Category: Entertainment

Mr and Mrs Mahi trailer released: Can you spot MS Dhoni in Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao movie?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The movie trailer of Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao starrer Mr and Mrs Mahi launched on May 12. It apparently features an image of former Team India captain MS Dhoni lifting the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup. The film is based on the life of a doctor who wants to be a cricketer, and her husband is encouraging her.

The trailer shows, Rajkummar Rao, who failed to make a career in cricket, inspiring his his doctor wife Janhvi work towards being selected in the India Women’s squad.

However, what caught everyone’s attention in the trailer is the six that DHoni slammed to win the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai and the lead actors are watching the match live at the in the stadium.

The movie has a few references to that match which seems to be significant in drawing audiences to the theater. Promotional events are also being targetted at cricket fans – as the leading lady wore a red dress that had cricket ball detailing on her dress.

The first full trailer of Mr and Mrs Mahi  promises an exciting clash of cricket and romance. The film is directed by Sharan Sharma of Gunjan Saxena fame, In the promo, the actors can be seen portraying a married couple who are major cricket fans.

While Janhvi is a doctor, Rajkummar’s character is shown as an aspiring cricketer who failed on the field. It doesn’t seem like the film is not based on the former Indian cricketer’s life.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Old movies in new screens: Classics beating theatre heat this summer

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Without hesitation, Kamalika Ghosh found herself immersed in the nostalgic charm of the 1973 Hrishikesh Mukherjee film Abhimaan, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, in a nearly full PVR theatre in 2022.

Delhi resident Ghosh, one of the zillion buffs who had to consume movies on mobile screens during the COVID-19 pandemic, was ecstatic after finding out that though there were barely any new movies hitting the screens, PVR was rereleasing Amitach Bachchan’s old classics to mark his birthday.

“This must have worked for them because then an Imtiaz Ali festival happened. And I watched Tamasha on the big screen again,” Ghosh reminisces. So when Shah Rukh Khan’s movies returned to the theatres, being a die-hark SRK fan she did not miss those either as, apart from her love for the actor, she felt “nothing can match a theatre experience”.

It was a similar experience for colleagues Asmita Pant and Anand Singha when Harry Potter films returned to the theatres in June 2023. Despite being ardent muggles, the two never got tickets to watch the Potter’s magical world on the big screen until then.

“As I sat still, eagerly awaiting to watch Harry and the wizarding world on the big screen for the first time, it seemed like someone had used the time-turner. I returned in time when a six-year-old me sat transfixed in front of the television screen,” Pant shares.

Anand, meanwhile, was hit with the realisation that he had turned a quarter-century old and the magic he felt when he first watched Potter movies on small screens would never be quite the same again.

When Waheeda Rehman got to know Guide, a classic 1965 movie featuring her was going to be rereleased along with other movies to mark Dev Anand’s birth centenary in 2023, she had expressed doubt. Only later she was shocked to know the shows were sold out.

The dull phase of the movie world ebbed with big releases hitting the screens but lately, there has been another dry stretch owing to the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both events attract a lot of eyeballs and producers “prefer” choosing launch dates that would not clash.

To counter this, movie trade analyst Taran Adarsh backs rereleasing movies to “end dull and dry phases”. He underlines that it was a regular practice to rerelease successful movies in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.“In fact, the thriving re-issue market would fetch additional revenue for producers/right holders in those days,” he wrote on X.

Adarsh rued the “genuine scarcity of content” and said the exhibition sector in particular is feeling the heat.

Hindi distributors of SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus RRR (2022) recently announced the rerelease of the movie this May 10. And April 17 saw the rerelease of Mani Rathnam’s Raavan in select theatres.

The rerelease trend seems to be working well in the south, too. The makers of the 2004 Tamil film Ghilli, which ran for more than 200 days in theatres and was the highest-grosser Tamil movie of that year, wanted to reignite that success on the 20th anniversary on April 20, 2024.

And their bet has worked, as some reports show. The film’s remasterd version, starring Thalapathy Vijay and Trisha, apparently made a box office collection of ₹30 crore in just two weeks in contrast with the collections of ₹50 crore when the firm was first released in 2004. According to Koimoi, Ghilli secured the third spot among the highest-grossing Tamil films in 2024, dethroning even Rajnikanth’s Lal Salaam.

1998 superhit Kannada film A, which launched director Upendra as a hero, is also slated to be rereleased on May 17. In fact, on the same day, the 2005 film Anniyan, a blockbuster hit and rereleased in Telugu as Aparichithudu, will again be released in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Ajith Kumar’s Mankatha also returned to the theatres after 13 years in May. The 2017 Kannada movie Anjani Putra, featuring late actor Puneeth Rajkumar, is also set for a rerelease, as per reports.

Latching on to the flavour even the producer of another of Vijay’s movies is taking his movie to the silver screen again. “Get ready, Vijay fans! We have an exciting announcement that is sure to get your hearts racing!” producer and distributor Karan Ayngaran wrote, adding the 2009 movie Villu is slated for a rerelease in theatres on June 21 on the eve of Thalapathy Vijay’s 50th birthday.

PVR Inox executive director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli told a publication recently that the multiplex chain always believed that there is an audience beyond traditional movie screenings. This, Biji believes, encourages them to relaunch old hits, as well as experiment with live matches and big events like the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration.

India would be done with voting by June 1 and cricketers would wrap up the IPL before that on May 27. But the big event for cricket-crazy Indians, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, starts just after the Lok Sabha Election 2024 voting ends on June 1.

And Adarsh says it is “high time” distributors rerelease movies “especially in mass pockets” till the regular flow begins in the second half of 2024. Rereleasing successful films in cinemas also helps reintroduce those films to an all-new audience besides reigniting the nostalgia for many, he quips.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Eurovision Song Contest: Switzerland won jury vote, while viewers favoured Croatia, Israel

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Swiss artist Nemo won the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, beating 24 rivals with the song “The Code”, while Israel’s Eden Golan finished fifth despite calls for a boycott over the war in Gaza.

The winner of the annual music competition was decided by votes from television audiences in Europe and around the world in combination with juries of music professionals in each participating country.

Each jury awarded points to their 10 most favoured songs, with a maximum of 12 points going to their top choice. Votes by viewers were converted to the same scale so that each country could award a maximum of 24 points to a single act.

WHO WERE THE TOP 5 IN THE FINAL?

1. Switzerland: Nemo with 591 points

2. Croatia: Baby Lasagna with 547 points

3. Ukraine: Teresa & Maria with 453 points

4. France: Slimane with 445 points

5. Israel: Eden Golan with 375 points

HOW DID THE EXPERT VOTE COMPARE TO THOSE OF VIEWERS?

The jury votes often deviate sharply from those of viewers.

Music professionals ranked Switzerland as the number one act with 365 points, ahead of France with 218 points. Israel was only 12th with 52 points.

The popular vote ranked Croatia first with 337 points, ahead of Israel with 323 points and Ukraine in third with 307 points. France came fourth with 227 points while overall winner Switzerland was fifth with 226.

HOW MANY PROFESSIONAL JURIES AWARDED 12 POINTS TO NEMO?

In total 22 juries gave a full score to Switzerland’s Nemo.

None of the national juries gave 12 points to Eden Golan and her song ”Hurricane”.

IN HOW MANY COUNTRIES DID ISRAEL WIN THE POPULAR VOTE?

Israel won the popular vote in 15 countries, including Britain, France and Germany as well as in the “rest-of-the-world” category, more than any other contestant.

Croatia won the popular vote of nine nations.

DID NEMO WIN THE POPULAR VOTE IN ANY COUNTRY?

Only viewers in Ukraine awarded Switzerland’s Nemo the full 12 points.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review: Apes show us the mirror yet again

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It’s an uphill battle even for the best of franchises to keep the fire ablaze as subsequent installments spawn trying to replicate the mammoth success of the original. However, the Planet of the Apes reboot films aren’t just adept at hard climb, they have made their home at the summit.

Set several generations after Ceaser, the latest chapter—Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes—inhabits a world governed by apes in which humans are mere echoes relegated to the shadows, sparse and struggling, desperate to reclaim what was once theirs. The role reversal of the power dynamics is now complete, so much so it’s a given.

Directed by Wes Ball, the film follows Noa (Owen Teague), an adolescent chimpanzee of the eagle clan (yes, the super-intelligent apes have now long been fractured into various tribes) preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony. Other than their love for bird rearing and each other, his people don’t know much else outside their orbit, not even Ceaser, who has, over the years—as it often happens with powerful leaders—become a mythical legend.

An untoward brush with a female human forces him to make a last-minute trip outside his village where he finds militants of another rouge ape clan out to destroy his brethren. Before Noa can make sense of what’s what, his entire hamlet is burned, father Koro (Neil Sandilands)—the leader of the tribe—killed, and people abducted. Homeless and orphaned overnight, he promises the dying Koro that he will bring his folks back to where they rightfully belong.

Thus begins Noa’s journey of discovering the world, himself, and his life’s purpose. On the way, he meets Raka (Peter Macon), a sage, elderly orangutan, one of the last loyal followers of Ceaser, who tells Noa about the firebrand doyen and how things once were—the old order. Noa also meets the woman again and is shocked to find out that, unlike all the humans he has heard about, she is not mute or dim-witted. She is Mae (Freya Allen) who tells Noa she knows where his clan members might be.

The three become unlikely co-travelers. While crossing a rickety bridge, they are ambushed by the militant apes again. In the fight that ensues, they lose Raka. They are held hostage and taken to a beach settlement built by a tyrannical chieftain Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) who claims to be the true heir of the original Ceaser. Proximus is a stand-in for any man drunk on power. He coerces all other apes into submission and inspires violence and mob frenzy over the promise of a better future. Sounds familiar?

That’s the enduring brilliance of the Planet of the Apes series. It positions itself in a realm just about fictional enough to provide it a ground fertile for unafraid social and political commentary. Whether it be the last three films—Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) —or this latest installment, each movie makes pointed observations on the unending treachery, selfishness, greed, and duplicity that humans are capable of.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a masterclass in how to take forward a franchise just when the audience begins to forget about it. The worldbuilding is not just visually breathtaking, it’s philosophically meditative. Despite all the incredible action, Josh Friedman’s screenplay gives the film enough room to flesh out characters and ponder, probe deep existential questions.

Not too unlike some of the most memorable franchise films such as Avatar or Dune, the Planet of the Apes series has been successful in seamlessly marrying visual thrills with socio-political interrogation. It places us in an imagined, slightly altered present so we can better make sense of the very real apocalyptic future that’s coming at us full throttle.

Akin to the world-changing, virus-induced pandemic that it eerily predicted much before COVID-19 hit, it is forewarning us again. That history, for better or worse, invariably repeats itself, and some mistakes have exorbitant costs, a lot more than our collective ability to pay.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Aamir Khan says he was unsure about censor board passing ‘Sarfarosh’ over mentions of Pak, ISI

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Aamir Khan has revealed the team of “Sarfarosh” had concerns about the film getting cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) due to its references to Pakistan and the ISI.

Khan and his “Sarfarosh” colleagues on Friday night celebrated the 25th anniversary of the cult classic movie, which dealt with cross-border terrorism, with a special screening.

The John Matthew Matthan-directed movie was released in theatres on April 30, 1999, at the time of the Kargil conflict when tensions between India and Pakistan were high.

“In those days, there was a rule that you cannot name the country. We would say ‘neighbouring country’ or ‘friendly country’. So we were taking a risk, and (we didn’t know) whether the Censor board would pass the film or not because we had taken the name of Pakistan and the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). It had never happened before.”

“There was some back and forth happening but our point was that if (LK) Advani ji can say (the name) in the parliament, then why can’t we say it in cinema halls. Fortunately, the film passed with no changes,” Khan said before the screening of the film.

“Sarfarosh” revolved around an honest police officer Ajay Singh Rathod (Khan), who meets and befriends a famous Pakistani ghazal singer, Gulfam Hassan (Naseeruddin Shah). Rathod’s life takes a turn when he uncovers a huge conspiracy while investigating arms smuggling in Rajasthan.

Upon its release, the film received wide critical acclaim and commercial success. It also won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

Veteran actor Shah recalled the adulation that he received from the audience, especially from people of Pakistan, for playing the role of ghazal singer Hassan.

“I get notifications on Facebook saying, ‘I’m the original Gulfam Hassan’. This film was liked more in Pakistan. I haven’t been there in the last few years but whenever I went there, people always talked about ‘Sarfarosh’. They liked my work, even though I thought they would beat me up (mujhe laga jhoote maaroge),” Shah said.

The veteran said he was gripped by the script “Sarfarosh” after reading it.

“I felt this is going to be an important film. It is an intelligent thriller. I loved the revelation of the character and the fact that I’ll get to enjoy singing in Jagjit bhai’s (Singh, ghazal singer) voice. I felt the film would succeed,” he added.

Shah, 73, also talked about one of the scenes where his character chops off the ear of a young goat in “Sarfarosh”.

“I had no problem doing that but the censor had a problem. They were like, ’do action but don’t show it.’ I don’t understand this hypocrisy. So they actually cut out the shot where I bit the goat. It was a fake one (though). They said keep it out of frame. It was still very effective in terms of story because as a person we think he is refined, aesthetic, but he can do a thing like this. It was a monstrous touch.” Matthew Matthan said he had kept the India-Pakistan terrorism angle of the film a secret from everyone, except for Khan and Shah.

“Nobody had made a film about India and Pakistan, like what the real problem is. I wanted to keep that secret for survival and we managed. Only Aamir and Naseer were about it. Sonali had understood a bit but nobody else knew it,” the director said.

Sonali Bendre, who played Khan’s love interest in the movie, said she is grateful to the director for offering a role that had more depth and seemed real.

“At that time, I was getting glamorous roles and it was all about body and looks. I’ll always be thankful to John as he saw me in a way which I was in real-life somewhere. Nobody was giving me this kind of role. So, for me to get this role was exciting. It was so me, the realness of it (I liked it),” Bendre added.

Actor Mukesh Rishi, who played the role of Inspector Saleem Ahmed, said it was Khan who offered him the key character in “Sarfarosh”, while they were filming for the 1995 film “Baazi”.

“Aamir had told me about this story during the climax shoot of ‘Baazi’. That time I was playing the role of a villain. After he told the story, he asked, ‘Will you do it?’” I said, ‘I’ve no reason to say no to the film’.

“Ashutosh Gowariker (director of ‘Baazi’) said, ‘You’ll have to give test’. I was okay with it. John sir had given me a few lines and I did the test and they liked it. ‘Sarfarosh’ is a beautiful part of my career,” Rishi said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Jio launches new premium OTT broadband data plan at ₹888/month: Check benefits

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Jio has launched a new over-the-top (OTT) plan bundling 15 premium service apps including Netflix basic subscription with broadband plan for Rs 888/month. The telecom service provider said on Friday that it has bundled premium services of 15 apps, including basic subscription of Netflix, Amazon Prime Lite, Disney+ Hotstar, with its 30 mbps broadband plan for ₹888 a month.

Netflix access was earlier available for customers having JioFiber of ₹1,499 plan, while there was no access of entertainment apps for customers with entry-level 30 megabit per second broadband plan.

Similarly, access to Netflix for AirFiber customers was available only in plans priced at ₹1,499 per month or higher. “Designed to provide the ultimate streaming experience coupled with unlimited data benefits, the new postpaid plan, priced at ₹888 per month, is available to JioFiber and Jio AirFiber customers… subscribers gain exclusive access to over 15 leading OTT apps, including popular platforms like Netflix’s basic plan, Amazon Prime, and JioCinema Premium,” a statement by Jio read.

Also read: JioCinema is shaping the future of entertainment consumption in India, says Mukesh Ambani

The plan will provide access to premium content of all OTT apps bundled with the plan including Sony Liv, Zee5, Lionsgate, Discovery Plus, AltBalaji among others.

Also read: JioCinema set to redefine subscription market with launch of premium plans

“Whether it is a new subscriber looking to dive into the world of unlimited entertainment or an existing user on a 10 Mbps or 30 Mbps plan, the ₹888 postpaid plan is tailored to meet everyone’s streaming needs,” the company said. All existing users, including those on prepaid plans, can seamlessly upgrade to the new postpaid plan and unlock access to a plethora of premium OTT content.

Additionally, the recently announced Jio IPL Dhan Dhana Dhan offer is also applicable on this plan. Eligible subscribers can receive a 50-day discount credit voucher on their Jio home broadband connection – be it JioFiber or AirFiber. The JIO DDD offer, available till 31st May 2024, is specially crafted for the ongoing T20 season and ensures uninterrupted digital experiences throughout the cricketing extravaganza.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Met Gala 2024: Here’s how much the event raised this year

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The world’s biggest fashion’s event, Met Gala 2024, was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6. This year’s dress code was ‘The Garden of Time’, based upon the 2024 Costume Institute’s exhibit, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. Met Gala is a charity event and fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

It was usually held to mark the inauguration of the yearly fashion exhibition. The purpose of the Met Gala is to raise money for the Met’s Costume Institute; this year’s event raised about $26 million (over ₹217 crore), according to a spokeswoman. It collected $22 million last year.

The Met Gala was established in 1948 by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert as a fundraiser for the newly-founded Costume Institute to mark the opening of its annual exhibit.

The first gala included a dinner, and tickets were $50 each. For the first several decades of its history, the event was just one of many yearly events hosted for New York charity organisations.

Ticket price:

As per reports, Gala ticket prices have gone up dramatically in recent times. This year, the ticket price was set at $75,000. While it was $50,000 last year and $35,000 in 2022, There has been a huge increase in ticket prices this year compared to previous years. Event attendees also had to bear the cost of reserving tables. According to a report, booking a 10-seater table at the gala costs $350,000 (₹2.9 crore).

Sponsorship of reputable companies:

The gala raises money from its sponsors, which this year included Condé Nast, luxury fashion brand Loewe, and TikTok. Previous sponsors include Apple and Instagram.

Who is hosted and who are the guests?

Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth served as hosts at the 2024 Met Gala.

The list of notable names who attended the 2024 Met Gala includes Zendaya, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Camila Cabello, Donatella Versace, Andrew Scott, Jude Law, Kylie Jenner, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, FKA Twigs, Taraji P Henson, Elizabeth Debicki, Charlie Hunnam, Alia Bhatt, Isha Ambani, and Natasha Poonawalla.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Srikanth review: A remarkable story underserved by sappy filmmaking

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As full of fascinating life stories India might be, I get jittery each time I set out to watch a Hindi biographical drama. For instead of using a remarkable journey to build a stirring, riveting narrative, they often reduce it to a cheap, mawkish soap opera exclusively meant for pre-teens. Tushar Hiranandani’s new biopic on visually-challenged industrialist Srikanth Bolla, starring Rajkummar Rao in the titular role, is no different.

Unable to see since birth, Bolla filed a case against the Indian education system for not allowing him to pursue science after Class 10 and won it, opening the stream for countless others like him. Originally from an impoverished, nondescript village in Andhra Pradesh, he went on to become the first international blind student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). However, instead of making it big abroad, he returned to India and started Bollant Industries, manufacturing eco-friendly disposable products and packaging solutions, thus creating employment for several disabled and underprivileged people.

It’s a classic underdog story that could have shifted the needle on how mainstream Hindi cinema perceives those with physical disabilities. But written by Jagdeep Siddhu and Sumit Purohit, the film takes the lazy, preachy route instead. It drums down the message of inclusivity and equality every other minute and overworks every pun, joke, idiom, or phrase related to the blind common in the Hinglish parlance. In its obsessive relentlessness, the film ends up othering Srikanth and becoming a bland, boring manual high on moral instruction.

Even though they’ve templatized it in stone, it seems like Hindi filmmakers are still having a difficult time trying to crack how to make a biopic that both invokes and invigorates. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12^th Fail and Imtiaz Ali’s Chamkila are stellar recent examples of what can be achieved when a story gets the alchemy right, hits the perfect mix of crackling creativity, unbridled curiosity, and unafraid commentary.

However, the coveted combination continues to elude most. There have been far more misses than hits. What we invariably get are middling, forgettable school skits parading as films—Shabaash Mithu, Tarla, Ae Watan Mere Watan, Main Atal Hoon, the list is endless.

Srikanth follows closely in tow. Its follies are many. But the gravest is its constant undermining the intelligence of its audience. Most dialogues are framed in a Q&A format, each message is spelled out, each win/defeat underlined, and even the background music tries hard to force-feed how to feel. The dialogues are sanctimonious and the performances sincere to the point of being annoying.

At 134 minutes, Srikanth is nothing more than a highlight reel of Bolla’s achievements with a half-baked twist in his temperament thrown in after halftime just so that the film is not mistaken for a hagiography. It is difficult to take Rao (39) for a 17-year-old school student. He looks the same throughout the movie which covers at least a decade of Bolla’s life.

His performance is so labored that I found the supporting characters—Srikanth’s teacher Devika (Jyothika) and business partner Ravi (Sharad Kelkar)—a lot more enjoyable. But the film isn’t interested in them. We get to know nothing about them except for their contribution to Srikanth’s life. Even his love interest Swathi (Alaya F) has precious little to do other than offer timely, life-changing advice.

Hiranandani is so busy announcing Srikanth’s greatness in the film that he entirely forgets to show what it is that makes him so extraordinary. You see him hit a home run the first time he touches a baseball bat, get selected in the national cricket team for the blind without putting in the hours, make his business immensely profitable within the first year, and find a loving partner without any hiccups. It’s not easy to erase conflict from a life that must have been full of hardships. And yet, Hiranandani does just that. Both Srikanth Bolla and Rajkummar Rao deserved a better film.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

In Hollywood, video games are the new superheroes

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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When she first saw the email, Nadia Thorne thought it was a prank, or maybe a student project. A Hollywood production company wanted to turn her video game into a movie?

Thorne was one of the four people behind Dredge, an independently produced game that blends serene fishing with cosmic horror. Although Dredge received rave reviews when it came out in March 2023, it wasn’t the type of high-profile property that might typically draw audiences to cinemas.

But the requests kept coming, not from clueless amateurs but from the companies behind blockbusters like Harry Potter and Star Trek. A few months later, Thorne and her team struck a deal with Story Kitchen, founded by the producers of Sonic the Hedgehog, to make a feature film based on Dredge.

“They seem to think it’s going to go ahead,” Thorne said. “Apparently all the major studios are excited.”

Moviegoers have begun to tire of superheroes after a deluge of comic book films. Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said in mid-May that the company would cut the number of Marvel films and TV show it releases a year in half, to about two of each. Hollywood, meanwhile, is looking to the video-game industry as the next fertile ground for story ideas. Spurred by hits such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, dozens of video-game franchises have been optioned or produced for film and television over the last two years, from God of War to Grounded.

Many of these adaptations are still in development, but the ones released have found success. Amazon.com Inc.’s recent Fallout series, based on the post-apocalyptic games, has reached 65 million viewers, while the first two Sonic the Hedgehog films have grossed more than $700 million, with a third entry slated for later this year. It’s a two-way street: Sarah Bond, president of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division, said at the Bloomberg Technology Summit on Thursday that the Fallout TV show is leading viewers to engage with the games.

Hungry producers have gobbled up the options to both mega-franchises and hit indie games, such as Dredge and the detective role-playing game Disco Elysium. Even games with little to no name recognition have tantalized Hollywood, such as the ancient Sega action series Golden Axe and El Paso, Elsewhere, a low-budget shooter that has been optioned by the actor LaKeith Stanfield.

David A. Gross, author of the FranchiseRe movie newsletter, said that even lesser-known video games are appealing to film and television producers because they have a narrative already established.

“Hollywood looks for new stories wherever they can be found,” Gross said. “Those games might not have as much (intellectual property) asset value, but they still have potential.”

Video-game adaptations were once a laughing stock thanks to campy 1990s films based on Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon and Street Fighter. More recent movies such as 2010’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and 2016’s Warcraft were commercially successful, largely due to overseas markets, but critically panned. Jake Gyllenhaal, who starred in Prince of Persia, later expressed regret about the experience.

But the curse has been broken in recent years thanks to critical darlings such as Netflix Inc.’s The Witcher, based on a series of Polish novels and video games, which recently began filming a fourth season. Last year, HBO’s The Last of Us became the first video-game adaptation to rack up awards, receiving 24 Emmy nominations and winning eight.

“For many years, there was a belief – supported by poor results – that video games could not be successfully transformed into audience satisfying and profitable films,” said Adam Fogelson, chair of the film studio at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., which will release a movie based on the video-game series Borderlands this August.

Recent hits, Fogelson said, “proved that with the right creative, a new generation was more than ready to embrace those characters and worlds in feature films.”

Prestige television in particular is fertile ground for video-game adaptations because it allows for the type of side quests and exploration that make games appealing. While it might have been disastrous to cram the 15-hour story of The Last of Us into a two-hour feature film, HBO’s nine-hour series gave it room to breathe — and allowed for diversions like Long, Long Time, an episode that wasn’t closely related to the overall story but was critically acclaimed.

The historic failure of video-game adaptations may have been largely due to a lack of respect for the source material, which has changed in recent years as filmmaking attracted new generations of people who grew up playing games rather than scoffing at them.

Todd Howard, director of multiple Fallout games and an executive producer on the television series, said in a recent interview that the show’s production team was so “meticulous about translating every little thing” that the set designers even used 3D printers to reproduce art from the games.

That appreciation was one of the biggest considerations for Thorne and her colleagues as they weighed multiple offers for turning Dredge into a film or television series. They found themselves impressed with Story Kitchen when one of its producers identified themes they had explored early in the development of Dredge.

“We’re going to be handing off our world, our story,” Thorne said, adding she hoped they were partnering with a studio “that really gets it.”

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

OTT and theatre releases this week: Srikanth to Murder in Mahim, movies and web series to watch this weekend

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As we approach mid-May 2024, the entertainment industry is abuzz with a mix of OTT and theatrical releases. OTT platforms are serving us a diverse range of content, from gripping dramas to light-hearted comedies. Meanwhile, cinemas are also seeing a steady stream of releases, with audiences returning to the big screen for the latest blockbusters.

Theatre releases this week

Srikanth (May 10)

Srikanth is a biopic based on the life of Srikanth Bolla, the first visually impaired student at MIT. He later builds Bollant Industries and safeguards the future for those just like him. The movie is directed by Tushar Hiranandani and stars Rajkummar Rao in the lead role as Srikanth, along with Jyothika, Alaya F., and Sharad Kelkar.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 10)

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an American science-fiction action film directed by Wes Ball. The film has Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, and Dichen Lachman playing important roles.

The plot of the story is based on Caesar, a young ape who embarks on a journey that will cause him to doubt all he has been taught about the past and make decisions that may shape the future for both apes and humans.

OTT Releases

Cooking Up Murder: Uncovering the Story (Netflix)

Cooking Up Murder is a documentary series on Netflix that follows the story of a Spanish chef who was charged with murder. The first episode of the series was released on May 10, 2024.

Murder in Mahim (JioCinema)

Murder in Mahim is a web series released on JioCinema on May 10, 2024, starring Vijay Raaz, Ashutosh Rana, and Shivani Raghuvanshi. The story is an adaptation of a book penned by Jerry Pinto based on a murder investigation.

Living With Leopards (Netflix)

Living With Leopards is a nature documentary that follows two leopard cubs as they make the fascinating journey from infancy into adulthood. The film is directed by Alex Parkinson and narrated by world-renowned wildlife cinematographer Brad Bestelink and released on May 10.

Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life (Disney+Hotstar)

Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life is a Malayalam-language survival drama film directed and written by Blessy. The movie is based on a true story that follows Najeeb Muhammed’s struggles in Saudi Arabia. After a successful theatrical release, the OTT released on the Disney+Hotstar platform on May 10.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow