Expresso Regional Cinema News Update at 3:30 pm on 4 April 2024

Top South Indian cinema news: Speculation surrounds Jyotika’s move to Mumbai amid rumors of divorce with Suriya; Writer B Jeyamohan shares commentary on film Aadujeevitham; Actor Visheshwara Rao passes away from cancer complications in Chennai; and more.

Jyotika’s shift to Mumbai from Chennai was cited as evidence of the speculation of divorce with Suriya. However, despite all such rumours, Jyotika shared a video of her workout session with her husband. What was surprising about the video was Jyotika’s strenuous fitness regime. The montage also featured scenes of Suriya spotting for his wife and the two doing ‘couple workouts’. Sharing the video, Jyotika captioned it, “Double sweat, double fun!” In a recent interview with News18, Jyotika, squashing divorce rumours, revealed the reason behind her shift to Mumbai was for work and her husband is very supportive of the decision. Her latest film. Shaitaan turned out to be another big project in her recent filmography.

Moving on, writer and literary critic B Jeyamohan took to his blog with his commentary on director Blessy’s survival drama Aadujeevitham, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran. However, this time, he has chosen to praise Malayalam cinema, citing Aadujeevitham as an exemplary illustration of the industry’s potential. In his write-up titled “Aadujeevitham: Original Malayalam Cinema,” Jeyamohan expressed deep resonance with the movie. He acknowledged the rich history of Malayalam cinema, attributing its greatness to legendary filmmakers. He concluded, “This is a true Malayalam film. Malayalees have a personality of their own. We can call them great explorers and survivors. Aadujeevitham is a great Malayalam movie because it shows that state of mind.” Jeyamohan’s recent screenwriting projects include Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022).

In some tragic news, actor Visheshwara Rao, known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films, passed away due to complications from cancer at a private hospital in Chennai on Tuesday, April 2. The actor was 64. According to reports, Visheshwara Rao was battling cancer and was undergoing treatment for the same. His final rites will take place later today. Visheshwara Rao started his career as a child artiste at the age of six. He found popularity for playing the role of Laila’s innocent father in Suriya’s Pithamagan. He has also played a comedian in many Telugu films and has acted in about 300 films in his long career. He was also part of TV serials in supporting roles.

Director-actor Vineeth Sreenivasan‘s upcoming film Varshangalkku Shesham might also join the list of Malayalam superhits as it has already gotten the attention of the Tamil audience. In a recent interview with a Tamil YouTube channel for his upcoming film, Vineeth claimed that it is because the audience in the two-tier cities has started to go to theatres and watch Malayalam films which was not the case before. Manjummel Boys, which is currently the highest-grossing Malayalam film, had houseful shows not just in Chennai, but in districts across Tamil Nadu, which is the reason behind its whopping box collection of Rs 220 crore. Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Varshangalkku Shesham is set in Chennai, following the journey of two aspiring filmmakers.

Aadujeevitham box office collection for day six saw the Prithviraj Sukumaran-starrer stabilising passed the crucial Monday test. On its first Tuesday, April 2nd, the film earned Rs 4.50 crore, as reported by industry tracker Sacnilk. The Tuesday collections for the survival drama dropped by nearly a crore from Monday, but the figures don’t indicate an alarming dip. The six-day total of Aadujeevitham stands at Rs 40.40 cr, and by the end of the week on Thursday, it will be closer to the Rs 50 cr mark, setting itself up for a big jump next weekend. Aadujeevitham has found its groove at the box office and is now likely to cruise at the same pace to end its first week of release.

A familiar debate between Tamil and Telugu fans has ensued online about which group supports good cinema. The reason behind the recent episode of the fight is Prithviraj’s Aadujeevitham. According to reports, the Malayalam film is doing poorly in the Telugu-speaking states. Sharing the screenshots of reviews of the film from Telugu media platforms, a Tamil user wrote, “This rating is called Telugu reviewer taste. Seriously, when I see this it makes me laugh. Please don’t release this kind of movie for Telugu audience.” Deepak, a trade analyst from Hyderabad, says the whole argument is silly and claims the controversy was created by some unknown X handles from Tamil Nadu to pit fans of the three states against each other.

Next up, Vijay Deverakonda was already a star in Telugu cinema before he signed the big-budget pan-India film Liger with producer Karan Johar. However, the film’s massive failure was a strong blow to the actor’s career. According to India Today, Vijay said at a press conference, “There is no change in my attitude. I have remained the same before and after the release. The only difference is that I decided not to talk about the results of my films (before release) for the next three movies or so. That’s the punishment I gave myself.” However, the actor feels positive about his character in Family Star. During an interview with Galatta Plus, Vijay called the role a ‘blessing’.

Lastly, Actress Saranya Ponvannan’s neighbour has filed a complaint against her stating that the actress has issued a death threat while fighting over a parking space. According to reports, a fight broke out between Saranya and her neighbor Sridevi regarding the parking space in front of their house which led to a verbal spat between Saranya and Sridevi’s family. According to Thanthi TV, Sridevi has filed a complaint against Saranya at the local Chennai police station claiming that the actress has been verbally harassing her and issued death threats even though she had issued an apology for accidentally damaging her vehicle. A video of the CCTV camera outside Sridevi’s house has gone viral on social media.

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