Kalyani BEATS Jhanvi at Box Office / Game Changer Editor to Dirrect Prithviraj

 This past Friday saw the release of two big films: Janhvi Kapoor’s Param Sundari and Kalyani Priyadarshan’s Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. Among the two, Lokah has clearly won over audiences more.ctor in a never-before-seen avatar. Ticket sales reflect this trend as well. Over the past 24 hours, Lokah sold more than 2.98K tickets on BookMyShow, while Param Sundari recorded around 1.50K, roughly half the numbers of the Malayalam superhero movie.

While Param Sundari has received mixed reviews, Lokah is being praised across the board.

The superhero film is expected to see even stronger numbers on Sunday, with momentum likely to continue into the coming week. Directed by Dominic Arun, the film is produced by Dulquer Salmaan. Keerthy Suresh father Suresh is the producer and person who sounded clap for Lal’s first film and Lokah’s heroine’s father Priyadatshan has worked as Director for many film produced by Suresh.

Actress Keerthy Suresh took to social media today and showered praised on Mohanlal for his newly released Malayalam film Hridayapoorvam and Kalyani Priyadarsha for her movie Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. As fans would know, Hridayapoorvam brings back the celebrated duo of veteran director Sathyan Anthikad and Malayalam cinema legend Mohanlal, offering a blend of nostalgia and contemporary storytelling. Lokah, on the other hand, breaks new ground as Malayalam cinema’s first female superhero film.

Janhvi Kapoor has been surviving in Hindi cinema with the tag of glamour doll and the daughter of Sridevi. The young beauty has delivered more than a half a dozen films in the past two years. She had big hopes on Param Sundari, her recent release. The film opened to decent reviews but the box-office numbers are not encouraging. The opening and weekend numbers indicate that Param Sundari is one more debacle for the actress in her career.

Though the trailer looked promising, the audience showed no interest to watch the film. Param Sundari is also a boring attempt that has Siddharth Malhotra playing the lead role. Janhvi Kapoor was very confident on the film and she promoted the film on all the platforms but the result was disappointing. The actress is shooting for Ram Charan’s Peddi which is her next biggie from South. She also has Varun Dhawan’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari which is slated for October 2nd release.

 

Editor of Ram Charan- Shankar Game Changer , Shameer Muhammed  is to direct Prithviraj . The Editor turned down the offer to edit Khalifa the Malayalam film starring Prithviraj as he was busy scripting . Editor Shameer Muhammed grabbed eyeballs after his comments about Shankar and Game Changer went viral. Shameer initially was the editor for the political drama, but he exited the project midway. In an interview, Shameer Muhammed remarked that Shankar was highly unprofessional and called working on Game Changer a horrible experience. The Shamer directed Malaylam film is expected to commence in the second half of 2026 and is set to be an action thriller, showcasing the versatile a

Kaithi Malay remake to release / Basil seconf Tamil / Yogi Babu with Mahesh Babu

 The latest exciting news is that Kaithi is being remade in Malaysia as BANDUAN. 

Dato Aaron Aziz takes the lead as Dali in this film, directed by Kroll Azry and produced by NTOM along with Dream Warrior Pictures. The Tamil Cinema fans are astonished with the news of Kaithi’s remake getting released in Malaysia.

Kaithi’s Remake set to be released in Malasia in November

Banduan is set to hit theaters later this year, i.e., November 6, 2025, and it is going to be a wild ride full of action.

The tale of the film centers around Dilli, a former inmate eager to reunite with his daughter for the first time after getting out of jail. But things go sideways for him when he finds himself in the thick of a major drug bust led by Inspector Bejoy. 

When the whole police squad finds themselves in a tough spot, Dilli has to team up with the authorities, leading to an exciting fight for survival, sacrifice, and redemption.

As per the latest updates, Tamil star comedian Yogi Babu has joined AA22xA6’s cast. He has already begun shooting for his portions in Mumbai alongside Allu Arjun and popular actress Mrunal Thakur. It’ll be interesting to see how Atlee is going to showcase Yogi Babu’s comic antics in this sci-fi adventurous thriller.

AA22xA6 also features Rashmika Mandanna in a prominent role. The film is being produced on a massive scale by the Sun Pictures banner. Young Tamil composer Sai Abhyankar is scoring the music for this visual wonder. The ongoing buzz reveals that the makers are planning to release the movie as a Sankranthi 2027 festive treat.

Backed by Sun Pictures, the film is expected to use controlled sets and later integrate high-quality graphics and VFX. The aim is to offer a unique theatrical experience, unlike regular mass entertainers. With Yogi Babu on board, comedy is likely to have an important role in the story. However, with Allu Arjun as the central character, it remains to be seen how much screen time the comedian will receive. After massive hits like Pushpa 2: The Rule for Allu Arjun and Jawan for Atlee in 2023, this collaboration is being viewed as a potential blockbuster. Expectations are already high. Fans are now waiting for the official promos and updates to get a glimpse of what AA22xA6 has to offer at the box office.

Basil Joseph after Parasakthi the Tamil film starring Sivakarthikeyan and directed by Sudha Kongara is now featuring in Sirai. The film, which also marks producer SS Lalit Kumar's son LK Akshay Kumar's debut, has been titled Sirai. Vikram Prabhu joining hands with filmmaker Suresh Rajakumari for his directorial debut stars Anantha as the female lead, opposite Vikram’s character. It also marks the Tamil debut of Malayalam actor Anishma Anilkumar, of I Am Kathalan fame. The upcoming film is based on a story by director Tamizh, who is best known for 2022's Taanakkaran.

In an earlier interview with Cinema Express, director Suresh revealed that Sirai is based on a real incident that happened to Tamizh while he was working as a police officer. "It follows a cop as he takes a young accused to court. During their journey, he gets to learn about the accused’s past. The incident dates back to 2003, and we looked for the real young man to ask him about the case to learn what happened to him. But we could not find him. Therefore, we had to fictionalise the story," he added. Akshay Kumar stars as the young man who stands accused of committing a crime.

Suresh has previously worked with Vetri Maaran as his associate since 2015’s Visaranai.

The technical team of Sirai includes composer Justin Prabhakaran, cinematographer Madhesh Manickam and editor Philomin Raj. SS Lalit Kumar is backing the film under his Seven Screen Studios banner.

 

RAJINIKANTH PRO SLAMS TRADE BODY LEADER FOR COOLIE REMARKS

Finally, Cat has been belled, CAT -G Dhananjayan – Belled by Riaz the BOSS. Dhananjayan  is  a founder and the Treasurer of the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA) and his role as a box office trade expert and his findings about falling collections of Coolie has been slammed by Riaz Ahmed PRO to Rajinikanth, through his V4U Media YouTube channel. Riaz has raised a valid point- If you are a trade expert or a media person be sso but if you are part of a body that represents film Producers, then you have no right to open mouth about another production company business. Choose which boat you want to ride is what Riaz says.

Double role or multi-tasking by Dhananjayan who is a film Producer- exhibitor- award winning author of books on cinema and a man with solutions to all problems faced by Kollywood had mazed many including me. For long and till today he has been the source of content to many You Tube channels that thrive on Kollywood content. The part of him as an important office bearer of the Active Producers body of Kollywood was actually something that I wondered as to how he was going about it. In my videos in Kodambakkam Guys I had pointed out that this gentleman had while taking defense of a Suriya’s flop film had mentioned that this flop’s opening was equal to Rajinikanth’s Petta’s life time collection. This was far from truth. I don’t want to digress from my main topic- Dhananjayan and Rajini.

While riding with Suriya, he was responsible for exaggerating facts of the films that he was doing. It backfired badly. He has two books on cinema and got a national award for it. Currently he is Head of Sony LIV Tamil content. Riaz has let lose a barrage of support from many film critics in You Tube. All seem to have been waiting for the man to bell this cat and what more than the publicist of Rajinikanth. Dhananjayan has decided that he will no more be the box office analyst and announced his withdrawal from this field adding that he was doing so on his own as he was misunderstood and not because of any fear. A YouTuber Cheyar Balu had listed out how in yesteryears Rajini dealt with his detractors. This was seen as a scare. Rajini has since turned a new leaf. Classic example was when theatres screening Baba was attacked by PMK workers. If he had just given the HUKUM – Tamil Nadu politics would have been different TODAY.

 

Ravi Mohan in LCU / Madharaasi hopes to be a Coolie in North/ Anushka does a Nayanthara

 The next project from LCU is Benz, with Lawrence playing the lead role and Nivin Pauly appearing as the main villain. Madhavan was onboarded as another lead in this film.

But the latest news in Tamil circles says that Madhavan walks out of this project/LCU due to date issues, and Ravi Mohan is selected as the replacement.

Reportedly, Lokesh Kanagaraj himself has narrated the character and convinced Ravi Mohan to act in Benz, and his character is also said to be continued in the next LCU projects, such as Kaithi 2 and Vikram 2. Ravi Mohan’s addition marks the third star entry into the LCU (Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe), with the other two being Lawrence and Nivin Pauly.

Seeing that Coolie collected close to Rs 50 cr in North markets Madharaasi is taking the same route by agreeing to 8 week window for dubbed Hindi version on OTT so that national chains can screen them. Coolie collected this amount in Hindi because Sun Pictures went all out with publicity and plastered Metro trains in Mumbai with film posters and on TV. Madharaasi on other hand has zero publicity and hopes that North markets will receive them. Amaran Hindi got Rs 2.75 cr from 45 days run. Another factor is that the North Indian gang is shown as the baddies in the film like Tamils in Sri Lanka were the bad guys in Kingdom. Madharaasi is releasing as Dil Madharaasi in Hindi

Anushka Shetty’s Ghaati is slated for a grand release on September 5. The action drama directed by Krish Jagarlamudi is jointly produced by UV Creations and First Frame Entertainments. The release was postponed multiple times due to pending work, and finally, the movie is now set for release. Rajeev Reddy of First Frame Entertainments has now confirmed that the star actress won’t be attending the promotional events.

“While commencing the project, we discussed all the terms. She clearly informed us about her unavailability for promotions. It’s her personal choice, and we must respect that. She might not attend the pre-release event either. I don’t think it is a big problem. Only an actor of Anushka’s stature can pull off the Sheela character in Ghaati. We can’t imagine anyone other than Anushka in that role,” stated Rajeev Reddy.

The producer also added, “We strongly believe Anushka has the capability to pull audiences to the theatres. We shot the movie in the Andhra-Orissa border. Had we shot in the Telugu states, it would have been difficult to handle the crowd. While we were shooting in a small village in Orissa, about 1000 people came to see Anushka in the wee hours. A lathi charge also took place once. That is the kind of pull Anushka Garu has.”

Anushka Shetty shines as Sheelavathi. Her performance feels raw, strong, and deeply tied to the land, as if she belongs to the mountains themselves. Playing opposite her, Vikram Prabhu brings a calm strength that keeps the film firmly rooted. The world of Ghaati is built with care, Thota Tharani’s production design and Ram Kishan’s gripping action scenes make the story feel real and alive.

Rajinikanth Tamil Nadu market shrinks - Will Kalki Nag be a saviour or do a Lokesh ?

 

As Rajinikanth market share in Tamil Nadu is shrinking, will Nag Ashwin who gave a Hit Kalki that entered the Rs 1000 cr club as next Director recover Thalauvar market or be another over hyped Lokesh ? Read on:

Rajinikanth’s films, including the latest Coolie, underperform in Tamil Nadu. 

At 75 years of age, Rajini still has a substantial market in all languages. But when we see his recent films, compared to other areas, the movies are not doing well in Tamil Nadu.

Kabali, with poor WOM, managed to set very big numbers in all other areas, but in Tamil Nadu, the numbers were not that huge. During the Petta vs. Viswasam clash, the former outshined Viswasam in all areas.

But Ajith’s Viswasam takes a clear lead in TN. Jailer, which set new records everywhere for Kollywood, failed to beat Ponniyin Selvan 1 and did not cross the 200 Cr mark as well.

Now, Rajinikanth’s Coolie underperforms in Tamil Nadu. Yes, it had a weak/below average WOM, but comparing to other areas’ performance, it should have collected at least 170 Cr in TN.

But reaching 150 Cr itself looks like a tough task for the film. Till now, it collected 132 Cr gross in 11 days in TN. All films of Rajinikanth in recent years are doing 10-15% lower on expectations in the main market of Tamil Cinema.

#Coolie 11 Days Box Office Collection :- Tamil Nadu : ₹129.25 Cr Andhra & Nizam : ₹63.00 Cr Karnataka : ₹38.20 Cr Kerala : ₹24.10 Cr Rest of India : ₹40.00 Cr Overseas : ₹170.35 Cr / $19.47 Mn Total Worldwide Gross : ₹464.90 Cr

Strong industry buzz points to Nag Ashwin, known for Mahanati and Kalki 2898 AD. Sources claim Ashwin recently narrated a script to Rajinikanth, who reportedly approved the idea and asked him to develop it further. Fans are excited about the possibility of this collaboration, though reactions remain mixed. Rajinikanth’s Coolie received criticism online despite high expectations, while Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD, though successful at the box office, faced divided opinions. Some fans believe the partnership could create something special, while others are cautious. They argue that Rajinikanth’s collaboration with Lokesh Kanagaraj already turned into a disappointment with Coolie, and fear that Ashwin may also face risks with the superstar.

 

 

JOHN WICK Stunt Director with YASH / Rajini Beats Vijay -Where and How/ Anirudh Secret

 

Perry, who is famous for designing the breathtaking stunts in massive hits like Fast & Furious, John Wick, and Day Shift, is here to create the action sequences for the film TOXIC.  In a statement, Perry praised the Indian team, calling them “world-class.” He said, “That’s precisely why I chose to work with them. We’re tackling a major sequence right now, and I’m super stoked about taking this on… this team is meeting it head-on.”

This isn’t just another project for JJ Perry, who has worked in 39 countries over his 35-year career. He expressed his genuine admiration for Indian movies and the vision of Toxic‘s director, Geetu Mohandas. “I’m a fan of Indian cinema; it’s creative, artistic, and bold,” Perry stated. “Geetu has great vision, and everyone from cinematographer Rajeev Ravi to the production designer and art team has been fantastic.” Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is an upcoming bilingual (Kannada-English) gangster film directed by Geetu Mohandas. It stars superstar Yash in the lead role and features a large ensemble cast. Jointly produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash under KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-ups is a high-stakes, large-scale film that merges depth with dazzle. It is slated for a worldwide theatrical release on March 19, 2026. Jointly produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash under KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-ups is a high-stakes, large-scale film that merges depth with dazzle. 

Finally Rajini fans can be happy. Thalaivar has beat Thalapathy at the box office 0 YES, at the Hindi box office. Read on : Even though there was no multiplex release for Leo due to a 4-week OTT window, the film did very well in Hindi belts and collected around 30 Cr net in India and emerged as the 2nd biggest grosser for Kollywood in Hindi belts after 2.0.

Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Coolie clashed with War 2, the Bollywood biggie, but it was successful in beating Leo collections at the box office. By its second weekend, the film had collected around 32 Cr net in India and surpassed Kabali (28 Cr) and Leo (30 Cr). Now, this action drama is the second biggest grosser for Kollywood in North India. Overall, the film has collected around 475 Cr gross worldwide and  is racing towards the 500 Cr mark.

If you think Anirudh is pocketing the singer fees by singing in his own songs or in other music composer songs then you are wrong . He does it free. Read on : He has sung nearly 175 songs for other music directors, while also working on his own music. He has sung songs in Tamil as well as Telugu. Gaali Vaaluga, Hoyna, and Baitikochi Chuste are some of his most popular works in Telugu as a singer.

Anirudh has not charged even a single rupee for the songs he has sung for other music directors. On average, a leading singer charges about 10 lakhs per song, which means he could’ve made 1750 lakhs or 17.5 crores.

This just shows his love for music. He sings because he wants to be a part of that project, and not because it will fetch him money. This is a true sign of a rockstar and an artist.

Anirudh has a terrific lineup of films ahead, they include Thalapathy Vijay’s Beast, the multistarrer Vikram, and Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2. Anirudh will also be serving as music director for NTR30. Anirudh sings most of the songs, and it is receiving high criticism. The netizens question him on that, and they clearly state that some of his songs are more suitable for other singers than him. Recently Anirudh faced negative reactions for singing Vijay Deverakonda’s Kingdom’s song, Anna Antene, and now, for Madharaasi’s 2nd single, Vazhiyiraen.

Rockstar Anirudh Ravichander’s Hukum World Tour Grand Finale lit up MARG Swarnabhoomi, Kuvathur, ECR on 23rd August 2025, drawing a record-breaking crowd of 50,000+ fans. It set a new benchmark as one of the biggest and best-organized live music events Chennai has witnessed in recent times.

The Hukum Grand Finale was organized by Brand Avatar, delivering a world-class concert that will be remembered as a milestone in Chennai’s live music history.

Mahaavatar boost to Indian Animation / Rajini KING OF KARNATAKA / VIJAY Reel Breaks Insta record

 Chaluve Gowda Co-Founder: @hombalegroup Partner: @hombalefilms

Board of Governors: @rv.university
Board Member: Mandya University took a risk with Indian Animation and Indian VFX by making substantial investments and employing 200 VFX Software and Visual personnel and spending 1 1/2 years to create Indigenous extrusion of characters in MAHAVATAR NARASIMHA t is a great thing for India

Sure the Software is still Western owned (American and British) but the Studio is Indian, On day 30, within just 24 hours, ticket sales spiked dramatically.  

Rather than entrust animation to a Japanese or Korean company, Hombale has decided to do their own VFX work using Indian talent

That is definitely a step in the right direction

More Indian VFX and who knows maybe we can finally start making world class Software

There are 140 Crore Indians and only a combined 5.35 Crore tickets were sold in 2024

By comparison there are 140 Crore Chinese and 12.85 Crore tickets were sold in the first 6 months of 2025

So if India can manage to push another 5 Crore tickets, we could be seeing Budgets of 1000 Crore becoming easier to gross locally and more work for Indian Animation

Especially with all our Puranas, Panchatantra, Mahabharat and Mythologies

More than 130.3K tickets were booked on BookMyShow, a number usually associated with an opening weekend rather than the film’s fifth week.

The sudden spike in bookings shows that audiences are choosing films with substance, animated or otherwise. At this rate, the film could well cross new milestones at the box office.

With the Rs. 300 crore gross mark now within reach, Ashwin Kumar’s epic is in no hurry to arrive on OTT. Produced by Kleem Productions and presented by Hombale Films, the movie is further lifted by Sam CS’s soulful soundtrack, which continues to strike a chord with viewers.

Continuing his record-breaking spree, Rajinikanth now has three all-time highest-grossing Tamil movies in Karnataka. Thalaivar’s Jailer and 2 Point 0 occupy the first and third places, respectively, in the list of top three Tamil movies in Karnataka, while Coolie stands in the second spot. However, given the considerable drops in the daywise collection, Coolie may not surpass Jailer’s lifetime gross in the Kannada land.

A reel shared by Vijay on his Instagram yesterday is now breaking the internet and has clocked the highest number of likes (10.3 million) for an Instagram post by any South Indian actor. The video features Vijay taking a selfie with a sea of fans during Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) second state-level conference in Madurai on August 21. The fact that Vijay’s post amassed over 10 million likes within a day, and that too with just 14 million Insta followers, speaks volumes of Vijay’s craze. Vijay is currently working on his highly anticipated last film, Jana Nayagan. The actor will bid adieu to acting and enter Tamil Nadu politics by contesting the state assembly elections in summer 2026.