As Tamil Nadu gears up for elections, a clash of films with distinct political ideologies is set to unfold at the box office, mirroring the rivalry between political parties.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Tamil Nadu government has informed the Supreme Court that the Karur stampede, which resulted in 41 deaths, was caused by the "reckless and uncoordinated actions" of the TVK party's organizers and workers. The government's affidavit alleges an intentional delay by party leader Vijay, contributing to the tragedy.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
When it eventually releases, Jana Nayagan is expected to have an opening day collection close to -- or even above -- Rs 100 crore, largely because it is being promoted as Vijay's final movie before he focuses entirely on politics.
Chennai Police received a phone call claiming that a bomb had been planted at the ECR, Neelankarai residence of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief and actor C Joseph Vijay, officials said.
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma announced plans for a new anti-conversion law following the arrest of two nuns from Kerala on charges related to religious conversion and human trafficking. The announcement comes amid political tensions and accusations of wrongful arrest.
Long lost brothers, downtrodden masses, a long forgotten prophecy, and a psychotic drug cartel out for blood, Kingdom plays out with the familiar ethos of umpteen films we have seen. But the execution is slick, notes Arjun Menon.
If the BJP has to work as a junior partner of Vijay's TVK, then either the party will have to change the state leader, or the latter should change himself. Incidentally, ever since Vijay started talking politics and elections, the pro-BJP/Hindutva social media had stopped dragging his name into any non-existing issue.' In particular, they have stopped referring to him by his Christian name, 'Joseph Vijay', observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Chennai Super Kings flies to the UAE for IPL 2021.
'There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over.'
And possibly in all of Asia, going by his reported fee of Rs 275 crore for Thalapathy 69, his coming movie.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
A new entrant, whether a popular actor or not, has not been able to sweep the polls, as their fans had hoped for. Given a proven pattern, it should hold true for Vijay as well. Or, something drastically has to happen between now and 2026, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Alzarri Joseph's twin strike strike proved to be decisive as defending champions Gujarat Titans overpowered Chennai Super Kings by five wickets.
Narivetta takes its cue from real-life incidents and fictionalises the ordeal through the experiences of a young cop caught in the crossfire between the police and tribals up in arms, notes Arjun Menon.
Both DC and LSG have 10 points and a win will keep them safely perched in the higher echelons of the points table ahead of the jostlers.
At the Leo fete, Vijay had this also to tell his fans: 'I know you all are in my heart. But today, I also know that I am also in the hearts of all of you...' A typical politician's line, did you say, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Chennai Super Kings have never experienced a worse phase in the Indian Premier League and their faltering batters will have to deliver to arrest their steep slide in a must-win game against an upbeat Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on Monday.
Will Vijay will go the most successful MGR/Jayalalithaa way, or that of Vijayakanth, Seeman or Kamalahaasan, or will he end up as another Rajinikanth who cries wolf at the last minute and quits the scene even before it all had really begun, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
As temperatures shoot up this month signalling an early onset of summer, sales of air conditioners (AC) are set to increase, with companies expected to hike the prices of ACs by 4-5 per cent due to component shortages. Leading players like Haier and Bluestar and suppliers like EPack Durables have raised their production capacities to meet the 25-30 per cent rise in demand expected in the coming months.
With their respective leaders switching camps and squads undergoing major overhauls, both Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, under new captains, will be eager to make a strong start to their IPL campaign when they face off in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
Nah, we're not taking about Amitabh Bachchan's favourite onscreen characters.
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
Mersal is the first Vijay film to make Rs 200 crores. Some say credit for the star's most successful film goes to the BJP and its opponents.
Politicians from the Left and the Congress party in Kerala have rallied behind Malayalam superstar Mammootty, who is facing online harassment from certain right wing sympathisers in connection with his 2022 film, Puzhu.
The complete list of players sold in the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah.
'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'!'
It was the third win for Mumbai Indians in five games while Hyderabad suffered their second loss in five matches.
The duo of Vyas and Desai took the opposing bowlers to the cleaners throughout the innings while stitching a massive first-wicket partnership of 282 runs.
History has not seen a cricketing rivalry as fierce as this this century, every ball bowled every run taken, coming with no quarter given. Ahead of India's five Test tour of Australia, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com takes a walk down memory lane, recounting India's sojourns Down Under from 1947 to 2021, in a 4-part series.
Theri rests entirely on Vijay's shoulders, feels S Saraswathi.
Gujarat Giants will be wary of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's newfound firepower in the middle-order when the teams clash in the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The dominance of Saurashtra's bowlers could be gauged from the fact that Himachal lost their first seven wickets for just 22 runs.
New pace sensation Mayank Yadav will be closely followed by all and sundry after his match-winning performances as Lucknow Super Giants eye a hat-trick of wins when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League match in Lucknow on Sunday.
Supposed to be one of the top-paid stars in Tamil cinema, actor Vijay is known for his big-ticket hits and commands good box-office opening.
From a maths perspective, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans can still reach the IPL playoffs, but they need to ward off inner gremlins on Saturday to notch a mandatory win to keep that dream flickering.
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