AK GBU behind Vidamuyurchi on OTT / Thodarum - Kerala's REAL HIT

      OTT viewers seem to have liked Vidamuyurchi of Ajith more than Good Bad Ugly. The first week viewership for Vidamuyurchi was 3 Million and Good Bad Ugly: 2.6 Million

As per the data by Netflix from May 5 to May 11, Good Bad Ugly, in its debut week, garnered a viewership of 2.6 million on Netflix against 6 million viewing hours and secured the 8th spot in the globally trending list of top 10 non-English films on Netflix, which is ruled by ‘Exterritorial’ at number 1 this week. GBU  is trending at the number 1 spot in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka on Netflix in the top 10 non-English films of the week. It has also found a spot in the top 10 non-English films of the week on Netflix in 10 other countries, including Mauritius, Nigeria, Bahrain, Maldives, and others

Kerala filmdom has not got any film that has collected Rs 100crores net within the State. For the first Thodarum has collected Rs 100 cr at the Kerala box office. A Nett means money got by Producer after taxes, distributor- theatre share deducutions.. ₹ 101.65 Cr [Mal: 98.95 Cr ; Te: 1.85 Cr; Ta: 0.85 Cr] is Sacknik figure on Day 18. In terms of gross the producers claimed that it has touched Rs 100 crore gross, a first in Kerala box office. Mohanlal’s new release is only 19.5 crore away from the highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2025. Interestingly, the top spot is also owned by Mohanlal‘s L2: Empuraan. With the said target, Mohanlal will also cross a net box office, earning 200 crore at the Indian box office in the year 2025.

First 100 Cr Grosser in Each South Indian State:

• Tamil Nadu—Robo [2010]
• Andhra Pradesh—Baahubali [2015]
• Telangana—Baahubali 2 [2017]
• Karnataka—Baahubali 2 [2017]
• Kerala—Thudarum [2025]

Here are the top 5 highest-grossing Malayalam films of 2025.

1.     L2: Empuraan: 106.6 crore

2.     Thudarum: 87.13 crore*

3.     Alappuzha Gymkhana: 43.29 crore*

4.     Officer On Duty: 31.60 crore

5.     Rekhachithram: 27 crore

Lokesh as hero pooja today / Priyanka Mohan- Nivin Pauly in Benz / Karthi Sardar 2 Hindi Prologue clicks

 Sources said that Lokesh Kanagaraj’s debut film as a lead kicks off with a pooja today. The film will be directed by Captain Miller Arun Matheswaran, and the shooting begins in a week. The movie will be produced by Lokesh Kanagaraj himself under the G Squad banner, along with Passion Studios and The Route banners. 

Lokesh Kanagaraj frequently shows up on screen in the movies that he directs. His appearance in ‘Master’ with Thalapathy Vijay thrilled fans, and he also appeared in the music video for ‘Inimel,’ written by Kamal Haasan. 

More Details about LCU Benz launched yesterday.Latest addition is Priyanka Mohan

Raghawa Lawrence will play the lead role, while Madhavan and Nivin Pauly play crucial roles. Now, actress Priyanka Mohan joins LCU, as she will play the lead actress in Benz.

The film will have a big craze among audiences as it is an LCU project, and they are waiting for more details of the movie. Lokesh directed all three films of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, but for the first time, an LCU film was directed by another filmmaker. The story, screenplay, and production will be done by Lokesh Kanagaraj.

The film is titled Benz, and it was announced long ago but was delayed. Finally, Benz Film’s official pooja ceremony was done, and the shoot started yesterday. Directed by Bhagyaraja Kannan, the film’s music will be composed by Sai Abhyankar.

 Karthi is pushing his boundaries to deliver a pan-Indian success with Sardar 2. If Sardar 2 ends up as a successful venture for Karthi, it may open up a new market for him in North Indian states.Sardar 2 is in the final stages of shooting, and the team is aiming for a Diwali release. This movie is being developed as a pan-Indian project, and the team has now officially released the prologue in Hindi.

Karthi has more sequels in the pipeline than most Indian actors currently. Besides filming ‘Sardar 2’, a sequel to his hit spy thriller Sardar, he has also committed to ‘Kaithi 2’, the highly anticipated sequel to the Kaithi blockbuster by Lokesh Kanagaraj.

Adding to the excitement, there’s buzz around sequels to Karthi’s earlier hits like ‘Khakee’. While there were initial talks of a sequel to ‘Kanguva’, the film’s poor performance at the box office may have shelved those plans for now. However, fans were thrilled to spot Karthi in the climax of ‘Hit 3’, which unofficially hints that he will take the lead in ‘Hit 4’, further cementing his role in the growing Hit universe.

Nayanthara's Pradeep film release date / Why Samantha company is Tralala Moving Pictures ?

 Nayanthara and SRK should have collaborated in Chennai Express but the former turned it down saying that personal reasons. It seems a song featuring SRK and her was to be be choreographed by Raju Sundaram. Raju is brother of Nayan’s ex BF Prabhdeva, The role went to Priyamani.

Nayanthara next Production with Lalit Kumar and directed by hubby Vignesh Kumar release date has been out. The romantic sci-fi drama Love Insurance Kompany has locked its release date for September 18, 2025. Directed by Vignesh Shivan, the film will give a mix of romance and futuristic storytelling. The project ensembles a star-studded cast featuring Krithi Shetty, SJ Suryah, Yogi Babu, and Gouri Kishan, with Pradeep himself playing the lead.  Nayanthara also gave a shoutout to her husband Vignesh's upcoming film and dropped the video. Sharing the clip, she captioned, "Come FALL IN LOVE, this FESTIVE SEASON♥️♥️✨✨ ✨✨

Love Insurance Kompany was originally announced with actor Sivakarthikeyan, but the earlier version was shelved. Now reimagined with Pradeep at the helm, the film is being produced on a grand scale.

The film's technical crew is nothing short of top-tier, with Anirudh Ravichander composing the music and Ravi Varman handling the cinematography. Pradeep E Ragav is on board as the editor.

The song featured in this highly anticipated film has been released and has been viewed by more than 33 million viewers, setting a record. In this context, it has been announced that the film will be released in theaters worldwide on September 18th. Following this, the film's songs, teaser, trailer, sneak peek, etc. will be released in succession, the film team has said.

Meanwhile, the first song from the film, which was released in the Pradeep Ranganathan - Vignesh Sivan - Anirudh collaboration, has been well-received by millions of viewers, and it is noteworthy that there are great expectations among the fans and the film industry for the songs of the film and the film itself.

About Pradeep's upcoming films

Adding to the excitement, Pradeep also stars in another upcoming film titled Dude, slated for a Diwali 2025 release. Directed by debutant Keerthiswaran, the film stars Mamitha Baiju of Premalu fame and will feature music by Sai Abhyankkar. However, it won’t be a solo festival release as Dude is expected to clash at the box office with Dhruv Vikram’s Bison, sparking early buzz.

In December 2023, Samantha launched her own production company, named Tralala Moving Pictures under which she produced her first film Subham. A horror-comedy, Subham has hit theatres on May 9, and opened to positive reviews at the box office.

As part of the film's promotions Samantha Ruth Prabhu discussed the reason behind the film production house's name to journalist Baradwaj Rangan.

Talking to Galatta Plus, Samantha Ruth Prabhu said, the Tralala is from Brown Girl in the Ring song. To which the anchor was surprised, as the song released in 1978, and he didn't think Samantha would know of it. She said "I put myself in the ring, in a man's world."

For the unversed the song is from the album Nightflight to Venus by Boney M. The lyrics goes "Brown girl in the ring Tra la la la la there's a brown girl in the ring Tra la la la la la." Samantha had once mentioned on social media that it is one of her favourite songs, which she listened to while growing up.

A statement by the actress about two years ago, read "Very excited to announce my production house, Tralala Moving Pictures! Tralala Moving Pictures aims to produce content representative of new age expression and thought. A nurturing space which invites and encourages stories that speak to the strength and complexity of our social fabric. And a platform for filmmakers to tell stories that are meaningful, authentic and universal. (Inspired from one of my favourite songs growing up. Brown girl is in the ring now...) (sic)."

Director Nandini Reddy recently revealed that Samantha had told her that she will ensure pay parity for everyone who worked on her production, tentatively titled Bangaram, under Tralala Moving Pictures. Samantha was last seen in Raj and Dk's Citadel: Honey Bunny.

 

Sivakarthikyan with Siruthai Siva and MohanLal / Shame on Prabhas trends

 Sivakarthikeyan is  to choose Siruthai Siva as director. Along with this SK also has not liked the story told by Venkat Prabhu and told him to make changes. Reason being that VP story has resemblance to Doctor subject. So VP and SK project right now looks bleak as Venkat Prabhu doesn’t want to modify as it would kill the soul of the film. So there are possibilities that the project might get dropped. Sathyajothi Films had backed SK- VP film and now whether they will back Siruthai Siva is not known.

Mohanlal after Jilla in which he played father to Thalapthy Vijay is set to play Dad to Sivakarthikeyan in SK24 directed by CIBI. Actor Sivakarthikeyan is reuniting with Don (2022) director Cibi Chakravarthi and Don co-star SJ Suryah on a new movie, which will reportedly have Rashmika Mandanna playing female lead. While official announcements on the project are yet to be out, it has now been revealed that this film is titled Boss. 

The official X page of Prabhas’ Salaar  shared a post related to ceasefire announcement, which faced backlash from netizens. the makers of Salaar created an official page for the movie on X before its release, with an ID – @SalaarTheSaga. Fans used to get updates about the film; even today, the page is very active. Yesterday, after the ceasefire was officially announced, one smart post was shared on the page. Salaar is originally titled ‘Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire‘, so the makers shared a small clip of the title card showing ‘Part 1 – Ceasefire’ on the official X page, thus making a statement about the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan. As soon as the post was shared, it received mostly negative reactions from netizens.

Many thought that the makers of Salaar were using the country’s serious issue to promote their movie. One X user directly targeted Prabhas by writing, “Shame on Prabhas.” One user criticised the production house for the post by saying, “Have some shame @hombalefilms. Use common sense at least.”

Another X user commented, “Shameful, insensitive, lack of respect towards the armed forces. Promoting your movie at such times is absolutely pathetic. Prabhas and gang shameful.”

One netizen said, “Wtf yeah koi tumara promotion ka time nahi h !! Come on yr have some sense in your brain.”

Jeyam Ravi 's wife and kids face eviction / Mohanlal creates record-Son new film title explained

 Aarti Ravi , wife of Jeyam Ravi aka Ravi Mohan reacting to report that she continues to be Aartijeyamravi on Instagram, she pointed out that divorce has not been granted yet. Reacting to her hubby’s photo with Kenishaa at the wedding, she termed it as  "carefully curated appearances and photo captions," . Though she was labelled a gold digger, she has in the interim periods not got any monetary help from her hubby and  that she faces eviction notice served by the bank after her hubby asked them to do so. Two children stay with her. She wrote that if she wanted she could have secured her future long back but she placed trust first above transanction. Taking a dig at Ravi who said that his kids are his pride , she wrote- "They deserve security, not shock. Stability, not silence. They are too young to understand legal clauses, but old enough to feel abandonment." , She signed offl "This is not vengeance. This is not spectacle. This is a mother stepping into the fire—not to fight, but to protect. I do not cry. I do not scream. I stand tall, because I must."

Kushbu commented; My girl is a strong woman.

As Mohanlal’s Thudarum crossed the Rs 100 cr gross domestically, his son Pranav’s upcoming film title has been revealed -Dies Irae.

Dies Irae is a Latin poem from the medieval period that features accentual stress and rhymed verses. It depicts the Last Judgment, where a trumpet calls souls to stand before God’s throne, with the saved receiving salvation and the unsaved being cast into everlasting fire. It is most famously associated with the Roman Rite Catholic Requiem Mass, also known as the Mass for the Dead or Funeral Mass. It's a poem sung for the dead.

The film, which reunites writer-director Rahul Sadasivan with cinematographer Shehnad Jalal (Bhoothakalam, Bramayugam), is backed by Night Shift Studios and Y Not Studios, has music by Christo Xavier, art direction by Jothish Shankar and editing by Shafique Mohammed Ali.

While specific plot details remain under wraps, director Rahul Sadasivan hinted that audiences can expect something distinctly different from his previous work9 Brahmayugam). He explained that the film explores a completely different emotional spectrum, one that resonates with the new generation, and features a fresh narrative style and mood compared to his earlier project.

Meanwhile Thudarum joined the 10M club and became the 2nd Malayalam film to do so. Mohanlal achieves a record-breaking feat at 65, with back-to-back 10M USD milestones. Reports M9.

Aravind Swami as Major Srinivasan / Aarti is still Jeyam Ravi wife/ Ravi- Kenishaa public apperance

Arvind Swami, an acclaimed actor and director, has left an indelible mark on Tamil and Hindi cinema. The actor’s character poster from Anupam Kher’s directorial Tanvi The Great is unveiled where he will be seen playing the role of Major Srinivasan reports Bollywood Hungama.

Known for his effortless charm and nuanced portrayal, Swami will be seen playing a very important role in the film. The makers earlier announced Iain Glen, Boman Irani and Jackie Shroff joining the cast along with Shubhangi.

Talking about the role Arvind Swami shared, “It was such a pleasure to work with Anupam as a director. This subject is so close to his heart and I am glad that I could play a small part in this project. This is a film about hope, compassion, perseverance and the victory of the human spirit. It has such a talented cast with fantastic performances extracted by a director with great sensitivity and sensibilities. Honoured to have been a part of this.”

Anupam Kher took to his social media to share Arvind’s first look and said, “First time I saw #ArvindSwamy in Roja and I was blown away by the young and dynamic actor’s performance. Then of course I watched him in the film Bombay. And for me, that was the arrival of a unique actor on the Indian film’s horizon. It was much later we did a film- ‘Saat Rang Ke Sapne’ I found the most dependable and trustworthy friend for life.”

Kher continued, “So there was nobody else that came to my mind when I wanted to cast an actor for the role of #MajorSrinivasan for #TanviTheGreat. #MajorSrini as he’s called in the film is powerhouse of strength, courage and bravery. Arvind’s performance made me feel proud. Just like the INDIAN ARMY makes us all feel- SAFE, SECURE and DIGNIFIED. Thank you Swamy ji (as I call him) for your friendship, faith in me and your BRILLIANCE. You are not only a great actor but a great friend too. Your character of #MajorSrini will be remembered for years to come. Jai Hind! #Gratitude.”

Directed by Anupam Kher, with music by Oscar-winner M.M. Keeravani, Tanvi The Great is produced by Anupam Kher Studios and NFDC, in association with Lower Middle Class Corporation. The release date will be announced soon.

 

Aarti, former wife of actor Ravi Mohan ( Jeyam Ravi), continues to retain her relationship status on Instagram. Her bio reads "Married to Jayamravi_official". She has also retained her surname Aarti Ravi. Last year in June Aarti made headlines after she deleted all photos with Ravi and their sons, Aarav and Ayaan.

.Ravi Mohan and Singer Kenishaa, came together to attend the marriage festivities of Producer Ishari Ganesh’s daughter wedding that took place today. Ravi Mohan formerly Jeyam Ravi and his wife Aarti marriage broke up over the former seeing Kenishaa. The duo claimed that they were not a couple in love and that it was a professional one. Kenishaa is a therapist and Mohan is her client was her defense. Talking about link-up reports with Kenishaa, he said, “How did these rumours about this person start? Why should anyone drag a third person unnecessarily into this issue? I plan to start a spiritual healing centre with Kenishaa and we are looking for some suitable location. My divorce has nothing to do with this.”

Ravi shifted to Mumbai and divorce has since taken place. This is the first public appearance by the duo after the divorce. Ravi and Kenishaa wore matching outfits for the wedding. While the actor was seen in a traditional shirt and dhoti, Kenishaa wore  a gold-coloured saree with embroidery on the border.

Kenishaa Francis, a talented Goan singer, actress, and licensed psychologist, has recently been in the spotlight, not only for her musical talent but also due to her rumored relationship with Tamil actor Ravi Mohan. Known for her multilingual singing skills, Kenishaa rose to fame as a finalist on the reality show The Stage. She's also a spiritual healer and therapist, following in the footsteps of her mother, who was an artist and therapist.

Malayalee hearthrob Roma is a Diamond merchant / Mohanlal loses to Chiyaan on OTT

 Malayalam film viewers got an answer to where is Roma who acted in NoteBook, Chocholate ?. She was clicked by a fan at the Airport. She is busy looking after the Diamond business and has mines in Karnataka and South Africa. She is still single and full devoted to her family business. When she made her debut, her father owned a jewelry store in Sowcarpet, a suburb in Chennai which is inhabited by Rajasthan natives who mostly do trade in gold and diamonds. Roma’s parents are Sindhi’s but are from Trichy in Tamil Nadu. She made her debut in the Telugu film Mr. Errababu in 2005. Her first film in Malayalam was Notebook (2006), directed by Rosshan Andrrews. Her second film was July 4 (2007), directed by Joshiy. Her third film Chocolate (2007) which she starred alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran was successful. Vellepam was her last film in 2021. The movie, which is a romcom laced with fantasy, has Akshay play Joseman, who is a Jesus Christ lookalike in the film. Noorin Shereef plays the female lead in the film, which also has Roma, Sreejith Ravi and Leona Lishoy.

 L2 Empuran  released with Chiyaan's Veera Dheera Sooran and both came same day on OTT but different platforms. Empuran lost the viewership to Veera and in JioHotstar it is competing with a B grade Hindi film Meri Husband ki Biwi. Read on 

Mohanlal L2 Empuran failed to beat the debut week viewership of Chiyaan Vikram’s Veera Dheera Sooran, which arrived in the same week.

Veera Dheera Sooran arrived on Prime Video and garnered a viewership of 3.2 million in its debut week. Chiyaan Vikram’s film took second place on the list of the top 5 most viewed films that arrived on OTT this week.

Rated 7 on IMDb, Veera Dheera Sooran stars Chiyaan Vikram along with SJ Suryah. The Tamil period drama earned 42.71 crore in its lifetime in India and ended up being a losing affair at the box office. Meanwhile, Malayalam action biggie L2: Empuraan was also a losing affair despite earning 106.6 crore at the box office!

Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan, after a roaring box office run, has arrived on the JioHotstar and opened with a decent viewership in the first week. In fact, it garnered 57.8% higher views than the Hindi film Mere Husband Ki Biwi, which is also streaming on the same platform.

Mohanlal’s action biggied managed to garner 3 million views in its debut week, taking the third spot in the list of most-watched streaming originals in India for the week of April 28 – May 4, 2025, estimated based on audience research by Ormax.