KollywoodIn the early years of his career, Rajinikanth did roles that demanded both a wide emotional range and a certain swagger, both of which the actor had.Before Rajinikanth became the ‘Superstar’, fans will recall the string of roles he did that demanded both a wide emotional range and a certain swagger, both of which the actor had. His films from his early years, the 1970s, had him play openly villainous roles to characters with many shades of grey, to budding hero. While it is impossible to include them all, here are some of our favourites to rewatch before the Superstar’s Jailer with director Nelson Dilipkumar hits theatres next week. Apoorva Ragangal (1975) The ten-minute role that introduced Rajini to the world. Apoorva Ragangal was directed by K Balachander, who would also go on to cast the future Superstar in multiple films and help him make his name. Starring Kamal Hassan...
- 8/7/2023
- by BharathyS
- The News Minute
KollywoodHelming the screenplay and direction of ‘Lal Salaam’ is Aishwarya Rajinikanth.Courtesy/LycaProductionsFans of the ‘Superstar’ have had two consecutive announcements that have no doubt left them thrilled. After the release of a teaser clip from Rajinikanth’s upcoming Jailer last week, Lyca Productions announced on Monday, May 8, that the star will have a cameo role in Vishnu Vishal’s next movie Lal Salaam. According to the announcement, Rajini’s cameo character is called Moideen Bhai and events in the film appear to be set in Mumbai, judging by details in the poster. Helming the screenplay and direction of Lal Salaam is Aishwarya Rajinikanth, the Superstar’s elder daughter. A tagline in the poster declares that “Moideen Bhai has arrived” and the production house’s tweet sharing the poster adds, “Everyone’s favourite Bhai is back in Mumbai.” The second line, is most likely a reference to Rajini’s character in the 1995 film Baashha,...
- 5/8/2023
- by BharathyS
- The News Minute
DeathThe actor passed away due to a heart attack.Tnm StaffPopular yesteryear actor Nallenai Chitra who has acted in several Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films passed away on Saturday, August 21. She was 56. According to reports, Chitra, who was living with her family in Chennai’s Saligramam, suffered a sudden heart attack. Chitra was introduced as a child artiste by director K Balachander in his 1975 film Apoorva Raagangal, which starred Kamal Haasan, Srividya, and was Rajinikanth’s debut film. The film which is among Balachander’s biggest hits went on to win the National Award for the best feature film in Tamil. Through the 80s and 90s, Chitra went on to star opposite big actors both in Malayalam and Tamil. She also acted as a child artiste in the Tamil film Rajaparvai. In her first film as an adult, she acted opposite Mohanlal and Prem Nazir in the 1983 movie Attakalasham. She...
- 8/21/2021
- by Sreedevi
- The News Minute
CinemaThe actor also thanked all the directors, producers, technicians, distributors, theatre owners, media houses, and his fans across the world.Tnm StaffIt was announced on Thursday that actor Rajinikanth will be the 51st recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the country’s highest honour for cinema artists. As wishes continued to pour in, the 70-year-old actor put out a thank-you note, also conveying his regards to all those who wished him. Expressing gratitude to the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajini, who is fondly referred to as ‘Thalaivar’ and Superstar by his fans, conveyed his foremost thanks to his closest friend Raj Bahadur, who worked as a bus driver when the former was a conductor. Rajini's life story from being a bus conductor to one of the top most stars in Indian cinema is the stuff of legend. “For discovering my acting skill and for encouraging me, my friend Raj Bahadur,...
- 4/1/2021
- by Anjana
- The News Minute
Flix FlashbackThe film has once again resurfaced in recent days with its 36th anniversary coinciding with the reconstruction of the Palarivattom bridge in Ernakulam.CrisPhoto courtesy - AsianetThe panchayat president on top of a bench, finding his way out of a scuffle at the office meeting can perhaps be the poster moment of Panchavadi Palam, that much-recounted political satire of 1984, from Kg George. It can also be the stage to which a minister makes his very belated entry and thanks the audience for waiting so long when the camera zooms out and shows a single man with disability, sitting on his plank with wheels. Moments as these, seen and heard and recorded on newspapers hundreds of times, form the scenes of Panchavadi Palam, adapted from a novel called Palam Apakadathil by Veloor Krishnankutty. George wrote the screenplay with cartoonist Yesudasan in 1984. More than three and a half decades later, new Google reviews say,...
- 10/10/2020
- by Cris
- The News Minute
Flix FlashbackThe scene where Sarada tries to measure Arr’s waist but can’t stop giggling has so much affection in it that it’s hard to think of another from Tamil cinema that is comparable. Sowmya RajendranThe ‘90s were a period of college romances in Tamil cinema. The big stars of the current generation – Vijay, Ajith, Suriya and Vikram – all debuted in various years of this decade. The stories revolved around misunderstandings between the hero and the heroine, familial opposition to their love and other circumstances that separated them. The films were youth-centric, made with peppy songs and dances that would bring the college-going, urban crowd to theatres. But right at the beginning of this decade, in 1990, there came a film that’s still considered to be one of the greatest romances in Tamil cinema and yet was markedly different from the films that would follow. In an unusual directorial debut,...
- 9/30/2020
- by Sowmya
- The News Minute
MollywoodFrom Srividya in ‘Kattathey Kilikoodu’ to Mohanlal in ‘Thenmavin Kombathu’, these subtle performances are some of their best acts.Aradhya KurupMohanlal (left) with Kaviyoor Ponnamma and Nedumudi Venu in 'Thenmavin Kombathu'They are all famous. They all have their niche. The hero, the heroine, the goofy friend, the villain, the learned dramatist. But even they have been forgotten for some of their best acts. Here we try to highlight some of the least talked about performances of our favourite stars. Srividya (Kattathey Kilikoodu) Bharath Gopi’s stiff, unsmiling Professor ‘Shakespeare’ Krishna Pillai, who is always buried inside his books, is counted as one of his finest acts. So, it’s hardly surprising that another actor, who stood head and shoulders with the titan in every frame, was overlooked. Srividya plays his quiet, domesticated and lovable wife, Sharada. Kattathey Kilikoodu is really her story—her silent, resilient battle to hold the family together amidst all odds.
- 12/29/2019
- by Vidya
- The News Minute
MollywoodBased on a story by Nedumudi Venu, the 1983 film had a stellar cast in Bharath Gopi, Srividya, Revathy and Mohanlal.Aradhya KurupIMDBThis T Damodaran script, based on a story by Nedumudi Venu and directed by Bharathan, is one of the finest commentaries on the yin and yang of marriage, offering some nuanced studies on the complexities of the human mind, the capriciousness of relationships and the traditional role play in marriages where the onus of stitching it all together falls unfairly on the woman. The beginning Krishna Pillai alias Shakespeare Krishna Pillai’s home stands on a slant, with a large garden in front, enclosed by an iron gate. An elongated veranda leads to the front door, with a large drawing-cum-dining area, an old-fashioned kitchen and two bedrooms with attached bathrooms. There is an attic which also doubles up as a dump yard, play area, and then there are the veena lessons.
- 11/17/2019
- by Vidya
- The News Minute
MollywoodFazil made his debut nearly 40 years ago and has since given Malayalam cinema several memorable women characters.CrisChristmas 1980 came a month after the death of Jayan, a very popular actor in Malayalam cinema. No one was interested in a new film that had released in theatres that day – one of many debuts called Manjil Virinja Pookkal. People preferred watching posthumous Jayan movies, the hero who died doing a daredevil stunt for a movie. But a week later, word got around. The new movie was nothing like they had seen so far in Malayalam – a wild love story with two men and a woman and really beautiful music. Mohanlal, Shankar and Poornima Jayaram were seen on the screen for the first time. The film was directed by a 20-something newcomer called Fazil. Four decades have rolled by and Fazil has directed 30 more films, slowing down a little in the last two decades.
- 11/17/2019
- by Cris
- The News Minute
MollywoodThe award winning Malayalam filmmaker passed away on January 14. CV AravindLenin Rajendran/ Thachan.makan/ Wikimedia Commons/ CCBYSA3.0In a career spanning more than three and a half decades, Lenin Rajendran, the Malayalam filmmaker who passed away on 14th January, 2019 directed just fifteen feature films. He could have directed many more but as one who steadfastly refused to pander to the box-office, he derived satisfaction from the genre of filmmaking that he chose to explore through his oeuvres. Lenin picked up the craft of filmmaking by working as an assistant to Pa Backer, who created a splash with his debut Kabini Nadi Chuvannapol. Lenin got his first break with Venal in 1981 and followed it up with his second film Chillu in 1982. Both these films were shot on shoestring budgets but were noticed for their offbeat treatment of the themes. Lenin’s film Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla caught the eye for its title.
- 1/15/2019
- by Sowmya
- The News Minute
CinemaAn actor for all seasons, Srividya's demise was a huge loss to the film industry.Aradhya KurupWikipediaShe entered the film industry at the tender age of 13, as a child artiste and in over 40 years in the industry, she would traverse the entire gamut of roles - child, heroine, wife, lover, mother - and then some. In both the early and later part of her career she managed to hold her own as a character actor, even dabbling behind the scenes as a playback singer. It’s been over a decade since she left us. On July 24, on the occasion of her birth anniversary, we remember some of the best moments in her long and fruitful association with Malayalam cinema. Sarada (Kattathe Kilikoodu): She plays the quiet, domesticated and lovable wife, Sharada. Kattathe Kilikoodu is really her story—her silent, resilient battle to hold the family together amidst all odds.
- 7/24/2018
- by Sowmya
- The News Minute
CinemaThe It department will be auctioning the actor’s property in Chennai to recover outstanding income tax liabilities.Digital NativeDigital NativeVeteran actor Srividya died of cancer in 2006. Daughter of Carnatic singer Ml Vasanthakumari, Srividya made her acting debut in Tamil with the film Thiruvarutchelvar in 1967. In her long career that spanned nearly four decades until her death, she had acted in scores of films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. The talented actor succumbed to spine cancer at the age of 53 in 2006. After all these years, the Income Tax department will be auctioning her property in Chennai to recover outstanding income tax liabilities amounting to Rs 45 lakh. The flat owned by her is estimated to be worth around Rs 1.14 crore and the amount derived from the auction would be used to pay off the dues. The auction is being conducted with the consent of Ganesh Kumar, the executor of Srividya’s will. An accomplished actor, Srividya won several prestigious awards in her long career, including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for Daivathinte Vikrithikal in 1992, Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for Rachana in 1983 and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for Edavazhiyile Poocha Minda Poocha and Jeevitham Oru Gaanam in 1979. The gifted actor also won several Filmfare Awards South. In 1975, she won the Filmfare Special Award - South for Apoorva Raagangal, the Filmfare Best Malayalam Actress Award for Puzha in 1980, the Filmfare Best Malayalam Actress Award for Edavazhiyile Poocha Minda Poocha in 1979, and the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actress for Madhurageetham in 1977 and the Mgr Award in 1992. Besides acting, Srividya was an accomplished singer as well. She has various stages performances and playback singing to her credit as well. She first rendered her vocals for the Tamil film Amaran and the Malayalam film Ayalathe Sundari, and went on to sing in a few other films. (Content provided by Digital Native)...
- 3/18/2018
- by Editor
- The News Minute
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