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.
'We have loved Braveheart, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Apocalypto.' 'The thought was 'When are we going to do such films?''
As Thalapathy Vijay embarks on a career in politics, Arjun Menon looks closer at his glorious filmography.
One of Tamil cinema's top film-makers, S Shankar hosted a grand wedding for his daughter Aishwarya in Chennai.
'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 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.'
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.
Sasikumar is not only proving his mettle as a director. His acting skills are bindaas too as Nadodigal opens to packed theatres.
'I'm in awe of how secure he is, as an actor, performer and director.'
'There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over.'
Arjun Menon looks at some Tamil films from the last decade that tick all the right boxes, and lists where you can watch them.
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.
Three films are set to release in Tamil this Diwali.
Dhanush deserves credit for imagining a visually rich, edgy action thriller which is enhanced by a fascinating background score from A R Rahman, observes Divya Nair.
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.
Rajinikanth arrived in Ranchi after offering prayers at the Rajrappa temple in Ramgarh on August 17.
'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.'
'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.'
Maharaja is an audacious attempt that breaks down the tropes of a crime film with a brilliant Vijay Sethupathi in the lead, notes Arjun Menon.
'You have to be good in your project that's releasing today for you to be working on something tomorrow. That will always be the case.'
This summer will see Tamannaah's summer release Sura with Vijay in the lead.
Director C S Amudhan tells us how he pulled it off.
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.
Mani Ratnam's highly anticipated film Kadal was a big disappointment in 2013.
Looking at the latest posters of Tamil film, Arasan the Don, you may wonder what US President Barack Obama and Rajnikanth have in common.
The latest updates from Tamil film industry.
The latest updates from the Malayalam film industry.
Poes Garden is one of the most exclusive addresses in Chennai.
In the mood for romance but don't know which movies to watch? Tamil cinema has a lot to offer on OTT, and Arjun Menon lists his favourites.
For those who want a chance to take a closer look at some of India's Cinema Greats, the AVM Heritage Museum in Vadapalani, Chennai, is a good place to start.
'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!'
Arun Vaidyanathan is all set to produce Kalyana Samayal Sadham: The Big Fat Indian Wedding.
RJ turned model, Shiv Pandit, is one of the most popular examples of celebrities and actors on ground hosting the IPL TV show and enjoying it.
'In India, I'm able to work with the biggest stars on creating a scene, creating that emotion, without being too hung up on their persona.'
'When I did Bhoot we got a lot of appreciation. After that I didn't get any script that was good in this genre.'
Comedies are a difficult genre to pull off in today's day and age, thanks to the audiences' increasing exposure to diverse content and dwindling attention spans. Still, there are quite a few Tamil movies that can bring on the laughs. Arjun Menon lists the recent releases you can watch at home.
Kamal Haasan's controversial film Vishwaroopam is one of the biggest blockbusters in 2013.
Manjummel Boys is a largely conventional, commercial movie. But given the rather curvy observations that do stay intact in the film, Rohit Sathish is tempted to think what an even braver, more ambitious film would have done.
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