News

The third week of any given month is not overly emotionally difficult for Netflix subscribers regarding favorite titles leaving. The real exodus occurs at the end of every month, and the other items saying goodbye are scattered about.

Such is the case with the list below. While 18 items are going away, many of them belong to a couple of particular franchises. For instance, three Motu Patlu titles are moving on. Rudra fans also have to say heartfelt goodbyes to a couple of titles. Overall, not a bad week.

There are a couple of winners you only have a short time to watch before Netflix drops them. One is the Jennifer Lawrence comedy, No Hard Feelings. Is the film great? Maybe not, but it is fairly fun. Lawrence also does something a lot of actors do not and goes full frontal, but in the unsexiest way possible (and the funniest way...

Esha Deol has been garnering praise for her role in the recently released Tumko Meri Kasam directed by Vikram Bhatt. In fact, there should have been more of her in the excellent film. The actress talks with Subhash K Jha about her homecoming to the big screen, working on Tumko Meri Kasam, her life off camera, and what’s coming next!

What made you say yes to Tumko Meri Kasam?

Tumko Meri Kasam, overall, for me, had more green tick marks to say yes to the project. As, you know, it’s very important who’s making it, who’s presenting it, and it was none other than Mahesh Bhatt sahib and the director Vikram Bhatt. I have worked with him earlier in a film called Ankahi, and having the opportunity to work with him again was like, for me, you know, I really, really loved working under Vikram’s...

Kadhalikka Neramillai Ott Teaser ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

The romantic drama Kadhalikka Neramillai, starring Ravi Mohan and Nithya Menen, is set to release on Ott after a successful run in theaters. The movie is expected to be streamed on Netflix. According to reports, it will be available from February 14. This release date will make it a unique Valentine’s Day treat for fans. However, the makers have not yet confirmed the official streaming date.

Kadhalikka Neramillai was released in theaters on January 14. It was a festive release coinciding with the Sankranti and Pongal celebrations. Directed by Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, the film received positive feedback from audiences. After its success in cinemas, the film is ready to debut on digital platforms.

Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi directed and wrote the film, which was produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin under the banner of Red Giant Movies. Ravi Mohan and Nithya Menen play the lead roles. Gavemic U. Ary did the film’s cinematography,...

Zee End Is Nigh

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth. Pulling the Nclt application also makes it somewhat easier for Zee to pursue its arbitration and other legal actions against Sony.

The plan to merge the two mid-size film and TV businesses was on the table for over two years, but finally (acrimoniously) collapsed in January 2024. Sony is also seeking restitution from Zee, which it says failed to live up to the agreed merger terms. Since the wedding bells stopped ringing, Zee has also announced that it will slice its workforce by 15%.

Netflix Starts Filming Guillaume Canet’S ‘Taken’-Style Thriller

Guillaume Canet, whose latest directorial outing “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom...

The final trailer of Maidaan—dexterously cut, let us state t right away—is every bit a cliffhanger in the most ruminative definition of the word. Cliffhanger , although it doesn’t try to hang on to any cliff except the one that materializes when a writer and director, not to mention the lead actor, know their job .

And boy, do they do it well!

Ajay Devgn turns 55 on April 2 even as the trailer of his new film demonstrates that he is easily among the best star-actors of the country. In Maidaan, we can see he plays a man in his 50s. His body language conveys exactly what his character is meant to: this is a man who has devoted his life to sports, football to be more precise, and is aging with grace and aplomb.

And yes, Devgn looks like a footballer in Maidaan: lean athletic sinewy and focussed. Which,...

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi Became The Costliest Web Series In India After Netflix’s Baahubali Was Shelved (Photo Credit – IMDb/YouTube)

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is back with a world we could have never imagined. After Gangubai Kathiawadi, the visionary created a world that transcended into the Shahi Mohalla of Lahore, a colony meant for the courtesans of the Mughal Era.

The web series, which will stream on Netflix, is said to be the costliest web series in India. Mounted on a reported budget of 200+ crore are stars Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharmin Saigal, Richa Chaddha, and Sanjeeda Sheikh.

It has also been reported by Times Of India that Bhansali is charging a whopping 65 crore as his fee to direct this highly ambitious project. Heeramandi is being touted as the costliest web series in India; it might surpass the budget of Ajay Devgn’s Rudra, which was...

Mumbai, Feb 8 (Ians) Actress Raashii Khanna treated fans to glimpses of her girls’ squad gathering for a movie date, featuring Vaani Kapoor and others, along with a “vichitra prani,” director Bodhayan Roychaudhury.

Raashii, who is known for her work in the projects like ‘Rudra’, ‘Farzi’, took to Instagram and dropped series of pictures wherein we can see her twinning with her girls.

Raashii and Vaani both are donning a white tee shirt and blue flared denims.

While, Bodhayan, who is known for the movie ‘Sector 36’ is sporting a black and shorts.

The group is smiling ear to ear as they pose for the lenses. The post was captioned: “Movie date with my girls and a vichitra prani.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Raashii next has ‘Aranmanai 4’, ‘Yodha’, and ‘Methavi’ in the pipeline.

On the other hand, Vaani, who was last seen in Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Shamshera’, next has ‘Raid 2...

Actress Raashii Khanna on Wednesday shared fun candid pictures with her friend Vaani Kapoor, giving a glimpse of their make-up tutorials. Taking to Instagram, Raashii, who has worked in the projects like ‘Rudra’, ‘Farzi’, ‘Oxygen’, ‘Madras Cafe’ and others, shared two mirror selfies from the vanity with Vaani.

In the pictures, Raashii is seen wearing a pastel pink sweater, and short checkered skirt. Vaani is sitting on a tall chair, and is donning a blue dress. The two are posing candidly for the lenses, and flaunting their smiles.

The pictures were captioned as: “This is what happens when you mix makeup tutorials with friendship and a camera.”

She gave the music of the track ‘Jaane Kyun’ sung by Vishal and Shekhar, from the movie ‘Dostana’.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Raashii next has ‘Aranmanai 4’, ‘Yodha’, and ‘Methavi’ in the pipeline.

On the other hand, Vaani, who was last seen in...

Ringing Korea’S Grand Bell

“Concrete Utopia,” South Korea’s Oscar contender, was Wednesday named best film at the country’s annual Grand Bell Awards. It also won prizes for best actor, best supporting actress, art direction, sound mixing and visual effects. A disaster movie set in a devastated Seoul, it makes an unusual Academy Awards selection, but has gained high praise from reviewers. Variety this week said the film felt like “’Earthquake’ crossed with ‘Lord of the Flies’.”

The Grand Bell’s best director award nevertheless went to Ryoo Seung-wan for “Smugglers,” while Ahn Tae-jin took the best new director award for “The Night Owl.”

In the other half of the event, Disney+’s “Moving” was named best series, earning Han Hyo-joo the best series actress award to boot.

The Grand Bell Awards, aka Daejong Film Awards, are organized by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea.

Cineasia Honors

The...

Actor Tarun Gahlot, who is known for his work in ‘The Test Case’, ‘Kedarnath’, ‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar’, ‘The Fame Game’, Ott series ‘Xyx’ and ‘Rudra’, has reunited with Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn in the latter’s recently released directorial ‘Bholaa’.

Tarun shared that he couldn’t shave his face for 7-8 months because his character required him to look manly.

Tarun, who is a Film and Television Institute of India (Ftii) alum, told Ians: “Ajay sir placed his complete faith in me for the part, it was his vision. I maintained my bearded look for 7-8 months for the sake of continuity of my character since the character was supposed to be very alpha and manly.”

He also heaped praise on Ajay Devgn as he said: “Ajay sir is very hardworking in fact, it won’t be wrong to say that he was the most hardworking man on set.

Prolific Indian studio Applause Entertainment is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a flourishing streaming slate, several films, an ambitious expansion model and a doubling down on investment.

The company is led by CEO Sameer Nair, a pioneer of Indian television with previous stints at Star TV, Ndtv Imagine, Turner General Entertainment, and Balaji Telefilms.

On the film front, Applause’s Hindi-language “The Rapist,” by Aparna Sen, won the prestigious Kim Jiseok award at Busan in 2021. Next up is a film by actor-director Nandita Das, whose last film “Manto” was at Cannes. The film, which has the working title “Zwigato” and is a social satire about the Indian food delivery gig economy, is currently in post. It stars popular TV host Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami (“A Suitable Boy”).

Tahira Kashyap Khurrana’s feature debut, the Hindi-language “Sharmajee Ki Beti” is a social comedy that follows five women from different age...

Dehradun-born lawyer-turned-actor Vikram Singh Chauhan, who was seen in ‘Mardaani 2’, is receiving good response for his performance in Ajay Devgn starrer ‘Rudra: The Edge of Darkness’. Vikram shifted to Mumbai to work in a law firm and soon he was keen to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. In ‘Rudra’ the actor plays […]...

Veteran actor Atul Kulkarni who is seen in two back-to-back projects like ‘Rudra’ and ‘A Thursday’, says he has started enjoying web series more because becoming part of a web show is almost equal to doing multiple films at one go. The actor in recent time has become part of some successful web series like […]...

Actor Atul Kulkarni will be seen sharing the screen with Ajay Devgn in ‘Rudra – The Edge of Darkness’, 22 years after their film ‘Khakee’. Talking about his experience of reuniting with Ajay in ‘Rudra’, the actor Atul said: “Working again with Ajay after 22 years, from our first movie together ‘Khakee’, was a fantastic […]...

Top Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, who has enjoyed a tremendously successful film career combining box office success with critical acclaim, is making his series acting debut with Disney Plus Hotstar series “Rudra: The Edge of Darkness,” the Indian adaptation of the BBC’s “Luther.”

Devgn debuted with action drama “Phool Aur Kaante” (1991) and highlights of his acting career include the “Singham” cop universe films, “Othello” adaptation “Omkara” (2006), the comedy “Golmaal” franchise and historical film “Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior,” the biggest Indian box office hit of 2020. In addition, he has directed “U Me Aur Hum” (2008) and “Shivaay” (2016) with “Runway 34” coming up, and he’s a prolific producer as well with more than 20 titles to his credit.

Variety caught up with Devgn for a wide-ranging conversation ahead of the “Rudra” launch.

What attracted you to “Rudra”? Had you watched “Luther” before?

I liked the concept of Rudra because he’s a...

Commissions

The BBC has commissioned six factual entertainment shows. In BBC Two series “Trailblazers,” produced by Studio Ramsay, Ruby Wax, Melanie Brown and Emily Atack follow in the footsteps of pioneering traveller Isabella Bird as they set off on their own American adventure across the Rocky Mountains. BBC Three adventure challenge series “Warrior Island,” from Wall To Wall West, follows eight young people who want to transform their body and mind. Celebrity couples put their relationship to the ultimate test in BBC One competition format, “Unbreakable,” by 110% Content. “Inside The Airport,” produced by Wonderhood Studios for BBC One, sees aviation expert Jeremy Spake at Heathrow, to see how the airport is coping during a time when the U.K. is emerging from the pandemic. And, following a successful pilot in 2020, engineering and adventure series “The Speedshop,” by Grant Wardrop Productions, follows custom bike builder Titch Cormack and his team as...