Sharing a “Caution” message, Arivu alleged that some “elite musicians” take melodies, compositions and ideas rooted in working-class culture and package them as “collaboration” or “independent music”.

“Too often, the original creators are left without meaningful credit, ownership or economic benefit. This isn't a collaboration. This is extraction,” he wrote.

Arivu did not name any individual in the post. However, his comments have drawn attention in the context of his long-running dispute over Enjoy Enjaami, the 2021 independent hit featuring Arivu and Dhee, with music by Santhosh Narayanan.

The discussion around the song resurfaced in March this year, when Arivu claimed that he had written the lyrics and composed the main vocal melody based on his cultural history and lived experience, and questioned the credit and compensation he received.

Santhosh Narayanan disputed several of these claims, saying the song was a collaborative creation and outlining his own contributions to its composition and production.

Arivu’s latest post, however, does not directly identify anyone, leaving the musicians he refers to unspecified.

Fans gather in large numbers

The event was organised at Phoenix Mall to celebrate Meesaya Murukku 2. Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi had also reached the venue as planned. However, a large number of fans gathered at the mall, making it difficult for him to even reach the stage.

With the crowd continuing to grow, police warned of a possible stampede and other untoward incidents. Following the advice of the police, the event was cancelled and Aadhi left the venue.

Aadhi expresses disappointment

Later that night, Aadhi shared a video message expressing his disappointment over not being able to meet his fans.

He said he had come to the venue with great excitement to meet them, but could not take part in the event keeping their safety in mind and following the police instructions.

While he said the overwhelming response from fans made him happy, he also expressed regret that he could not celebrate Meesaya Murukku 2 with them.

"Given the crowd density and the resulting safety and crowd-management considerations, and following advice from the police and relevant authorities, the decision was taken to cancel the performance as a precautionary measure. The safety and well-being of our visitors, the artist, staff and all stakeholders remains our foremost priority," Phoenix Mall said in a statement on Saturday night.

However, Nayanthara, who will soon be seen essaying the role of Ganga in Yash starrer 'Toxic', made an exception as she was seen at the trailer launch event for 'Toxic' on Saturday, along with the rest of the cast.

During her address at the trailer launch event, Nayanthara revealed why she avoids such promotional events. The actress claimed that she decided to make an exception only for Yash.

She shared, "It's not that I don't want to attend Promotional events. It's just that I'm not good very good at it. So I stay away from it. But this was special because so many reasons. But I think it's just Yash. He just made a call, and it was enough for me to attend the event."

Nayanthara further spoke about what made her experience working with Yash in 'Toxic' different.

"Everyone's big, everyone's cool. They are really good. That's why they are superstars. But with Yash, when I met him the first time, the kind of larger-than-life image that he actually has, that's how he really is in person also," she added.

Meanwhile, the recently released trailer of 'Toxic' provides an insight into the complex relationship between Raya and his son, Ticket, with a web of relationships and rivalries surrounding them.

We also get a better idea of Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Rukmini Vasanth, and Huma Qureshi's characters, the leading ladies of 'Toxic'.

Directed by Geetu Mohandas, 'Toxic' has been jointly backed by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations.

Gearing up for a worldwide theatrical release on 26 August 2026, 'Toxic' has been shot simultaneously in English and Kannada with dubbed versions in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam.

As part of her preparation for her new journey, Samantha was seen enjoying a maternity book. On Saturday, Samantha treated the netizens with a glimpse into the month of August, and in one of the pics, she was seen going through Ina May's 'Guide to Childbirth' while lying on the couch.

She captioned the post, "August energy (sic),, along with white heart emojis.

In her latest photo dump on Instagram, Samantha also shared a few gym selfies, along with a glimpse of husband Raj Nidimoru's birthday celebration.

The 'Yashoda' actress uploaded a clip in which she had tears in her eyes as she went into a laughing fit.

Meanwhile, Samantha recently confirmed her first pregnancy while addressing the media during the success meet of her latest release 'Maa Inti Bangaaram'.

During her address, Samantha shared that she will be taking a maternity break after wrapping up her present professional commitments.

“After Maa Inti Bangaaram, I will have to take a small break, given my condition. I’ll have to take maternity leave. After that, I’ll be back with another film for my fans,” Samantha said.

The speculations around Samantha's pregnancy started doing the rounds after her appearance at the success celebration of 'Maa Inti Bangaaram'.

Samantha's baby bump was visible as she made an appearance in a fitted white bodycon top, along with blue denim.

Samantha and Raj will reportedly be welcoming their little bundle of joy in December this year.

Samantha got married to Raj, one-half of the popular director duo Raj &DK, in December last year.

It is believed that these two first met during the shoot of 'The Family Man 2'.

For the unaware, Samantha was earlier married to actor Naga Chaitanya. These two got married in October 2017 and announced their separation in October 2021.

On Saturday, Star Vijay and JioHotstar treated the netizens with the exciting launch promo of 'Bigg Boss Tamil Season 10'.

The 10th season of the popular reality show has been marked with "Paththandu Vazhthukal". The creative wordplay has been inspired by the familiar Tamil greeting "Puthandu Vazhthukal." With the latest promo of the drama, the makers extended this special greeting to audiences, thanking them for loving the show for so many years.

The milestone season is marked with Carnivizha, a grand entertainment celebration compiling all the elements which have been loved by the audiences in the past, such as drama, laughter, friendships, rivalries, emotions, and unforgettable moments.

Host Vijay Sethupathi welcomed the viewers to Carnivizha, extending an invitation to all to be a part of the grand celebration of Season 10 of 'Bigg Boss Tamil'.

Towards the end of the promo, Vijay Sethupathi signed off with the powerful line, saying, "Inga Onnu Nenacha... Pathu Nadakkum. (Here, if you think of one thing… ten things will happen."

This line hints at the unpredictable and chaotic nature of the reality show. It points out that a single decision in the show is capable of setting off a chain reaction, altering the course of the game.

'Bigg Boss Tamil Season 10' is touted to be the biggest edition in the history of the franchise.

'Bigg Boss Tamil Season 10' is expected to premiere shortly exclusively on Star Vijay and JioHotstar.

Over the years, 'Bigg Boss Tamil' has become a crucial part of the Tamil entertainment industry. It successfully manages to keep the viewers hooked for almost 100 days every year, turning the show into a phenomenon.

Speaking to ANI, Vishal said such incidents can happen in politics, but stressed that the same standard should apply to others who make remarks against women. He said, "These kinds of incidents do happen in political scenarios. So I wish that whatever happened to Uday, the same kind of punishment happens to everyone who speaks ill about women in our fraternity."

"There are so many other people on YouTube; there are so many other people who have been openly speaking, hitting below the belt about our female fraternity. So I wish it were the same treatment...," he added.Udhayanidhi Stalin, was released after questioning by police for about an hour at Sengipatti Police Station in Thanjavur district earlier this month. His detention came after protests over his alleged remarks against actor Trisha during a Cauvery rights demonstration.

The controversy began when Udhayanidhi was addressing a gathering during a Cauvery protest and some people in the crowd reportedly started chanting "Trisha, Trisha". He allegedly responded with a double-meaning remark before saying that he was referring to Cauvery water. Following the remarks, the women's wing of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) lodged a complaint with the Thanjavur Police, alleging that the DMK leader had made a double-entendre remark targeting actor Trisha. The DMK, however, has maintained that Udhayanidhi's remarks were misrepresented and were directed at the government's functioning, not at any individual.

Prabhu Deva shared pictures from the ceremony on Instagram, expressing his gratitude to the City of Dallas and his fans and well-wishers for their continued support. “I am truly humbled and honored to receive this from the City of Dallas, Texas,” he wrote.

The honour comes during his US visit, where Prabhu Deva is also scheduled to perform in the Dallas area. His career spans more than three decades across Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinema, with his work as a choreographer, actor and filmmaker earning him national recognition. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 for his contribution to the arts and dance.

Prabhu Deva’s Dallas appearance is also listed at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, part of the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Mishra visited Ranchi's Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, where government job aspirants have been protesting over the last two weeks, and said he supported their agitation as they had continued it without political involvement.

"Whatever is possible for my event management company and me, I will do to support you," he told the protesters.

He urged the state government to consider the protesters' demands and fulfil them at the earliest.

Mishra also sang his popular song 'Aarambh Hai Prachand'.

Later, speaking to reporters, he said the protests at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi and the one in Ranchi should not be seen from different perspectives.

"Youths from across India participated in the Delhi protest. Jharkhand is also part of the country, and its protest should not be treated differently. I think all should speak about it," he said.

A leader of the movement said Mishra's visit gave them fresh impetus.

"He came from Bollywood to extend his support to our agitation. He also appreciated our way of holding the stir," he said.

The agitation entered its 15th day after talks between the state government and representatives of five student organisations failed to end the deadlock.

The protesting students have warned that they will march towards the state assembly on August 10 if the government fails to address their demands by Sunday.

Mohanlal, in a video message recorded in Singapore, expressed his disappointment over missing the event and said he did not want to blame anyone for the situation.

The event was reportedly cancelled after Mohanlal could not travel to Sydney.

"I am speaking to you from Singapore. I don't know how to express my grief. I am in a very sad situation. It has been almost 50 years since I entered the film industry. Perhaps I am the actor from India who has performed in the largest number of shows," he said.

Mohanlal said he had performed at shows in the US, Germany, the UK and Ireland this year and that the Sydney event had been planned with a good concept.

"Everyone with me, including K S Chithra, is there. But I don't know, somehow it happened. For the first time in my life, I did not get my visa. I don't know how it happened. It could be a technical or clerical mistake, or an AI-generated issue. I am not going into further details of what it is," he said.

Taking responsibility for the situation, he said, "I am taking all the blame on myself. I am telling you that it is my fault. I am very sorry about it."

Mohanlal said the organisers and his team had made every effort to make the event possible.

"Everyone else is there. To make this happen, everyone worked hard in every humanly possible way, especially Vimal from Kayal Events and his office. We all tried our best," he said.

Expressing regret to those who had travelled long distances to attend the show, he said, "To each one of you who drove from far away and came to watch this show, I apologise from the bottom of my heart."

He promised that the team would return to Sydney and organise a show.

"I promise that we will come back with the same team and do a wonderful show in front of you. I am so sorry. To each one of you, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. Really sorry, and I am helpless. Please accept my apologies," he said.

Mohanlal shared the film’s poster featuring his daughter Vismaya kicking on a punching bag.

He wrote: “A father’s heart couldn’t ask for more. Watching Vismaya begin her journey with Thudakkam, and seeing the love you’ve shown her, is a blessing I’ll always cherish.”

He praised the love and warmth showered on her and co-star Aashish Joe Antony.

“It warms my heart with immense joy to see Aashish Joe Antony, whom I have known and loved since he was a little boy, sharing this beautiful journey alongside her. Thank you for embracing them both with such warmth,” he wrote.

Thudakkam is an action thriller film directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, who also wrote the screenplay with Akhil Krishna and Linish Nellikkal.

The film stars Vismaya Mohanlal, Mohanlal, Ashish Joe Antony, Bobby Kurian, Sai Kumar, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Manoj K. Jayan, Miya George, and Jaffar Idukki.

Extremely pleased with the way her daughter Vismaya first film 'Thudakkam' had been made, Suchitra Mohanlal, the wife of Malayalam star Mohanlal, on August 6 gifted a luxurious Swiss watch to the film's director Jude Anthany Joseph.

The well known Malayalam film director Jude Anthany Joseph took to Instagram to pen a note of gratitude to Suchitra Mohanlal for her encouragement.

The director, who called Suchitra Mohanlal his elder sister, wrote, "They may be mother and daughter to the world, but to me, they’ll always be my elder sister and younger sister. "

He also went on to post a picture of the watch that Suchitra Mohanlal had gifted him and wrote, "The second picture is a beautiful gift from Suchi Chechi after watching Thudakkam — a gesture I’ll treasure for a lifetime. Thank you, dear Chechi, for your love, encouragement, and this unforgettable memory."

Centred around three friends and their life, the movie featured Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia in key roles.

"Dil Chahta Hai" released on August 10, 2001, and became an instant hit. Its songs became chartbusters and brought name and fame to the composer trio, known collectively as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

Looking back at the journey of composing tracks such as "Dil Chahta Hai", "Tanhayee", "Woh Ladki Hai Kahan" and "Jaane Kyon Log Pyar", Mahadevan said they had no idea that the songs will be remembered 25 years later.

"This film has truly been a milestone in our career as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy... We still cannot believe that 25 years have passed because it has been such a wonderful beginning for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It was not our first project, but 'Dil Chahta Hai' gave us immense credibility, a strong identity, and a lot of respect in the music industry. We can never have enough words of gratitude for this film," Mahadevan told PTI in a virtual interview.

Asked whether the film marked a turning point in their journey as composers, the singer-composer said, "Well, I would not call it a turning point. I would call it a starting point." The trio had previously composed songs for "Dus" and "Mission Kashmir" but "Dil Chahta Hai" was the first major success for the trio.

Mahadevan still remembers the day Farhan approached them to compose the music. Farhan would go on to make "Lakshya" and the "Don" series before turning to acting and establishing himself as a star.

"Farhan was just 24 years old when he came to us. He had a vision. He wanted to make a film that had a part of his own life reflected in the script he had written. I remember the script was around 60 pages and it was very interesting.

"Even Farhan was not completely sure about Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and we also told him, 'Let us see how this working relationship develops. We will work together and see what happens. If you feel our chemistry works, we will continue. Otherwise, you are free to explore other composers."

Farhan's father, legendary screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar was already on board to write the songs and the group gathered at Farhan's friend and producing partner Ritesh Sidhwani's bungalow in Khandala for a trial music-setting session for over a week.

"Within about three and a half days, we finished composing all the songs. After that, we had nothing left to do. We were just walking around, eating, and enjoying our time there because the music was already complete. We later recorded songs for over a month but the actual composition was done within days. Those were some of the most memorable moments of our creative journey," the musician recalled.

Mahadevan has many fond memories of discussing and refining songs with Javed Akhtar, especially the track "Jaane Kyon".

"Everyone was sleeping in the morning and only Javed Saab and I were awake. There was a swing outside Ritesh's house. Javed Saab and I were sitting there, and he said that this should not be in a typical song format. It should feel more like a conversation.

"Like someone asking a friend, 'Yaar, kyun? Jaane kyon log pyaar karte hain? Jaane kyon woh kisi pe marte hain?' It should feel like a normal conversation between friends. So I said, 'Why don't we play with the words jaane kyon?' Just repeat the phrase - jaane kyon, jaane kyon, jaane kyon. Then he asked the assistant to bring a piece of paper. Right there, sitting on the swing --without instruments and music -- he wrote the entire song in about five minutes."

Similarly, the opening tune for "Woh Ladki Hai Kahan" was composed while Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were travelling to Khandala.

"It was raining heavily, and I think Ehsaan had a Zen car. We were sitting inside, and this band called Afro Celt was playing. Afro Celt is Celtic music - a very typical Scottish style of music. There was this rhythmic pattern playing: So I thought, why don't we create a song where the hook is not a lyrical hook, but a musical hook?"

And that's how "Woh Ladki Hai Kahan" was composed.

The film will be directed by Abhay Pannu, best known for 'Rocket Boys'. Pannu has also written the screenplay. The project is scheduled to go on floors later this year. An industry source confirmed Varun Dhawan's casting, saying, "Varun has come on board as the lead for YRF's first horror film."

The source added, "Yash Raj Films is entering the horror genre for the first time with a feature film directed by Abhay Pannu, strategically championed by Akshaye Widhani (Chief Executive Officer of Yash Raj Films), and now headlined by Varun Dhawan as the lead. YRF has made films across almost every genre except horror. Come 2027, and the banner will finally step into this genre."

The film marks Pannu's theatrical directorial debut after earning acclaim for 'Rocket Boys'. It also reinforces Yash Raj Films' stated commitment to supporting a new generation of filmmakers. The upcoming project will also mark Varun Dhawan's second collaboration with Yash Raj Films after the success of 'Sui Dhaaga', as he returns to headline the studio's first theatrical horror film.

According to buzz, the makers have decided to push back the film's release due to concerns over theatre availability. The film was initially scheduled to hit screens on August 14, the same day as Vishal's Magudam and Suriya's Viswanathan & Sons. With multiple big releases lined up, securing an adequate number of screens is believed to have become a challenge.

Hi movie's cast & crew

Hi stars Nayanthara alongside Kavin and is directed by Vishnu Edavan, a former associate of director Lokesh Kanagaraj. The film is jointly produced by 7 Screen Studios and Rowdy Pictures, the banner owned by director Vignesh Shivan.

The romantic drama is said to revolve around a younger man falling in love with an older woman. Production has been completed, and the film's three songs, composed by Jen Martin, were released recently and received a positive response. The makers are now expected to announce a revised theatrical release date shortly.

Director Krishnakumar Ramakumar, who spent years researching Naidu's life before writing the film, has spoken about how deliberately that friendship was placed in the story. Naidu's circle in that era included figures such as Ramasamy Naicker and M.R. Radha, men who were genuinely close to him, and it is that bond the film chooses to show. “That friendship is there in the film,” Krishnakumar has said, “but whatever politics existed between them at the time, we have deliberately left out. This isn't a film about that. It's about the human being behind the inventor.”

That distinction, between the public record and the private man, is exactly where Sathyaraj's performance lives. His is the kind of part that carries a film's emotional register without ever asking for the frame's attention, a steady presence beside Naidu through the ordinary and the difficult years alike.

Sathyaraj himself has spoken candidly about what the film meant to him personally, beyond the part he was asked to play. Speaking to reporters at the film's press meet, he admitted that being from Coimbatore himself made his connection to the story sharper than he expected. “Having been born and raised right here in Coimbatore, the fact that I hadn't visited the G.D. Naidu museum in all these years left me with a real sense of guilt,” he said. “Naidu's inventions deserve to be celebrated across the world, on par with Edison's.”

He was equally candid about his reaction to his co-star's transformation. “The makeup work done for his final look, as the older Naidu, genuinely astonished me,” Sathyaraj said of watching Madhavan on set, a rare moment of a veteran actor being caught off guard by a colleague's craft rather than his own.

It is a small remark, but a telling one. Sathyaraj has spent more than four decades in Tamil cinema playing men of authority and gravity, and it takes a great deal to genuinely surprise an actor of his experience. That he was moved, both by Naidu's story and by watching it take shape around him, says something about the film the makers set out to build: one where even the actors playing supporting parts found themselves drawn deeper into Naidu's world than they expected to be.

It is that credibility Sathyaraj lends the film, the presence of an actor whose career has spanned everything from mainstream commercial cinema to some of Tamil film's most respected character work. Placing him beside Madhavan's Naidu, as a friend rather than a rival or an obstacle, gives the film a second register beneath the inventor's public triumphs: a quieter account of the people Naidu trusted, and who trusted him back, away from the workshop floor and the headlines.

GDN, directed by Krishnakumar Ramakumar and produced by Varghese Moolan Pictures and Tricolour Films, releases in theatres across Tamil Nadu and worldwide on 7 August 2026.

Director Krishnakumar Ramakumar shared one story from the shoot that captures the scale better than any statistic could. On the very first day of filming, actor Teejay Arunasalam, who plays the young G.D. Naidu, arrived on set and genuinely could not place where he was. “He thought we had emptied out an entire village and were shooting inside it as it stood,” Krishnakumar said. “That's the level of detail we were working with, even in a live location.” It was not a set dressed to look old. It was, in Teejay's own confusion, simply old.

Much of that credit, Krishnakumar was quick to point out, belongs to art director Cyril, whose department did not stop at streets and storefronts. Naidu's own inventions and the vehicles associated with him were recreated with the same obsessive accuracy, down to details few viewers would consciously register but would certainly feel. “Every invention, every vehicle he used, Cyril's team rebuilt it to perfection,” Krishnakumar said.

Cinematographer Arvind spoke about a different, equally demanding side of that authenticity: light itself. Getting exposure right, he explained, was central to making a period film feel lived-in rather than staged, since the wrong lighting can flatten even the most carefully built set into something that reads as artificial. To manage that balance without losing visual polish, Arvind used a hybrid approach, combining traditional VFX with AI-assisted tools, a pairing he said let the team achieve the look they wanted without compromising on quality anywhere in the process.

The commitment to authenticity extended well beyond the art department. The entire film was shot in Coimbatore itself, in the real places where G.D. Naidu ran his businesses day to day, rather than standing in for them elsewhere. Where possible, the production used objects Naidu himself had once used. Some of the cars associated with him have been carefully preserved by his family and remain in running condition to this day; the family made them available for the shoot, and those vehicles, along with a preserved motorcycle and buses from the same era, all appear on screen exactly as they once were.

That same rigour carried into the film's VFX and CG work, which the makers say was built to be felt rather than noticed. One sequence set during a parade in Hitler-era Germany, part of Naidu's own travels abroad, was rendered with enough precision that Madhavan's Naidu appears to be standing within touching distance of the events themselves, a level of digital integration Krishnakumar and Arvind both singled out as representative of the effort behind the film's visual work. As with the lighting, AI tools played a role here too, used carefully enough, both men said, that the final image never announces itself as artificial.

Taken together, real locations, real machines, exhaustive art direction and a visual effects pipeline built to disappear into the story, GDN's scale is not a backdrop to the film. It is, by the account of the people who built it and the audience that first saw it, one of the story's central achievements. GDN releases in theatres across Tamil Nadu and worldwide on 7 August 2026.

More significantly, the makers have announced that the film will now hit screens on September 24 this year.

'The Paradise', which is backed by SLV Cinemas, was originally set for a grand release on March 26, 2026. However, its makers chose to postpone the film's release to August 21. Now, the makers have chosen to further push the release date to September 24.

Taking to its social media timelines to release the teaser, SLV Cinemas, which is backing the film, wrote, "Jadala Zamana Shuru. #TheParadiseTeaser out now! Grand release worldwide on 24.09.26. Natural Star @NameisNani in an @odela_srikanth cinema. An @anirudhofficial musical."

The teaser released begins with a voiceover asking, "Henceforth, to whom does this place belong?" Nani then announces his arrival in quite a dramatic manner, performing an acrobatic stunt. Sporting two plaits and drenched in blood, he walks slowly sipping what appears to be a beverage.

We then see Mohan Babu, who plays the antagonist, referring to the people as "My beloved people of Paradise."

As a series of action sequences follow with blood being spilled quite generously, we hear a woman asking, "Is the government meant for your feudal lords or for the people?"

After this, we hear a man saying, "Our oppressed race must rise in rebellion. The very black they spat on in disgust will be the colour of our flag and the crow will be our emblem. Let's show them what will happen when the crows they spat on draw their swords!"

Soon cries of "Whose land is this? Ours! Whose country is this? Ours!" are heard. The teaser ends with Nani, soaked in blood and carrying a chain made of blades and sitting on a pile of bodies, wards off the evil eye.

In all, the teaser gives the impression that Paradise will be a grim, intense action thriller that will revolve around Nani leading the oppressed in rebellion against tyranny!

The film has triggered huge expectations among fans and film buffs and the teaser has only added to the excitement. It is expected to release in eight languages namely Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, English, Spanish, Bengali, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Taking to his Letterboxd profile, Kashyap gave the film a five-star rating and wrote, "Karthik Subbaraj's boldest and best work so far. So surprising and pleasantly shocking that you just can not see it coming."

The endorsement comes just days after Dorothy was officially announced and ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film is scheduled to release in theatres on September 25.

Written, directed and produced by Karthik Subbaraj under his Dhammam Films banner, Dorothy stars Keerthy Suresh in the titular role alongside Sananth and Rishikanth. The film is jointly backed by Jio Studios and Sikhya Entertainment.

The recently released teaser offered a glimpse into the film's emotionally charged narrative, while Karthik Subbaraj has previously said Dorothy explores themes of identity, caste, masculinity and compassion through deeply human characters.

The film also marks a milestone for Ilaiyaraaja, who has composed the music for his 1,540th feature film. The technical crew includes cinematographer S. Thirunavukkarasu, editor Ganesh Siva, production designer Kumar Gangappan and stunt choreographer Dinesh Subbarayan.

Anurag's glowing endorsement has further heightened expectations for Dorothy, which is set to begin its journey on the international festival circuit before arriving in theatres later this year.

Directed by debutant Ramachandran Kannan, the romantic entertainer is set to release in cinemas worldwide on August 21.

Romantic drama with a fresh team

Ram in Leela stars Varthika as the female lead opposite Rio Raj. The film, centred on a love story, is directed by debut filmmaker Ramachandran Kannan, while Ankit Menon has composed the music.

The film recently wrapped up shooting, and post-production work, including dubbing and re-recording, is currently progressing at full pace.

Rio Raj's growing filmography

Rio Raj made his debut as a lead actor with Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja and went on to feature in films such as Plan Panni Pannanum, Joe, Sweetheart and Aanpaavam Pollathathu. With Ram in Leela, the actor is looking to continue his successful run in Tamil cinema.

The film is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on August 21.

According to a Daily Thanthi report, the romantic rural drama will begin streaming on Prime Video from August 7.

Released in theatres last month

Oh Sukumari hit theatres on July 17 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Directed by Bharath Darshan and produced by Maheswara Reddy Mooli under the Ganga Entertainments banner, the film features Thiruveer as the male lead alongside Aishwarya Rajesh.

The supporting cast includes Jhansi, Vishnu Oi Laddoo, Aamani, Muralidhar, Anand, Anjimama, Shivanand, Kota Jayaram and Kavireddy Srinivas.

Set against a rural backdrop, Oh Sukumari revolves around a romantic storyline and was well received by audiences, particularly family viewers.

Varghese Moolans Pictures, the production house producing the film, took to its Instagram page on Thursday to share the look of the actor and also disclose the name of the character he played in the biopic. It said, "Introducing #Sathyaraj as Ramaiah Pillai. Some men stand firm, no matter the storm. G.D.N in theatres from 7th August."

The makers had earlier released Jayaram's look as Ambalapara Krishnan, Vinay Rai's look as Bhupendra and Dushara Vijayan's look as Ranganayaki in the film.

Actor Karunakaran plays a character called Perunkili while actress Aditi Balan plays a character called Padmavathi in the film, which is a biopic of iconic Indian inventor, agriculturist and philanthropist G D Naidu. It is slated to hit screens worldwide on August 7 this year.

The makers had also released the looks of actress Sheela as the young Chellamal and actor Teejay Arunasalam as the young G D Naidu in the film.

A trailer that the makers had launched earlier this month has triggered huge expectations among fans and film buffs.

The trailer released begins with a person saying G D Naidu, in his old age, had gone mad, as he had bombed his own building. The trailer then shows an Englishman asking, "Who the hell is this fakir?"

It is then that GD Naidu's character is introduced with flair. His detractors are jealous he is making millions through his transport system UMS. We also realise that he has started a polytechnic engineering college.

The trailer shows actor Jayaram playing a very vicious character called Krishnan with power. He asks, "GDN charges huge amounts as fees but does he find paying tax a bitter pill to swallow?"

The British realise that GDN is working within the system and that his books are clean. However, his rivals are intent on thwarting his fame and success by hook or crook. Vinay Rai's character is seen telling an English official, "Soil the books."

Those in power try to restrict GDN's growth by levelling trumped up charges against him. Jayaram's character is seen ordering cops to search GDN's premises claiming they had got information that GDN had developed machines for printing counterfeit currency.

Eventually, we get to know from the trailer that GDN was an honest tax payer who was paying all his taxes on time and that he began questioning the government only when they began levying taxes unjustly on him.

The trailer then shows the British government bringing treason charges against GDN, saying that he was doing business with the Nazis and that this was against the interests of the crown.

Krishnan's character threatens saying that GDN will not be allowed even one peaceful night's sleep from that point on. The trailer ends with Aditi Balan's character summing up the courage of GDN.

She says," If the story of a hunt is written by the lion without the hunter in it, then the meaning of courage itself will change."

The film, apart from Madhavan, also features Jayaram, Carl Andrew Harte, Priyamani, Dushara Vijayan, Karunakaran, Sathyaraj, Aditi Balan, Vijay Rai and Teejay Arunasalam in pivotal roles. The film has music by Govind Vasantha and cinematography by Aravind Kamalanathan.

Fernandes, best known for blending world music influences into a distinctive sound, made an emotional speech before the hour-long concert earlier this week to explain why he has to now perform sitting in a chair.

"Now sitting down and performing is not really my cup of tea. So that's why I decided to call it a day and to stop performing," Fernandes told the crowd at Cranford Community College in Hounslow.

"Some years ago, after I took the third COVID vaccine, I suffered a light stroke. And that stroke gave me some problems in the use of my fingers. So that made my guitar playing and my flute playing a bit difficult. And it was not as it used to be before.

And then last year, I suffered from vertigo. I had a nasty fall for which I had to be operated on in my cranium."

Fernandes said his doctor told him that he can't perform while standing and that's when he decided to end his journey as a live performer.

He said there were two reasons why he decided to perform for one final time at the UK-Goan Festival.

"I was supposed to perform here last year but I could not perform because of my operation. And the president of the Goan UK, Mr Ravi Vaz, was kind enough to invite me again this year. And this year, I didn't want to say no, I could not say no. So here I am," he said.

The second reason was that he had long wanted to perform in front of Goans in the UK for a long time.

"Finally, my wish has come true. And I'm going to be performing for you. And I wish to apologize for the fact that my fingers are not what they used to be, what they used to be. My throat is not what it used to be. And I have to sit down and perform," he said.

For the next hour, Fernandes took the audience on a trip down memory lane by performing all the songs that made him a pop sensation -- from "Maria Pitache" to "Humma Humma".

Fernandes is best known for blending Goan, Portuguese, rock, pop, Latin, reggae and world music influences into a distinctive sound.

Born on May 8, 1953, in Goa, Fernandes studied architecture at Sir J J College of Architecture in Mumbai before choosing music as a full-time career.

He rose to prominence in the 1980s, long before India’s independent music scene became mainstream.

His English-language albums such as his debut “Pack That Smack” (1986) and “Bombay City” established him as one of India’s leading rock musicians, while songs like “Bombay City”, “Mr Minister” and “Down with Brown” became cult classics.

Fernandes achieved nationwide fame with playback hits including “Humma Humma” (“Bombay”), “Huiya Ho” (“Khamoshi: The Musical”), “Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha”, “O Meri Munni”, and “Signal”.

Over the years, he has performed alongside or shared stages with internationally renowned musicians, including members of Queen and Led Zeppelin, and has toured extensively across India and abroad.

Apart from music, he has acted in films such as “Ek Villain”, “Bombay Velvet” and “99 Songs”.

The 51-year-old actor, who has returned as a judge on the television dance reality show "India's Best Dancer Season 5", made a mark in the 1990s with her energetic and expressive dance style in hit songs such as "Le Gayi", "Sona Kitna Sona Hai", "Main Toh Raste Se Ja Raha Tha", and "Husn Hai Suhana".

"As a dancer, you have to be very expressive. And only if you are very expressive, will you be considered a good dancer. Dancing is not just a robotic thing, so you have to be very expressive in any sort of dance form.

"So, it helped me in my career, especially for expressions and in songs and in acting," she told PTI in an interview.

While dancing brought her popularity, Karisma credits films such as "Fiza" and "Zubeidaa" for proving her acting range.

"Films like ‘Fiza’, ‘Zubeidaa’, ‘Shakti’ and ‘Biwi No. 1’ also have been an integral part of my journey. It proved I could do both. They're all pieces of my heart,” Kapoor said.

The actor said her passion for dance began in her childhood through formal training in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and later jazz.

"It was a love of dance that I used to go for the classes. I just loved acting, loved dance and anything artistic and creative,” the actor.

Karisma also credited the late legendary choreographer Saroj Khan for shaping her Bollywood dance vocabulary.

“Saroj Khan ji has been my guru. I’ve been to her dance classes and she would train me. In fact, she would train me in Bollywood dance on ‘Tamma Tamma’ of Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt. At that time, she was choreographing that song and she would tell (her team) that, ‘This is my new song, and teach her song’,” the actor recalled.

Talking about her dance face-off with Madhuri Dixit Nene in the 1997 movie “Dil Toh Pagal Hai”, Karisma said it was among the toughest song sequences of her career.

“Any actor can understand the kind of pressure I may have gone through, like I would idolise Madhuri Dixit and then doing a film with her. In the song (‘Dance of Envy’), I had to show it was a competitive dance piece.

"It was a bit difficult. It was a mixture of emotions because I was looking up to Madhuri Dixit and then I had to give her these glaring looks and perform my best,” she said.

As a judge on “India's Best Dancer”, Karisma said she enjoys watching young talent and added that dance has evolved over the years on reality TV.

The dance show, which premiered on Sony LIV and Sony Entertainment Television in early June, is co-judged by Geeta Kapoor, Terrence Lewis, and Jaaved Jaaferi.

The actor said she evaluates contestants on basis of four E's -- entertainment, emotion, expressions and energy.

“The performance has to touch me whether we see a play or a movie or a dance or a singing show, it must touch your heart, you must feel some emotion. I'm the emotional judge and I will judge from my heart, and not only technicality," she added.

.Taking to its social media timelines to release the first look poster, production house Grandel Pictures, which is producing the film, wrote, "The fools (have) gathered again #MoodarKoodam2 #MISSIONPOSSIBLE. Stay tuned till 5:55 PM - We have more to come (Tamil & Telugu Release)."

Sources close to the unit of the upcoming film, which is a sequel to the superhit 'Moodar Koodam' -- a dark comedy action entertainer that went on to emerge a superhit, say that this film's story will begin from where the first part ended.

"It will be a proper sequel," says a source in the know, adding that the movie would take audiences on a thrilling ride across Europe.

The unit has shot the film in a number of stunning locations all across Europe. "The team has shot in Italy's picturesque landscapes. They have shot visuals that will highlight Germany's historic architecture, Switzerland's snow-capped mountains, Austria's grandeur, Croatia's coastal beauty, Slovenia's lush greenery, and Kazakhstan's vast steppes. In fact, the team spent anywhere between 60 to 70 days capturing breathtaking visuals," says a source.

The source adds, "Moodarkoodam 2 will look to masterfully blend dark humor with high-stakes action, reminding one of 'Mission Impossible', and will have a touch of fantasy to keep viewers guessing."

Produced by Kamal Bohra and Samkit Bohra under Grandel Pictures, the film boasts top-notch animation and VFX, which has been handled by a seasoned US team that's worked on Disney blockbusters. The VFX team, sources claim, has delivered visuals that match the film's adrenaline-fueled action.

Apart from Naveen Hidhayath, the sequel will feature a host of actors including actress Oviya, actors Senrayan, Rajaji, Kuberan and Jayaprakash among others.

On the technical front, the film will have cinematography by Sooraj Nallusami. Music for the songs in the film have been scored by Amrish and Natarajan Sankaran while the background score for the film has been scored by Natarajan Sankaran.

Editing is by Athiappan Siva, while stunts have been choreographed by Mahesh Mathew, Nomad Stunts.

The film is set to release in theatres across India on September 25.

Karthik Subbaraj, writer-director, said in a statement, "Dorothy is a film I've carried with me for a long time. It comes from a world I know intimately, one where friendship becomes a refuge, where love survives in silence, and where tenderness exists even in the harshest of places.”

“Through this story, I wanted to explore identity, caste, masculinity, and compassion, not through spectacle, but through deeply human characters. While it's rooted in the culture and landscape of Tamil Nadu, I believe its emotions are universal. We're proud that its journey begins on a global stage like TIFF."

Subbaraj's landmark 10th feature, Dorothy, is set to have its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival in the Centrepiece section.

The Tamil-language feature, with an original score by legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja in his milestone 1,540th film, is backed by Jio Studios and Sikhya Entertainment and joins TIFF's acclaimed international program, formerly known as Contemporary World Cinema.

Inspired by the vibrant yet fading tradition of Indian highway truck art, the poster reflects the spirit of the road and subtly foreshadows the journey that lies at the heart of Dorothy.

Produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain in association with Dhammam Films, Dorothy stars Sananth, Rishikanth and Keerthy Suresh in pivotal roles.

Guneet Monga Kapoor & Achin Jain, Producers, Sikhya Entertainment, the Academy Award-winning team behind The Elephant Whisperers, said, "Dorothy reminds us that empathy is one of the most powerful forces we have. What makes Karthik Subbaraj's storytelling so distinctive is that it finds grace and humanity in places where you least expect it. That's what makes Dorothy so special.”

“It has the depth of a festival film with the heart and accessibility of commercial cinema. We hope its world premiere at TIFF is the beginning of a journey that connects with audiences across cultures and borders."

Jyoti Deshpande, President, Jio Studios, said: "The most powerful stories are rooted in authenticity yet speak to audiences everywhere. In a world increasingly shaped by technology, it is human emotion that remains timeless. Dorothy embodies that beautifully.”

“Karthik Subbaraj has crafted a deeply moving film, elevated by Illaiyaraaja’s extraordinary music and unforgettable performances. We’re thrilled that its journey begins at TIFF, where we hope it is celebrated for its artistry, heart and courage”.

Directed by Vijay,known for Deiva Thirumagal and Madrasapattinam the documentary traces Ajith’s passion for motorsport, featuring his training, challenges and experiences on the racetrack. The first-look poster features the actor in full racing gear alongside his race car, underlining the film’s focus on his pursuit of excellence in professional racing.Music for the documentary has been composed by GV Prakash Kumar. Ajith, who has consistently balanced his acting career with his love for motorsport, has earned admiration for returning to competitive racing while continuing to headline films. Gladiators is expected to offer a behind-thescenes look at his dedication, discipline and determination on the international racing pursuit.

While the makers are yet to announce the documentary’s release date, the first look has already generated excitement among fans eager to witness a new facet of the actor’s journey.

Pradeep Rawat is survived by his wife and son Vikramaditya. The unfortunate news of the passing away of the actor was shared by Pradeep Rawat's longtime colleague, actor Yashpal Sharma.

Yashpal, who was also a part of 'Lagaan', paid a heartfelt tribute to Pradeep Rawat through an emotional social media post that read, “Pradeep Rawat Our Gajini Deva of Lagaan RIP”. If the reports are to be believed, the veteran actor was suffering from cancer. It is also reported that Pradeep Rawat was in the hospital for some time before passing away. Talking about his career, during his tenure spanning more than 3 decades, Pradeep Rawat had worked in multiple languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

He made his acting debut with the Bollywood movie 'Meri Jung' back in 1985, where he was seen essaying the role of a police inspector. However, he ended up becoming a household name for his portrayal of Ashwatthama, the son of Guru Dronacharya, in BR Chopra’s iconic television series 'Mahabharat'.

Some of his early roles in the Hindi films include, 'Samundar (1986)'. He was seen as a naval officer in the drama. In 1990, he appeared as the sidekick of Amitabh Bachchan in the movie 'Agneepath'. Then came Aamir Khan's 'Sarfarosh' in 1999, in which he essayed the role of Sultan, a key henchman, and in 'Lagaan (2001)' he portrayed one of the villagers, Deva Singh Sodhi, who joins Bhuvan (Aamir Khan)'s cricket team against the British officer. Some of his other noteworthy projects also include 'The Hero: Love Story of a Spy', 'Stalin', 'Veeram', '1: Nenokkadine', 'Loukyam', 'Nenu Sailaja', 'Sarrainodu', 'Nene Raju Nene Mantri', 'Aayirathil Iruvar', 'Market Raja MBBS' and 'Miss Match'. --IANS pm/

Mandanna on Monday evening shared a detailed health update on Instagram, explaining the nature of the injury. The post came days after there were reports stating that the actor has been advised six weeks of complete rest and a structured rehabilitation programme.

"Injuries suck.. and I was really hoping that no one will get to know.. but well... Sorry I’ve been MIA but hieeee! I’m hereeee!

"It happened awhile ago ya and this is my 3rd injury back to back.. I should definitely learn to treat my body like a human body and not some machine.." she wrote.

The actor said one of the tendons connecting her right hip to her leg had detached during the filming of a dance sequence for "Mysaa".

"But well umm the injury is basically.. ummm how do I explain it.. (make way for the biology teacher) so there are 4 tendons on each side of your hip that connects your hip to your leg and one of those tendons on my right hip apparently had detached and that has to attach again, for me to be able to lift my leg up and stuff.. and this happened during my dance shoot for 'Mysaa'.. my god that’s the most aggressive film I’ve ever done for sure!" she added.

The actor, however, reassured fans that she was recovering well.

"It hurts but it’s not unbearable or something.. so ya that’s that.. and I feel like this is god saying you’ll never take a break if it’s left to you so here.. let me do it for you!" she said.

Mandanna described the injury as a "freak accident" and said she was making the most of her forced break by solving puzzles.

The actor also joked about missing her workout routine.

"Really really trying not to put on weight cz well I workout and run like a beast which keeps me in a decent shape and now I won’t be able to workout or run for awhile and if I can’t workout then what do I doooo.. I eat.. and I become a dessert monster.. so uh hoooo!

"Well that’s about it.. what else did I miss.. nothing na.. if anything I’ll update soon. Love ya! Don’t worry ok.." she added.

The makers have disclosed that Abishan plays a character called Sugan in the film.

Taking to its social media timelines to share Abishan Jeevinth's look in the film, Drama Company, the production house producing the film, wrote, "Meet the bundle of energy - Sugan. Our Energetic Star Abishan Jeevinth is all set to steal your hearts in #DramaCompanyProductionNo1. Shoot in Progress. Starring @nimmashivarajkumar @abishan_jeevinth | @shivani_nagaram | @iamyogalakshmi | @gaanavinoth. Written & Directed by @gowtham_sivaraman. Produced by @am_bala_arunachalam @dramacompanyofcl. Music by @leon.james. DOP @pragadeesh97. Editor @iam_sureshkumark Art Director @vijuvijayanvv Costume Designer @swathiramakrishnann Executive Producer @prasanth___udt Creative Producer @surabe_selvan PRO @prosrivenkatesh #DramaCompanyProductionNo1 #ShootInProgress #Shivarajkumar #AbishanJeevinth."

For the unaware, director Gautham Sivaraman's film featuring Abishan Jeevinth and Shiva Rajkumar in the lead is being produced by Balamurugan A under the banner of Drama Company. The film, which was launched in June this year with great fanfare, will feature Shivani Nagaram as the female lead opposite Abishan Jeevinth. Apart from the lead actors, the film will also feature a host of actors including Yogalakshmi, Gaana Vinoth, Sangeetha Madhavan and Benjamin.

On the technical front, the film will have music by one of the best music directors in the Tamil film industry, Leon James. It will also have cinematography by Pragadeesh Prabhu and editing by Suresh Kumar.

It may be recalled that Abishan Jeevinth had earlier this year greeted actor Shiva Rajkumar on his birthday, saying he was incredibly proud to be sharing screen space with him.

Taking to his X timeline, Abishan Jeevinth, who had shot to fame with his first directorial 'Tourist Family', wrote, "Happy Birthday, @NimmaShivanna sir!! Wishing you nothing but the very best, always. Thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown me. I’m incredibly proud to be sharing the screen with you."

The film, which is being produced by Mammootty's own production house, Mammootty Kampany, is yet to be titled and is being tentatively referred to as #MammoottyKampanyProductionNo9.

Taking to its social media timelines to announce the arrival of Mammootty on the sets of the film, Mammootty Kampany wrote, "The Much Awaited Day!'M' Joins Our Production No.9 Directed by Nithish Sahadev. #Mammootty #Mammukka #NithishSahadev #MammoottyKampany."

The makers also shared a video clip showing Mammootty arriving on the sets of the film on the occasion.

For the unaware, only a week ago, the makers of the film had announced the commencement of shooting at Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. Mammootty Kampany had then said, "The wait is over! MammoottyKampany Production No. 9, directed by Nithish Sahadev, has officially gone on floors today in Karaikudi. Seeking all your love, blessings, and support as we embark on this exciting journey. Stay tuned for more updates!"

The makers also released a BTS clip of the crew shooting some crucial scenes in the film on the first day of shooting.

The film has triggered huge expectations as Nithish Sahadev's previous film, 'Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil', featuring actor Jiiva in the lead, was a big hit in Tamil cinema.

Soon after the success of 'Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimaiyil', Nithish Sahadev had announced that he would be directing Mammootty in his next film. The director had made this announcement last year. Taking to his Instagram page to post a picture of himself and his team with Mammootty, he had written, "Next padam with Mammookka. Directed by Myself. Written by - Anuraj Ob & Myself. Project Designer : Agnivesh Ranjith #Mammootty #MammoottyKampany #soonrolling."

The film had been officially launched two weeks ago with a grand pooja ceremony. Mammootty Kampany had then too taken to its Instagram page to make the announcement. It had said, "MammoottyKampany Production Number 9 Kicked Off today with the Pooja Ceremony ! Direction : Nithish Sahadev D.O.P : Jimshi Khalid Written by : Anuraj OB & Nithish Sahadev. Stay Tuned for More Updates #Mammootty #MammoottyKampany #NithishSahadev."

Interestingly, the unit of #MammoottyKampanyProductionNo9 has begun its shooting schedule on a day actor Dulquer Salmaan, the son of actor Mammootty, celebrated his birthday.

As she shows no hint of fatigue during the conversation, she says, “As someone who has been working across industries for quite some time now, I should say that working on back-to-back films has ended up becoming a muscle memory.” Pujita, having spent a decade in the industry has worked across genres as well as films of different budgets. “My current projects are all different from one another. The teams, the budgets, the characters arcs are different and I must say that I am having fun on these sets. It is easy for me to switch-on and switch-off from one set to another,” she adds.

The actor’s social media post in which she plays a cop has gone viral with her fans going gung-ho about it. “The picture I had posted was only a look test and it has garnered a lot of attention. This isn’t the first time that I am playing a cop. I have played one in Desingu Raja 2 and Ravanasura but this one is quite different,” assures Pujita. However, three Telugu films at a time would create chatter in Chennai that she has shifted her focus away from Tamil films. “That was the case when I was shooting for Tamil films simultaneously. People here (in Hyderabad) believed that I have shifted my base to Tamil. It is quite common as an actor. But I also have Signal at 11.30 lined up for a release in Tamil,” remarks the actor.

The video glimpses of Signal at 11.30 in which she plays the female lead have her sharing the screen space with Santhosh Prathap. “I play a doctor in the film. She is kind-hearted and is loved by everyone. The movie is basically a beautiful love story and is set in a hill station. The visuals are breathtaking. We shot it in cloudy times adding a nice ambience for romantic portions. Though I can’t divulge much about the movie, it is another nice project that I am a part of. I enjoyed playing this character and I was intrigued by the fact that my role is written by a female director. My personal opinion is that when a female character is written by a director who is also a female, there is more depth and emotion to it,” Pujita elaborates.

Pujita has been a part of multi-starrers, and multi-heroine subjects and yet has carved a niche for herself. Coming from a software background, we ask her about taking a gamble that has paid her off well. “I have known people training to get into acting even in their teens and going for dance classes. For me it was very different. I was a software professional and acting to me happened by chance, I hardly had any expectations from this career, intially. I never put myself in the rat race. I feel that there is space for every actor and that has made me secure. Everyone can excel in their space. For me, sometimes it has worked and sometimes it hasn’t,” concludes Pujita.

The posters were an instant hit on the internet.

The images had Jiiva in cropped hair with a boy by his side and the title gives away that the actor plays a doting father in the movie.

However, DT Next learns that the movie is a hard-hitting emotional drama, diametrically opposite to his last comedy hit movie, Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimayil.

Produced by Lark Studios, the film is directed by Ra Venkat and has cinematography handled by Sukumar. The makers are shooting for the film in a single stretch and the shoot is expected to be wrapped up later this month.

Thagappan is being filmed in and around the locales of Madurai.

Sources from the unit say that the local crowd that has been a witness to the shoot has praised the unit. Rajisha Vijayan plays the female lead while Lakshmy Ramakrishnan plays a pivotal role. 

The actor, who rang in her birthday celebrations, launched her performance nutrition brand, Okuu protein bar.

“I invested five years and 551 formulations before going live with Okuu. I did this in between my hectic shooting schedules because there were several myths and misleading information about fitness and diet on social media and even away from it. Okuu has 35 grams of protein in a single bar, sans sugar, and is also the first collagen-based performance nutrition,” she told DT Next.

Even before we could ask her about the road ahead for her company, she added, “We have been verified as participants already in NASA's space food challenges, only after they were convinced with Okuu's formula as it is seen as potential space-grade food.”

Despite her current entrepreneurial commitments, Sakshi remarked that her commitment towards films won’t cease. “I will continue doing the right scripts and films as and when I hear them,” she concluded

This is not new territory for him. In Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Madhavan wrote, directed and starred as Nambi Narayanan, the ISRO scientist wrongly accused of espionage in 1994. He spent years on the project, and the finished film went on to win Best Feature Film at the 69th National Film Awards, one of Indian cinema's highest honours, and one that recognised not just a performance but an act of near-total immersion in another man's ordeal.

He carried that same instinct into Dhurandhar, Aditya Dhar's action thriller, where he played a character built around India's National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. The transformation was unmistakable even in the film's first-look stills: the shaved head, the government-issue formality, the stillness of a man who has spent a career not being noticed. Audiences and critics alike remarked on how closely Madhavan's screen presence echoed the real Doval, right down to posture and expression.

Both performances point to something consistent in how Madhavan approaches a role rooted in a real person. He treats resemblance as only the visible layer of a much larger commitment: the voice has to change, the walk has to change, the years a character has lived have to show in the body, not just the face. It is a slower, more exacting way to make a film, and it rarely announces itself loudly. It shows up instead in small choices an audience absorbs without quite noticing.

That same discipline has gone into GDN. The film asks more of him than either of his two recent transformations, because it does not ask him to play GD Naidu at one age. It asks him to play Naidu across an entire lifetime, from a determined young engineer with almost nothing to his name to the elderly industrialist Tamil Nadu came to call the Edison of India. The trailer alone shows a Madhavan who is, in the film's later passages, close to unrecognisable, aided by prosthetic work but carried, ultimately, by how he holds himself: the stoop of age, the economy of movement, the particular quiet of a man who built more in one lifetime than most manage in several.

Preparing for a role like this is not something an actor does alone in front of a mirror. It draws on research into Naidu's own life, into Coimbatore's engineering circles, his notebooks, the accounts of people who worked alongside him, and the physical record that survives him. Every mannerism a viewer will read as instinctive on screen is, in fact, the product of that research being absorbed and then, deliberately, set aside, so that what remains looks like a man simply living rather than an actor performing a biography.

None of this would matter if the film had left GD Naidu's most defining years, his childhood and youth in Coimbatore, unaddressed. That responsibility, and it is a considerable one, has gone to Teejay Arunasalam, cast to play the young GD Naidu before Madhavan's version of the character takes over. It is, by any account, an inspired piece of casting. The resemblance between Arunasalam's screen presence and the man Naidu is believed to have been in his younger years is striking enough that the transition between the two actors; performances is designed to feel less like a change of actor and more like watching one man simply grow older. That continuity, credit for which belongs as much to the film's casting process as to Arunasalam himself, is what allows Madhavan's later transformation to land with its full weight.

It is worth pausing on why this level of effort matters at all, beyond craft for its own sake. A biographical film lives or dies by whether an audience believes, even briefly, that they are watching history rather than an interpretation of it. That belief is fragile, and it is built moment by moment, out of a hundred small decisions an actor makes about how to stand, how to pause before answering, how to age convincingly across decades within a two-hour running time. Madhavan's track record, across Nambi Narayanan and now Ajit Doval's fictionalised counterpart, is exactly why GDN's Naidu was always going to be judged against a high bar of his own making.

Produced by S Lakshman Kumar, the film promises a blend of family emotions, entertainment and heroism.

Karthi returns to a genre that has given him several successful films, with a story aimed at audiences of all ages. The project is also special for director Mohan Raja, as it marks the 25th year of his filmmaking career.

Known for hit films like Santhosh Subramaniam, Velayudham and Thani Oruvan, Raja's collaboration with Karthi has already created excitement among fans.

The film will feature a star-studded cast and a strong technical team.

Shooting is set to begin soon, with more details about the cast, crew, and release to be announced in the coming weeks. Sharing the announcement, Prince Pictures said, “A new journey begins.”

The title of Dare Devil, the film, like the actor-racer’s previous films portrays Ajith’s off-screen persona. With him amassing trophies in the last 20 months as a racer, Dare Devil seems to be the most apt title for this film.

The title was announced with the design of dice, filmmaker Adhik and Ajith are expected to create a mindbender. This is Ajith’s first film announcement in 16 months after the release of Good Bad Ugly in April last year.

Dare Devil will have its cinematography by Abhinandhan Ramanujam, who also worked with Adhik in Mark Antony and Good Bad Ugly. The core technical team has been retained from Good Bad Ugly with Anirudh replacing GV Prakash as the composer. “In fact, a couple of songs have been composed already after Adhik-Anirudh’s discussions,” source in the know told DT Next.

It is to be noted that the film will be produced by Bravehearts Production by Shalini Ajithkumar. “The script was narrated as a one-liner to Ajith during the shoot of Good Bad Ugly and was impressed with the idea. Adhik then developed the script and the shoot is all set to begin in September. The cast members will be revealed in the coming weeks.”

Ajith Kumar’s Dare Devil will be a 2027 summer release. 

Sources close to the unit of the film said that the unit had gone to Hungary to film some important sequences and that the unit had now wrapped up the schedule.

For the unaware, the makers of the film had welcomed well known Telugu actor Jagapathi Babu onboard the unit of the film in February this year.

Taking to its X timeline to wish Jagapathi Babu a happy birthday, well known production house SLV Cinemas, which is producing the film, had said, "Happy Birthday to the versatile @IamJagguBhai Garu. The world of DQ41 gets special with your addition. -Team #DQ41. #SLVC10 Starring @dulQuer, @hegdepooja, @meramyakrishnan, @Dheekshiths.

Directed by @ravinelakuditi9. Music by @gvprakash. Cinematography by #AnayOmGoswamy. Editing by #KotagiriVenkateswaraRao. Production design by @artkolla. Produced by @sudhakarcheruk5 under @SLVCinemasOffl. Co-produced by @innamuri8888."

The film, which went on floors in August last year, features Dulquer Salmaan and Pooja Hegde in the lead.

The project was launched with a special pooja ceremony in Hyderabad last year.

While Natural Star Nani had given the clap for the mahurat shot, Buchi Babu had switched on the camera. 'Dasara' director Srikanth Odela had also graced the mahurat ceremony.

Treating the netizens to sneak peeks from the launch ceremony, Dulquer had said, "The much awaited #DQ41 - a heartwarming contemporary love story - launched grandly with a pooja ceremony...Natural Star @nameisnani gave the clap & blockbuster directors @srikanthodela__ & @buchibabu_sana graced the event to bless the team."

Backed by Sudhakar Cherukuri under the banner of SLV Cinemas, the music for the film is being provided by two-time National Award winner GV Prakash.

Apart from Dulquer Salmaan, Pooja Hegde and Jagapathi Babu, the film will also feature Ramya Krishnan and Deekshith Shetty in pivotal roles.

On the technical front, the film has Anay Goswamy as its cinematographer, and Avinash Kolla as the head of the production design.

Touted to be a pan-India project, 'Sri Sri' will reach the audience in five languages.

Taking to his X timeline, Karthik Subbaraj wrote, "Happy to unveil the First Look & Second Look of @Actor_Krishna's 25th Film #MurderInTow. Best wishes team. Written & Directed by @DirBalakrishnan.Produced by @manu_manthra #SriVishnuCreations

@Yathrapictures. Starring: @thebindumadhavi @Bala_actor @VaibhavMuruges1 #Pandiarajan #ChinniJayanth #IMVijayan #Saravanan #Gajaraj @krishdayal17 #Tharshika #Nynika."

Presented by Manu Manthra Creations and Sri Vishnu Creations, 'Murder in Town' has been written and is being directed by Balakrishnan. Sources say the director has crafted the film as an engrossing investigative crime thriller. While the title itself evokes intrigue, the first-look poster offers an equally compelling glimpse into a world where every clue matters, every decision has consequences, and every revelation leads to a deeper mystery.

In the first-look poster that was released, Krishna appears as Police Officer N Athiyaman, carrying an intense yet contemplative expression that hints at the emotional burden of a challenging investigation.

Another image of the actor, dressed in civilian attire and walking through a meticulously designed crime scene, too has been released.

Scattered evidence, a blood-stained file, an abandoned police cap, surveillance equipment, a devastating explosion and the rugged terrain spotted in this image create an atmosphere of mystery, suggesting that 'Murder in Town' will be far more than just a conventional whodunit thriller.

Bindu Madhavi plays the female lead in this film, which will also feature a number of gifted actors such as Bala Saravanan, Vaibhav Murugesan, R. Pandiarajan, Chinni Jayanth, Kalaimamani Saravanan, ‘Padma Shri’ I.M. Vijayan, Krishnadayal, Gajaraj, Tharshika and Baby Nynika .

The film, which is being produced by Mahendraraj Santhosh Kumar, Karunanithi Velappan and Suba Venkat of Manu Manthra Creations, Sri Vishnu Creations and Yathra Pictures, will have music by Ranjan and cinematography by T Gopal Krishna.

Sources say Kavin Adithya is overseeing the editing works of this film, which has art direction by Venkat Bala. Costumes for the film have been designed by Vinod Sundar and Swetha Raghul. 'Kodangi' Vadivel has penned the dialogues of this film.

Sources inform that the unit recently wrapped up the shooting of the film. They add that the unit has shot the film across Chennai and in the scenic locales of Kerala. The film is now under post-production.

Participating in the audio launch event of the film, which was held in Coimbatore on Sunday, Suriya said he had already watched the film and that he was thoroughly satisfied with the way it had shaped up.

Praising director Venky Atluri, he said, "Venky Atluri said that he manifested working with me. I think I was the one who manifested. I loved your film 'Lucky Bhaskar'."

Suriya then said, "Different directors have given me different identities. For me, 'Vishwanath and Sons' will be another new identity. And it is Venky who has given me this identity. It has been a very long time since I did such a character."

"I have so much respect for his writing. There are three women characters in this film and he has written those characters so beautifully. This film will talk beautifully about relationships. When you watch this film, you will have a smile on your lips all through. This film will talk about family, romance, there will be comedy throughout and the elevation that the hero's character receives will not come down at all. This will be a wholesome entertainer. This is a film for the fans and the families of fans," Suriya said.

For the unaware, the film, which has been produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi & Sai Soujanya, is slated to hit screens on August 14 this year. Mamitha Baiju plays the female lead in this film, which will also feature actress Radhika Sarathkumar in a pivotal role.

The film has music by National Award winner G. V. Prakash Kumar and cinematography by Nimish Ravi. Editing for the film is by Navin Nooli and production design by Banglan.

K Jamuna Rani aka Jikki firmly owned the latter space before effortlessly crossing over into the former.

With a career encompassing over 6,000 songs across five languages, Rani’s vocal signature was defined by an irrepressible energy, sharp diction, and an adaptability that allowed her to voice everything from classical devotionals to the era's most iconic club dance numbers.

She died in Bengaluru on July 30 at the age of 88.

Rani arrived in the playback industry as a child prodigy, making her debut in the 1946 Telugu film 'Tyagayya' at just seven years old. By her early teens, she was already providing playback for lead actors. However, it was her distinctive tonal quality -- a robust, slightly throaty resonance with immense projecting power -- that set her apart in the 1950s and 1960s.

During an era when the quintessential heroine's voice was expected to be uniformly high-pitched and delicate, Rani offered a striking alternative. Her voice carried a natural swagger, making her the definitive choice for songs that required a westernised edge, dramatic flair, or infectious rhythmic energy.

Rani's stylistic impact is perhaps best remembered through her upbeat, fast-paced tracks that introduced a new, modern sensibility to Tamil and Telugu cinema.

When music directors sought to incorporate jazz, cabaret, or western pop influences, they turned to Rani. Her breakthrough hit, 'Aasaiyum En Nesamum' from 'Gulebakavali' (1955), established her capability to handle complex, syncopated rhythms with playful ease.

Her rendition of 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini' alongside T M Soundararajan in the Sivaji Ganesan-starrer 'Uthama Puthiran' remains a masterclass in vocal dynamics. In the track, she effortlessly matches the high-octane theatricality of the composition, blending slight vocal inflections and confident phrasing that elevated the on-screen performance.

Rani's style was not confined by regional borders or genres. While she was the reigning voice of the South Indian fast-beat track, she was simultaneously mastering deep, emotive melodies in other languages. Her work in Sri Lanka, for instance, demonstrated her ability to adapt to entirely different cultural aesthetics. Her duet 'Jeevana Mea Gamana Sansare' from the 1955 film 'Seda Sulang' relied on a much softer, deeply melodic delivery, proving her capacity for restraint and emotional depth, eventually becoming a historical classic in Sinhala cinema.

Her versatility made her an invaluable asset to legendary composers like G Ramanathan, K V Mahadevan, and the Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy duo. They trusted her with compositions that required a singer to pivot from traditional Carnatic foundations to western orchestrations within the span of a single song.

The ultimate testament to the enduring nature of her style came in 1987. Decades into her career, maestro Ilaiyaraaja specifically sought out her voice for Mani Ratnam’s 'Nayakan'.

For a film charting the rise of a Bombay underworld don, Ilaiyaraaja needed a voice that carried the authentic, lived-in texture of older eras. By bringing Rani back to sing, he didn't just capitalise on nostalgia; he utilised the inherent strength and character in her voice that modern, highly polished singers could not replicate.

'Naan Sirithal Deepavali', an upbeat composition stood in stark contrast to the dominant playback styles of the decade. The track's commercial success reaffirmed her capacity for character-driven playback singing and effectively introduced her distinct tonal quality to a new generation of cinema audiences.

Rani leaves behind a discography that serves as a historical bridge in Indian film music -- connecting the early classical era of the 1940s to the genre-bending experiments of the late 20th century. She will be remembered not just for the volume of her work, but for a voice that refused to be boxed in.

The announcement came on a day music director Devi Sri Prasad celebrated his birthday. The film, which is yet to be titled, is being tentatively referred to as #Karthi30.

Taking to its social media timelines to welcome Devi Sri Prasad, production house Sithara Entertainments said, "The Rockstar joins the ride. Welcome aboard @ThisIsDSP. Wishing a very Happy Birthday to our Music Director. Looking forward to creating madness together – Team #Karthi30."

Sources close to the unit of the film have disclosed that shooting for the film is progressing at a brisk pace.

The film, which is being directed by talented director Kalyan Shankar, has Meenakshi Chaudhary playing the female lead. The film was launched with a grand pooja ceremony recently.

It may be recalled that on the occasion of actor Karthi's birthday in May this year , Sithara Entertainments had taken to its X timeline to wish the actor a happy birthday and also drop an update on the status of shooting. It had announced that shooting for their film was progressing at a brisk pace.

It had said, "Wishing the ever-energetic and lovable @Karthi_Offl a very happy birthday. Excited to bring him to audiences in a brand new entertainer you never saw coming. #Karthi30 shoot is progressing in full swing. Title & First Look coming soon.#HappyBirthdayKarthi."

Sources close to the unit of the film say the team is currently filming key sequences.

After 'Vaathi', 'Lucky Baskhar' and 'Viswanath & Sons', Sithara Entertainments is back with this exciting blockbuster collaboration. The project is already generating tremendous excitement within industry circles and audiences alike.