James Cameron to annouce SS Rajamouli film / Vijay Sethupathi joins SSR/ Dude Pradeep Diwali Bomb

 Vijay Sethupathi has been added to SS Rajamouli- Mahesh Babu cast and shooting will start from January next year. VS currently busy with Puri Jagganath film will move to a film with Pandiraj that is produced by Lyca Produuctions. At present he has no other commitments or offers from any other makers. Thalaivan Thalaivii will premiere on Amazon Prime Video, starting August 22. Besides its original Tamil language, the film will also stream in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada as well. At the box office, the film collected over Rs. 75 crores in Tamil Nadu, while its Telugu version (Sir Madam) registered only an average run. With its digital debut, the response from streaming audiences will be closely watched.Joining the leads are Yogi Babu, Roshini Haripriyan, Deepa Shankar, and RK Suresh. Sathya Jyothi Films backed the project, while Santhosh Narayanan scored the music.

After the mighty blockbuster RRR, Indian cinema’s biggest director, SS Rajamouli, has teamed up with superstar Mahesh Babu for a globe-trotting action-adventure tentatively titled SSMB 29. Priyanka Chopra plays the female lead. On Mahesh Babu’s birthday, Rajamouli announced that a big reveal is scheduled for November 2025.

Media reports now suggest there is a solid reason behind the delay. Around November, esteemed Hollywood director James Cameron will be in India to promote his next big outing, Avatar 3. Rajamouli, along with his team, is reportedly trying to get Cameron to do the honors for the glimpse release.

At an awards event in Los Angeles, James Cameron spoke highly of Rajamouli, particularly praising RRR. Cameron also told Rajamouli that he would extend his support if needed. Hence, the latest speculation is gaining traction. If Cameron launches the first look or glimpse, it will mark a new chapter in Indian cinema and enhance our visibility among Western audiences.

 

The other day, it was officially announced that filmmaker Vignesh Shivan’s movie, Love Insurance Kompany (LIK), starring Pradeep Ranganathan and Kriti Shetty, is set to release on October 17, 2025, as a Diwali special.

This led many to doubt the release of the actor’s other movie, Dude, produced by Mythri Movie Makers and directed by Keerthiswaran. It was also announced for a Diwali release, but many thought it might be postponed.

However, today, the ‘Dude’ makers cleared the air by releasing a poster that confirmed the movie is still on track for its Diwali release. An update is scheduled for 06:03 PM today, which many believe will be about the release date.

So, both LIK and Dude are coming to entertain audiences this Diwali, giving double the entertainment.

 

Rajini interference and Lokesh over condidence hit Coolie and Sun

 Is Rajinikanth reason for loose narrative and unnecessary cameos in Coolie ?  Lokesh Kanagaraj insistence that A censor tag will not harm the collections put Sun Pictures in position where it is facing revenue loss as family crowds are not coming in second week . Kannada , Telugu viewers are angry that Upendra and Nagarjuna are omitted in posters after first release. All this has resulted in Coolie beating Vikram as top grosser but will occupy a place below Leo in Kollywood openers list. So far Sun Pictures has made only 70- 80 %  recovery of the Rs 350 crore budget and seeing the drop, second week is crucial as it has to add 20% more to at least reach a break even. The mixed opinion are a result of Rajinikanth’s interference and Lokesh over confidence.

The talk from Coolie crew is that Upendra – Shoubin characters along with Aamir were all Rajinikanth idea to provide back up to film box office. Shoubin role was extended to a point that it diluted Nagarjuna’s role and Upendra and  Aamir were sheer waste and added nothing to the narration. Rajinikanth probably after Jailer thought that Mohanlal- Sivarajkumar- Jackie cameos had helped the film at box office. Placement of these cameos and that it was Director Nelson’s idea had worked while in Coolie it was not Lokesh idea. Another reason said is that the surgery that took place while Coolie was shooting had led to Lokesh to place less burden on Rajinikanth and only way to bring in cameo actors.

Irony is that when Lokesh directed Vikram, many thought that it would a  Kamal Haasan proxy directed film . It was not so and Lokesh had his way through. It made Vikram the 6^th top Kollywood opener.

Sun Pictures and the team received slight backlash for the way they promoted the movie. Many noticed and pointed out that the makers had used posters featuring all the stars before release. However, the post-release posters shared online featured only Rajinikanth, excluding others.

It seems like the makers took the criticism seriously, and today, they released a poster featuring Kannada star Upendra alongside Rajinikanth. Fans are happy and are asking the team to continue doing so.

Lokesh in interview said that he was not going to compromise on violence and so he refused cuts and accepted A as he overlooked the opinion that it could affect audience coming with kids as Lokesh felt that youth who are mainstay of viewing crowd would compensate for the family crowd. Now the violence in film has not satisfied the youth and bad mouth publicity had affected it badly. To break even it needs the family crowd in second week and so the rush to High court for U/A. Sun wants A certificate to toned down to U/A without any cuts. The case will come only next week and after weekend. By then the buzz would have faded out and everybody would have moved to Sivakarthikeyan and Madharasi.

Lokesh next Arun Direction and Kaithi 2 - Rajini- Kamal Distant One

 

We hear that that Lokesh will wrap Arun's film with Vasanth Ravi before starting production on his next directorial venture, Kaithi 2, starring Karthi. Kaithi 2, Only after that  is Lokesh next project with  Rajini- Kamal project, if everything falls in place . . Kaithi is delayed and not for the Rajini- Kamal project but Lokesh after negative feedback post Coolie is out, he feels that the expectations from him are higher and viewers are expecting a bigger one from the Kaithi sequel . Post Coolie, Lokesh has to deliver with Kaithi sequel.

LK07: Kaithi 2

The fifth installment of the LCU, after BENZ. The film is co-produced by KVN Productions and and Dream Warrior Pictures.

The film revolves around the ego clash between Dilli (Karthi) and Rolex (Suriya), which is narrated in a non-linear screenplay. Kamal Haasan also plays a role in the film, with Vijay playing a cameo. This film is the one that begins the present plot of the universe.

Shoot begins from December  2025, and will be shot on a 200–250 crore budget. Will continue until the end of the year. They will be taking loads of time with post-production and fine tuning, so the film will only be releasing late 2027.

As elections are fast approaching, Red Giant would not commit any huge investment till May next year. RKFI of Kamal is all set to go ahead with Anbu Arivu directorial. Despite bad word of mouth, Coolie collecting so much shows his good will, Rajini post Coolie has shown as a weak draw in Tamil Nadu. Indian 2 figures does not help Kamal either. Coolie has shown that Rajini’s draw in Tamil Nadu is not big as Vijay.

Primarily, Rajini- Kamal film has to collect from Tamil Nadu and after paying both heroes the market price and production costs, recovery at box office is near impossible task. Only if both heroes join as partners, can the Rajini- Kamal film take off. The project can take off when Jailer 2 and Anbu Arivu projects are blockbusters and Kaithi 2 brings back Lokesh.

 

VELS Film International, one of the leading production houses in the Tamil film industry, has produced many successful films and is currently producing the big budget films “D54” starring actor Dhanush, “D54” directed by war veteran Vignesh Raja and “Mookuthi Amman 2” directed by director Sundar C and starring Nayanthara . Following this, this new film starring Ashok Selvan is being jointly produced by producer Yuvaraj Ganesan of Million Dollar Studios & producer Isari K Ganesh of VELS Film International.

Actor Ashok Selvan, who has been playing different roles in every film, will be playing a different role in this film as well. Actress Nimisha Sajayan will be playing his opposite number.

The highly anticipated film “Happy Endings, Once More” produced by Million Dollar Studios has reached its final stages. The shooting of this new film is scheduled to begin today in Chennai and be completed in a single phase.

A commercial film that will appeal to all audiences, the film is directed by debutant director Manikandan Anandan . Music composer Thibu Ninan Thomas is composing the music. Pushpa Raj Santhosh is handling the cinematography. Bharath Vikraman is handling the editing.

Mithun with Rajini in Jailer 2 / NTR changed WAR 2 END/ Mammootty IS BACK

 The post from Mohanlal comes in the wake of celebratory updates from the film fraternity, confirming that Mammootty has made a full recovery, ending months of speculation about his well-being. Fans immediately embraced Mohanlal’s gesture, flooding the comments with messages of love and relief. Many called it a perfect symbol of the brotherhood between Malayalam cinema’s two towering figures. Mohanlal and Mammootty have been friends and contemporaries for over four decades, and their bond continues to be cherished just as much as their films.

Malayalam cinema fans were overjoyed on Tuesday as social media filled with celebratory posts confirming that veteran actor Mammootty has regained full health. Close friend and producer Anto Joseph was among the first to express his gratitude, writing, “The prayers of countless people across the world have been answered. Thank you, God, thank you, thank you.” While he did not directly mention Mammootty, the post has widely been understood as referring to the actor, given the context and Anto’s close association with him.

Soon after, industry insider Anura Mathai shared his excitement, writing, “The wait will be over soon! With the blessings of the Almighty, our Mammukka is back. We all waited with love, prayers, and hope — and today our hearts are full. Love you ikka.” Actor Maala Parvathi also joined in with a heartfelt note: “There is no better news than this. Mammukka has regained full health. Grateful to the doctors who treated him, to everyone who cared for him, and to the hospital. Love. Yessss… The King is back!”

Finally, George Sebastian, long-time associate of Mammootty, shared an especially emotional message: “With eyes brimming with joy, I stand before you with folded hands. To all who prayed, who stood by me, who comforted me when it seemed nothing would happen -- to all my dear ones, I offer my heartfelt thanks!” The heartfelt tone made the post feel almost like Mammootty’s own words, further moving fans. Adding to the chorus of relief, veteran filmmaker Siby Malayil, Puzhu director Ratheena PT, producer C V Sarathi and others also shared affectionate messages on social media.

According to an India Today report, Mithun has been roped in for a full-fledged role, integral to the storyline of Jailer 2. He is said to join Rajinikanth for shoot this week itself.

For the unversed, Rajinikanth has made special appearances in two Mithun movies in the past - Bhrastachar in 1989 and Bhagya Devta in 1997. The sequel, Jailer 2, is currently being shot in Chennai and other parts of India. It is being positioned as a bigger and bolder follow-up to the first installment that won hearts across the globe. Mithun, on the other hand, is awaiting the release of The Bengal Files.

Putting an end to recent speculation, young director Venky Atluri has denied reports that Bollywood star Anil Kapoor is playing a key role in his upcoming big-ticket Telugu film starring Tamil superstar Suriya. “We haven’t even approached Anil Kapoor. I haven’t met him or even spoken to him over the phone. We don't know how these rumours cropped up, hence these reports are false and baseless,” clarified Venky Atluri.

NTR Jr made Aditya Chopra change the climax to please his fans says journalist Subhash k Jha. Despite this War 2 is Telugu is trailing behinf Coolie Telugu in Two Telugu States. According to a report by journalist Subhash K Jha in Deccan Chronicle, NTR character was to die in the climax but he had it changed to please his fans.

Anil Kapoor with Suriya in Venky Film and more / RAKKIS OMR EPIQ SCREEN

 Three  news about Suriya. One is that he is doing a straight Malayalam film with Jithu Madhavan’s directorial and is produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu. Next is that Suriya’s Karuppu is being pushed from Diwali to Pongal and will take on Thalapathy Vijay Jana Nayagan and SK’s Parasakthi. 123Telugu has learned that noted director Venky Atluri recently met Anil Kapoor for a special role in his upcoming film featuring Suriya as the main lead.

The gossip in film circles is that Venky Atluri narrated the story of his new film to Anil Kapoor and requested him to play a crucial role. Reports suggest that Anil Kapoor liked his character and has given his nod. Though an official confirmation is yet to be made, this news is slowly going viral among film circles. Anl had acted in Mani Ratnam’s Pallavi Anu Pallavi and a Mohanlal- Priyadarshan film in a cameo.

Not many know that Anil Kapoor made his Telugu film debut with Bapu’s Vamsa Vruksham way back in 1980. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he takes up in this Venky Atluri film. Anil Kapoor has appeared in several movies that are remakes of South Indian films. Some of his notable remakes include Nayak (remake of Tamil film Mudhalvan), Mr. Bechara (remake of Tamil film Veetla Visheshanga), and Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (remake of Telugu film Pavitra Bandham). He also starred in Gharwali Baharwali, which is a remake of the Tamil film Thaikulame Thaikulame. 

 The blockbuster team of Director Chidambaram and write Jithu Madhvan after Manjumel Boys has launched next title Balan produced by Kannada banner KVN Productions. Director Jithu Madhavan, best known for helming films like Romancham and Aavesham.

It seems that Suriya who was to do Vaadivasal is to do the Jithu film for Thanu.

Rakki Cinemas is all set to open their 4th Venue this October 2025 at OMR with 6 world-class screens, including Chennai’s FIRST EPIQ Screen.

This news brought a superb response by the Tamil Movie lovers, as they always seek to experience movies on big screen. 

Qube Cinema introduced the Premium Large Format idea known as Epiq. Epiq employs immersive audio and Barco high contrast RGB laser projection on a 1.89 aspect ratio screen. The 4K-resolution content for Epiq will be expertly graded for high contrast projection.  

Recently, Hyderabad also got its first EPIQ Screen as Raviteja and Asian Group’s ART Cinemas introduced it. Now it is the turn of Chennai audiences to enjoy the movie watching experience in EPIQ Screen.

Will KPY Bala beat Sivakarthikeyan on September 5 ? Nayanthara Film with no Superstar Tag

 

Madharaasi is slated to hit the big screens on September 5 and same day KPY Bala's Gandhi Kannadi the debut film is re;easing. Bala is the comedian from Star Vijay TV channel.  Madharasi hero Sivakarthikeyan a top hero too like Bala had come from Star Vijay is today in the Rs 400 crore club. Given Bala’s popularity in the public and his charity acts have got him immense support. Given Director Murugadoss last outing Sikandar with Salman Khan being a disaster, will he regain his name with Madharasi ? Will Bala debut film be the case of David and Goliath ? Lets weigh the two films :

 After achieving his career biggest hit with Amaran, Sivakarthikeyan is gearing up to entertain audiences with the high-octane action thriller Madharaasi. Directed by AR Murugadoss, the film stars Sandalwood beauty Rukmini Vasanth as the female lead in her Kollywood debut.In a recent interview, the director was asked what kind of film Madharaasi is. Murugadoss stated, “It’s an action film with a love story at its core. The love track drives the action. Just like how Ghajini was a revenge story driven by love, Madharaasi will follow a similar style.”

Bollywood actor Vidyut Jamwal plays the antagonist, and Madharaasi marks his second collaboration with Murugadoss after Thuppakki. Anirudh is providing the tunes. N. Srilakshmi Prasad is bankrolling Madharaasi under the banner of Sri Lakshmi Movies.

Director Sherief of Ranam- Aram Thavarel fame's upcoming film Gandhi Kannadi, starring actor Bala, known for his stint in the hit comedy TV show Kalakka Povathu Yaaru marks his  debut in films, The plot is based on a real life incident is all we know. Apart from Bala, Gandhi Kannadi also stars Balaji Sakthivel, Archana and Namita Krishnamurthy, who is also a newcomer with projects such as November Story and Kannivedi and Fall to her credit, in pivotal roles.

Nayantara has walked the talk by shunning the Lady Superstar tag in the just-released teaser for her upcoming Malayalam comedy drama, Dear Students. Nayan’s gesture is winning hearts once again.

The Dear Students teaser, also featuring Mollywood star Nivin Pauly, promises to be a lighthearted comedy entertainer loaded with action. While Nayan is seen in the role of a cop, Nivin plays a restaurateur in the George Philip Roy and Sandeep Kumar directorial. The film, produced jointly by Vineet Jain and Nivin Pauly, is scheduled for release soon.

Coolie Falls Below Leo / Nagarjuna faces backlash

 Rajinikanth and NTR Jr missed creating box office history and Thalapathy Vijay is still the King of Kollywood Box Office. Cooolie Directed by Lokesh surpassed two out of three films from his own LCU (Lokesh Cinematic Universe). His film Kaithi collected Rs 6.4 cr on its opening day, while the Kamal Haasan-starrer Vikram minted Rs 37.5 crore on its first day. The only film that Coolie couldn’t surpass was Leo, starring Vijay, Trisha Krishnan, Sanjay Dutt, and Arjun Sarja. The 2023 film made an impressive Rs 76.2 crore on its first day and went on to make Rs 341 crore. Even though Coolie couldn’t beat Leo’s opening, it did leave behind several of Rajinikanth’s previous films. Coolie beat TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan (Rs 31.5 cr), Nelson Dilipkumar’s Jailer (Rs 48.35 cr), Karthik Subbaraj’s Petta (Rs 14 cr), and S Shankar’s 2.0 (Rs 23 cr)

In Telugu states the film has collected more than 20 Cr gross and become the 1st ever film to do this from Kollywood. Pan-Indian star Prabhas has a rare record of a hat trick of 100 Cr opening grossers with Adipurush,  Salaar, and Kalki 2898 AD. Not even SRK could achieve it.  NTR’s last 2 films, RRR and Devara, opened with more than 100 Cr, and everyone expected that the War sequel will easily score an opening of 100 Cr and NTR will join this club.

But War 2 fails to open with 100 Cr+, and with that, NTR fails to match Prabhas’s record.

 

Nagarjuna villain act in Coolie has not gone down well with his core audience, They feel that he should stop accepting character roles and instead wait for right scripts and stage a comenack and point out Venkatesh as an example. Nag played a crucial character in Kuberaa, and it resulted in a mixed response from fans, as they liked his role in the 1st half, as there was a good balance, but in the 2nd half, the character was sidelined, and the film completely moved on to Dhanush’s side. After watching  Coolie , even the neutral audiences are disappointed, and fans are furious with Nagarjuna, as they are angry that he could do such a regular villain character for his stature.