Prithviraj teaser: Akshay Kumar as the fearless warrior Prithviraj Chauhan in this historic epic!
Akshay Kumar is playing the legendary warrior Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan in a war epic directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi. Titled ‘Prithviraj’, this mega budget film is scheduled for a grand theatrical release on January 21, 2022. Meanwhile, the makers have shared the film’s first look and teaser online.
Sharing the teaser, Akshay Kumar wrote,
A heroic story about pride and valour. Proud to play Samrat #Prithviraj Chauhan. Celebrate #Prithviraj with #YRF50 only at a big screen near you on 21st January’22.
The teaser has all the signs of a historic epic. The war scenes instantly brings back memories of the ‘Baahubali’ films. The teaser opens with visuals of Prithviraj Chauhan’s battle against the invader Muhammad of Ghor. Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Manav Vij, Ashutosh Rana, Sakshi Tanwar and many others are part of the cast. Debutante Manushi Chhillar plays the female lead.
‘Prithviraj’ is both Akshay Kumar and Yash Raj Films first historical film. The film has Manushnandan as the DOP and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy handling the music director.
Here’s the fun trailer of Mathew Thomas-starrer Prakashan Parakatte
‘Prakashan Parakatte’ directed by debutant Shahad and scripted by Dhyan Sreenivasan is gearing up for release. The film’s trailer got released online last day. Mathew Thomas plays the titular role in the film. His character seems like an extension more like his Jaison in ‘Thaneer Mathan Dhinangal’.
Dileesh Pothan and Nisha Sarang play his parents in the film. From the trailer, it looks like an enjoyable family entertainer. As per the makers, the film is about a beautiful, relatable journey of Prakashan — a young boy, his big dreams and the priceless value of family and relationships.
‘Parava’ fame Govind V Pai, Aju Varghese, Saiju Kurup, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Sreejith Ravi and some other noted actors are part of the cast. The film has Shaan Rahman as the music director, Guru Prasad as the cinematographer and Rathin Radhakrishnan as the editor. Aju Varghese, Vishak Subramaniam and Tinu Thomas are jointly producing the film.
The trailer of Kunchacko Boban starrer ‘Bheemante Vazhi’ dropped in recently and it looks super promising. Directed by ‘Thamaasha’ fame Ashraf Hamza, the film looks like a slice-of-life rural comedy entertainer. Chemban Vinod Jose has scripted the film. It is his second work as a scenarist after the widely acclaimed ‘Angamaly Diaries’.
‘Bheemante Vazhi’ also stars Jinu Joseph, Chemban Vinod, ‘Thamaasha’ fame Chinnu Chandni, Vincy Aloshious, Binu Pappu, Nirmal Palazhi and many others.
The film has Girish Gangadharan as the cinematographer and ‘Ambili’ fame Vishnu Vijayan as the music director.
It is jointly produced by Chemboski Motion Pictures, headed by ace filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery and Chemban Vinod Jose, and OPM Cinemas, headed by Aashiq Abu-Rima Kallingal duo. The makers are expected to release the date soon.
Telugu actress Lakshmi Manchu to star in Mohanlal’s Monster
As reported earlier, the ‘Pulimurugan’ trio of Mohanlal, director Vysakh and scriptwriter Udhayakrishna teaming up for a new film titled ‘Monster’. Mohanlal is playing a character named Lucky Singh in the film, which promises to be an actioner.
Telugu actress Lakshmi Manchu is making her Malayalam debut with ‘Monster’. She has already shooting for the film in Kochi. It is worth a mention that Lakshmi’s father, veteran actor Mohan Babu and Mohanlal are very close friends. Recently during the shoot of ‘Bro Daddy’ in Hyderabad, Mohanlal had visited Mohan Babu and family at his home for dinner.
According to Lakshmi, she is playing a character with different shades in ‘Monster’. Mohanlal is said to be playing a cop’s role in the film bur the makers are yet to confirm this. Honey Rose and Sudev Nair are also part of the cast.
‘Monster’ has Satheesh Kurup as the cinematographer and Deepak Dev as the music director. Editor Shameer Muhammed, action choreographer Stunt Silva and many others are part of the technical crew. The film is most likely to release directly on OTT.
Kurup Review: Dulquer Salmaan, Shine Tom Chacko and the finesse in production hold togther this crime drama
The extraordinary story of Sukumara Kurup who has been absconding for over 35 years after committing a grave crime is familiar to almost every single Malayali. So expectations where sky-high right from 2017 when it was first announced that Dulquer Salmaan would be starring in a film based on Kurup. Helmed by Srinath Rajendran, with whom Dulquer has previously worked in ‘Second Show’, ‘Kurup’ has finally hit theatres after being in the making for a very long time.
The film’s narrative is split in two halves — one from the perspective of the investigating officer Krishnadas and the other from Kurup’s PoV. Initially, we are shown who Kurup is, his family background, his days in the Indian Air Force and later in the Gulf. It is only after the ‘crime’ part begins that the film speeds up. Until then, the film just moves randomly from one major incident of Kurup’s life to the other. The film could’ve done well without the extended Peter-Kurup bonding, which includes that party song.
The film gets to its most interesting part after Kurup returns back from the Gulf and plans the ‘crime’ with his accomplices. Major credits for this goes to Shine Tom Chacko, who is brilliant performing the ruthless Bhasi Pillai. He brings out the character’s rashness and imprudence with so much perfection. His intoxicated eyes present a picture of frustration, greed and cruelty. It is a well-sketched character performed with sheer conviction.
However, the same cannot be said by any other character in the film. Kurup, to an extent, is a properly rounded character but still one wishes the film gets more into his psyche and emotional complexities. Indrajith’s Krishnadas is another superficially written character and strangely, the actor has also performed it as though he hardly has any interest in it. There was no sense of urgency or eagerness from his side. The officer is hardly disturbed by the fact that there’s a criminal out there who has been elusive for so long. He always has this ‘I-know-it-all’ attitude despite being fooled by a mastermind conman. It his intuitions that leads him to believe that it is not Kurup who has been killed. While that happens in certain investigations, the writing doesn’t sell it properly.
Dulquer as Kurup has put on one his finest performances. His innate flamboyance, the multiple dashing getups and the retro costumes all add up to the style quotient. Kurup never appears as someone despicable, which is also problematic on some level. It could’ve been negated with a bit more effort to help understand his psyche. The one person who could’ve helped with this is his wife’s character Sharadaa, but she is mostly restricted to the sidelines and it is unfair that an actor of Sobhita’s caliber doesn’t get enough space to perform. To their credit, the makers have portrayed the victim and his family respectably. The fact that two popular mainstream actors have been cast in these roles are also praiseworthy.
The most attractive thing about Kurup is its rich production values. Nimish Ravi’s excellent cinematography and National-award winner Banglan’s meticulous done production design make sure that a forgotten era is recreated marvellously. It is a sight not so common in Malayalam cinema. Sushin Shyam’s background score also plays well to the gallery.
In short, ‘Kurup’ is a well-made film that has its share of flaws. Even with all the fictitious elements, it has details that not many are aware about Kurup and that’s enough to raise one’s curiosity.
As reported earlier, the ‘Kammarasambhavam’ duo of writer Murali Gopy and director Rathish Ambat are reuniting for a film titled ‘Theerppu’. It has a star-studded cast comprising of Prithviraj, Indrajith, Isha Talwar, Saiju Kurup, Vijay Babu and Hannah Reji Koshy. Its shoot has been completed and it is said that the film is eyeing a direct OTT release. The makers are expected to come up with an official announcement soon.
‘Theerppu’ is jointly produced by Rathish Ambat, Murali Gopy and Vijay Babu. Though Rathish Ambat’s debut film ‘Kammarasambhavam’ was not a big commercial success, it got widespread appreciation post its television premier and digital release. The director also got praise for his highly impressive filmmaking skills.
Apart from this, Rathish is also part of the upcoming Netflix anthology based on MT Vasudevan Nair’s stories. His segment in it has been titled as ‘Kadalkattu’ and it has Indrajith, Aparna Balmurali and Ann Augustine as the leads.
Churuli set for release on SonyLiv; Premiere date out
We had recently reported about the possibility of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s ‘Churuli’ skipping theatres and releasing directly on Sony Liv. It has now been officially announced. The film will be premiering on the OTT platform on November 19.
‘Churuli’ has high expectations among cinephiles. The film was screened earlier this year at the 25th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it won the audience poll Rajata Chakoram for the Best Film.
‘Churuli’ stars Vinay Forrt, Chemban Vinod Jose and Joju George as the leads. The film’s synposis goes by this,
A few people who go in search of a man named Mayiladuparambil Joy, get trapped in a terrifying time loop in this sci-fi/horror tale of insanity, fear and ‘aliens’?
The story of ‘Churuli’ is by popular novelist Vinay Thomas and its screenplay is adapted by Hareesh of ‘Jallikattu’ fame. Its technical team comprises of ace cinematographer Madhu Neelakandan, editor Deepu Joseph, composer Sreerag Saji and sound designer Renganaath Ravee.
Suriya’s upcoming film ‘Etharkkum Thunindhavan’ directed by Pandiraj has been wrapped up. The director himself took to his Twitter handle to inform the same. He also thanked Suriya and all the team members for their support. Sun Pictures is producing the film, which is expected to hit screens early next year.
‘Etharkkum Thunindhavan’ promises to be an action-packed entertainer. Priyanka Arul Mohan of ‘Gang Leader’ fame is the female lead. ‘Unnale Unnale’ fame Vinay essays the antagonist’s role. Sathyaraj, Saranya Ponvannan, Jayaprakash, Ilavarasan, Devadarshini, Subbu Panchu Arunachalam and ‘Vada Chennai’ fame Saran are part of the supporting cast. The film has Rathnavelu as the DOp and D Imman as the music director. AnbAriv duo has choreographed the stunts.
Suriya meanwhile has Vetrimaaran’s ‘Vaadivaasal’ and an untitled film with Bala lined up. The star is also in talks with some other leading directors.
We had recently reported that Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi will be seen as the antagonist in the upcoming Prithviraj starrer ‘Kaduva’. The ‘Saathiya’ actor joined the sets last day. He is seen sporting a twirled moustache for his look in the film. We hear that Vivek Oberoi’s character will be a very prominent one and not just a regular villain. The face off between Prithviraj and Vivek Oberoi will be interesting ro look forward to. The two share great rapport after working together in Prithviraj’s directorial debut ‘Lucifer’.
‘Kaduva’ directed by Shaji Kailas is a mass entertainer that promises to be high on action. The film is scripted by Jinu Abraham. Prithviraj plays a character named Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan. Samyuktha Menon essays his wife’s role in the film. Sai Kumar, Siddique, Arjun Ashokan, Janardhanan, Aju Varghese, Rahul Madhav, Vijayaraghavan, Seema, Kochu Preman and Priyanka are part of the supporting cast.
‘Kaduva’ has Jakes Bejoy handling the music department and camera cranked by Abinandhan Ramanujam. It is being produced by Prithviraj Productions along with Listin Stephen’s Magic Frames.
Mammootty and Asif Ali to share screen space in a new film!
If reports are to be believed, Mammootty and Asif Ali are set to act together in new film. It will be produced by Venu Kunnappilly of Kavya Films. The producer had last backed the Mammootty-starrer ‘Mamangam’. Though the film was made on a huge budget with a big cast, it failed to yield the desired results.
It is not yet known who will be directing the upcoming Mammootty-Asif Ali starrer. The two actors had previously worked together in ‘Jawan of Vellimala’. While Mammootty played a cameo in Asif Ali’s ‘Best of Luck’, Asif made a similar guest appearance in ‘Unda’.
Both the actors are currently busy with multiple projects. Mammootty is shooting for Lijo Jose Pellissery’s ‘Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam’. He had recently returned back from Hungary after the first schedule of ‘Agent’, an upcoming Telugu spy-thriller starring Akhil Akkineni as the lead. The veteran star has also completed the shoot of ‘Puzhu’ and ‘Bheeshma Parvam’.
Asif Ali meanwhile has wrapped up Abrid Shine’s ‘Mahaveeryar’ costarring Nivin Pauly, and Jis Joy’s upcoming thriller. ‘Kuttavum Shikshayum’ and ‘Ellam Sheriyaakum’ are his two films lined up for release.
