul Talks To People’

>> The Mumbai-based comedian talks about how the stand-up comedy scene in India has changed among other things

10) With top-grossing movies and experimental roles, Mammootty has still managed to stay relevant 

>> Five decades into his career, the Malayalam superstar continues to be in ‘greedy pursuit of good characters’, say his industry colleagues

11) The magic of Sushma Seth’s boundless spirit

>> As META confers the Lifetime Achievement Award on Sushma Seth, the veteran actor-director reflects on a sterling career

Sushma Seth
| Photo Credit:
Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

12) ‘Purusha Pretham’ is now a benchmark in my career, says Prasanth Alexander

>> The Malayalam actor talks about his role in Krishand’s  Purusha Pretham, the first central character of his two-decade-long career

13) Watching Sivaji Ganesan’s ‘Muthal Mariyathai’ on the big screen after 38 years

>> A digitally-remastered version of filmmaker Bharathiraja’s 1985 classic is now running in the theatres, and fans are out to celebrate

14) MoMA’s exhibit on  Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is a masterclass in stop-motion animation

>> Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio takes its wide-eyed patrons to the sets of the movie.

15) Ilango Krishnan, the lyricist of ‘Ponniyin Selvan,’ on how ‘Aga Naga‘ took shape

>> The lyricist of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ I and II, on what ‘Aga Naga‘ means, and how his literary credentials earned him his first film outing

16) Paavana Gowda talks about her solo role in the Kannada movie ‘IN’

>> Written and directed by Badiger, the film is based on the lockdown period and Paavana is the only actor in the film

17) Whitney Cummings on acting in dramas and her evolution as a comedienne

>> In an exclusive interview, Whitney talks about playing a comedienne in Howard Gordon’s ‘Accused’ and lays bare her prep for the role

18) Dheekshith Shetty on ‘Dasara’ and a career of experimentation

>> Among the few young Kannada heroes to have broken the language barrier in recent times, Dheekshith hopes ‘Dasara’ will introduce him as an actor to all of India

What to watch

1) Nani and Keerthy Suresh’s ‘Dasara’ is a gritty, emotional ride

Read the full review here

2) Soori shines in ‘Viduthalai Part 1’, Vetri Maaran’s most politically-charged film yet

Read the full review here

3) Good old fantasy magic is done to near-perfection in ‘Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’

Read the full review here

4) Ajay Devgn’s ‘Bholaa’ is a messy and massy remake of ‘Kaithi’

Read the full review here

5) Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler have a jolly good time in ‘Murder Mystery 2’

Read the full review here

A still from ‘Murder Mystery 2’
| Photo Credit:
Netflix

6) Sara Ali Khan’s ‘Gaslight’ is an insipid whodunit

Read the full review here

7) Simbu sizzles in ‘Pathu Thala’ but the gangster drama lacks a real punch

Read the full review here

8) The first episode of the fourth season of ‘Succession’ is bigger, bolder and better

Read the full review here

9) ‘The Power’ is an electrifying feminist sci-fi thriller with potential

Read the full review here

10) ‘Higuita’ wallows in stereotypes and half-truths

Read the full review here

11) ‘The Night Agent’ is a genre show that delivers exactly what it promises

Read the full review here

12) ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ is an easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy watch

Read the full review here

13) ‘Boston Strangler’ is a highly stylised but serviceable crime-drama

Read the full review here

14) ‘Caught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricket’, the cinematic retelling of Indian cricket’s match-fixing saga feels incomplete

Read the full review here