Amid criticism and protests against the government over allegations that Cauvery water was being released from Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam to Tamil Nadu, he clarified that the discharge was meant for Bengaluru, and not for the neighbouring state.
Here's some sizzle from the IIFA Utsavam night, which was dedicated to the south film industries of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
Poes Garden is one of the most exclusive addresses in Chennai.
'Here is a man who's always pushing the envelope regardless of the repercussions.' 'That's the frenzy of a genius at work.'
'A man whom I love soooo much and look up to every other day! I feel soooo happy to see The Happiness in my face Every-time I see him...So happy to see him make films in Tamil Industry!'
'There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over.'
'What is fascinating about Aamir sir is that the audience in him is still alive and throbbing.' 'He still cries. He still laughs.'
Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress in Madurai. Baby, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998, has been a member of the Politburo since 2012. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury, who passed away last year.
'Kamal has surfed and navigated a lot of tidal waves, manoeuvring the peaks and troughs, combining rare intelligence and commonly available intuitions to overcome unimaginable crises all his life.' 'There is no looking back at the past, for his only motto has been 'Tomorrow belongs to us'!'
Rajinikanth gave a realistic portrayal in his 2016 release Kabali.
'I should make a Rs 1,000 crore film with you.'
Writers and creators are telling more authentic stories based in states and cities that we may not have seen much of in mainstream media, such as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Or ones that we have some mistaken notions about like Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, highlights Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'I am not saying all films should have a message. But I think it is important for cinema to send out the right signals to the audience.'
Sukanya Verma lists everything that's there on OTT this week.
Ajay Devgn, not Karthi, will be playing the lead in the Hindi remake of Kaithi entitled Bholaa.
The fervour for the India-Pakistan match is so intense that for many beating Pakistan in Dubai seems even more important than winning the Champions Trophy itself, observes K R Nayar, the veteran cricket writer.
'I've been a villain, I've been a champ, I've been a superhero, I've been a zero, I've been a rejected fan, and I've been a very, very resilient lover.'
IIFA Awards, the three-day award gala, returns to Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, for the third consecutive year and will be held from September 27 to 29.
In true Rajini style, Vijay doesn't believe in giving interviews and has a strong fan base among Tamil film lovers.
Kamal said many of his fellow candidates were of the opinion that he would disappear from politics and re-enter cinema.
Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale ends up being a flashy, aspirational celebrity lifestyle doc that is aimed for an evening of popcorn-fueled fan tribute entertainment, observes Arjun Menon.
'If you ask me where I want my career to go, I have been saying this for a long time: I want to do a K-drama. I want to be in Korea doing a love story, full of romance.'
Divya Nair recommends that non-Vijay fans save their money and wait for GOAT to drop on Netflix instead. At least you can fast forward and get to the climax faster.
Troubled twins, dangerous cults, portent dreams, telepathic kids, World War III, yakuza clans... Sukanya Verma lists the many options on OTT this week.
'The weekend advance booking are extremely encouraging for these movies, and the extended break due to Mahashivratri, will provide a significant impetus.'
'Nayanthara is a very beautiful person, both inside and outside. She deserves all the happiness.'
Film stars are beloved in our cinema-obsessed country. Stars are not only watched and worshipped on screen but also talked about with much fondness.
The latest updates from the Tamil film industry.
From Star Wars to Santa to Alia Bhatt, OTT has a variety of entertainment to offer for all ages this week. Sukanya Verma lists her recommendations.
'It was my job to read out their lines to the actors and make sure they spoke them with the right diction, accent and pronunciation. If you look at my photographs from the Sadma set, you will always find me with a file in hand, even when I am in my costume. While Kamal and Sridevi were diligent about their Hindi dialogue, Silk Smitha, while always respectful, was not too interested in her lines or my instructions.'
A look at Tamil films which earned critical acclaim and also commercial success!
'The war ended in 2009 and I believe the new generation of Tamils don't know what was going on there.' 'I felt it was my duty to tell our story.' 'Since 2009, it seems like we are sleeping.'
Vijay has a lot of young and middle-aged women fans, but as voters, they are possibly now with the DMK, or remain with the AIADMK. Recapturing this constituency would have helped Vijay's political launch and the GOAT script and dialogues could have gone a long way in helping out. But the kind of script and screenplay and the unusually and equally unnecessary long run-time (3 hours, 3 minutes) that GOAT offers takes the film experience over the heads of those that are not familiar with secret agents and uranium theft in Tamil cinema, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'We have to keep knocking on it before we get a response.'
Varun flying around in over-the-top stunts, showing off his dance moves, taking his shirt off and throwing dialogues in masala hero style. A padded-up star vehicle churned out for the nth time, sighs Mayur Sanap.
This will be Virat Kohli's first Ranji Trophy match in 12 years.
Emotions run high more than usual on OTT this week.
Kerala advanced to their maiden Ranji Trophy final after clinching a dramatic two-run first-innings lead over Gujarat in the semi-finals on Friday.
Take a bow Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swamy, child actors Ramesh and Vignesh and Jayam Ravi.
