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Bollywood Films Lite Blogs

Wait For Exciting OTT Releases

The reality show follows the dangerous work of logger and sawmill owner Kevin Wenstob as he and his crew go to extremes to keep the family sawmill and their way of life alive…reports Asian Lite News.

OTT is the only relief for film lovers in the pandemic era. Here’s a look at highlight films, shows, and series that are scheduled to drop in the digital space this week.

PUNCCH BEAT, Season 2 (series on ALT Balaji, June 27)
Cast: Priyank Sharma, Siddharth Sharma, Harshita Gaur
Created by: Vikas Gupta

The all-new season of this high school drama is about new relationships, friendships, rivalries and more. The story revolves around Rosewood High. The school has only one rule that is to obey all rules. But as the new semester starts it unfolds a lot of dark secrets and eventually all rules are broken.

COLD CASE (film on Amazon Prime, June 30)

Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Aditi Balan
Direction: Tanu Balak

The Malayalam horror thriller tells the story of a complex murder case, parallelly investigated by a police officer and an investigative journalist in their own way, who eventually cross paths to unravel secrets they never imagined.

HASEEN DILLRUBA (film on Netflix, July 2)

Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey, Harshvardhan Rane
Direction: Vinil Mathew

Under investigation as a suspect in her husband’s murder, a wife reveals details of their thorny marriage that seem to only further blur the truth.

THE TOMORROW WAR (film on Amazon Prime, July 2)

Cast: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, JK Simmons, Betty Gilpin
Direction: Chris McKay

An American military science fiction action film, it focuses on humanity’s war against an alien invasion in the future, as humans use a new ability to draft soldiers from the past to help fight the aliens.

SAMANTAR season 2 (series on MX Player, July 2)

Cast: Tejaswini Pandit, Sai Tamhankar, Swwapnil Joshi
Direction: Satish Rajwade

The second season of the Marathi mystery thriller series resumes the story of Kumar Mahajan played by Joshi who searches for a man who has already lived Kumar’s life and could tell him about the events of the future.

FEAR STREET PART ONE: 1994 (film on Netflix, July 2)

Cast: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr.
Direction: Leigh Jania

The horror film trilogy is based on the book series of the same name by novelist RL Stine. The events in the movies take place decades apart from each other but are connected with a curse. After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that is plagued their notorious town Shadyside, Ohio for centuries.

BIG TIMBER season 1 (reality show on Netflix, July 2)
Cast: Kevin Wenstob, Eric Wenstob, Sarah Fleming

The reality show follows the dangerous work of logger and sawmill owner Kevin Wenstob as he and his crew go to extremes to keep the family sawmill and their way of life alive.

GREY’S ANATOMY season 17 (series on Netflix, July 3)
Cast: Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr.
Showrunner: Krista Vernoff

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the doctors at Grey Sloan find themselves in uncharted territory as they work to save lives without any end in sight. The latest season also features Meredith on the beach among other storylines.

CHUTZPAH (series on Sony Liv, July 3)
Cast: Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Elnaaz Norouzi
Created by: Mrighdeep Lamba

The thriller dark comedy series is based on cybercrime. It looks at issues of digital frauds, honey traps, and more. “Fukrey” stars Varun Sharma and Manjot Singh are back together again in the show.

ALSO READ-OTT tells a number of tales

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Bollywood Films Lite Blogs

OTT tells a number of tales

Over the past few year, we have had anthologies such “Ludo”, “Unpaused”, “Ajeeb Dastaans” and “Ray” in Hindi. Thanks to the fact that OTT provides unrestricted viewing to all audiences across the nation and the globe…writes Yashika Mathur.

Anthologies are not a new trend, but the number of such kind of story telling has increased in the digital space. Storytellers on OTT have struck gold with anthology films and shows. While the genre is not altogether new, it seems to increasingly find favour for more than one reason. For one, it lets makers of OTT shows and films pack in more, in terms of actors. More importantly, the audience gets more than one flavour of storytelling thanks to the multitude of stories that are mostly directed by different directors, hence bringing in varied styles.

Over the past few year, we have had anthologies such “Ludo”, “Unpaused”, “Ajeeb Dastaans” and “Ray” in Hindi. Thanks to the fact that OTT provides unrestricted viewing to all audiences across the nation and the globe, regional anthology films such as “Putham Pudu Kaalai” and “Paava Kadhaigal” (both Tamil) have also managed to draw attention beyond the home state.

“Everyone makes a normal routine film but anthology is difficult and challenging. The taste of the audience has evolved and they are exposed to international shows. Earlier it was tried with ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’ but audience back then didn’t understand the concept. Now, cinema-making and cinema consumption has changed. Every generation has its taste. Earlier social, action and romantic films worked. This is a new format the audience is enjoying,” trade analyst Atul Mohan tells IANS.

From the perspective of a film maker, while one may feel that bringing multiple creative storytellers can be challenging, Srijit Mukherji has his take. Mukherji, who has directed two of the four stories in “Ray”, talks of whether individual treatment of a filmmaker gets affected, knowing there are two more stories clubbed with his film, directed by two others.

“It would have (been affected) if I would have known what others are treating their films like. Fortunately, here, Sayantan Mukherjee, who is the show runner of ‘Ray’, didn’t let anyone know what the other director is making. He had the overall picture on how four films were shaping up. There was no one way that one guy’s film would affect the other’s,” says Mukherji.

Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal, who was impressive in Vasan Bala’s segment “Spotlight” in the anthology “Ray”, explains what about the format of anthology attracts him as an actor.

“What attracts me in an anthology is that you can tell four different stories on one topic and every actor and director has a different interpretation. You are watching the same thing on love, lust or horror and everyone has their own take on it. It’s lovely to see everyone have their own version. The soul is the same but storytelling and treatment are different,” says Chandan.

With the ready acceptance recent anthologies have seen, ne sure there will be many lined up over the next months. A new one, “Feels Like Ishq” helmed by six directors, was been announced a few days back. The film will star Radhika Madan, Amol Parashar, Neeraj Madhav, Tanya Maniktala, Kajol Chug, Mihir Ahuja, Simran Jehani, Rohit Saraf, Saba Azad, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Zayn Khan and Skand Thakur.

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‘Nothing more powerful than being in a dark room to share a story’

I had typically done fictional films up until that point but the landscape of US politics had changed and I became fascinated with how my work could inform this new reality that we found ourselves in…Ben Rekhi speaks with Anjuri Nayar Singh.

Most of the film curators begin their passion for cinema by doing short movies or documentary films. Indian origin filmmaker Ben Rekhi feels film festivals hold a lot of significance at any stage in one’s career. Rekhi, whose documentary “The Reunited States” has been shown at multiple film festivals, adds that cinema is an experience that needs to be enjoyed with others.

“I think at any point in a career, film festivals are of tremendous value for both the filmmaker and the audience to interact with each other. Cinema is meant to be a shared experience, which is suffering now owing to the closure of movie theatres over the past year. Film festivals are places where we are able to meet each other in person,” he told.

The film has been screened at Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival, Nashville Film Festival, United Nations Association Film Festival, and Virginia Film Festival among others. Rekhi says film festivals as these are a great experience because they allow makers to interact with the audience and get feedback.

“There’s nothing more powerful than being in a dark room together and sharing a story, and film festivals allow you to generate a lot of press, connect with your audience, experience real-time feedback, connect with other filmmakers, and build connections and resources. We’re grateful to continue making the types of movies that film festivals want to screen. They (festivals) are not right for every film but for many films they are,” he says.

Talking about his documentary, he says he is happy to be able to depict what is happening in the world through his films.

“‘The Reunited States’ came to me after the 2016 elections. I had typically done fictional films up until that point but the landscape of US politics had changed and I became fascinated with how my work could inform this new reality that we found ourselves in. So, the idea of non-fiction and turning the camera around on reality to try and understand it and help us maneuver became an obsession for me,” he says.

Rekhi’s film “The Reunited States” is a documentary that aims at urging all Americans to realise everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country.

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Radhika asks to shed ego of stardom

Radhika will also be seen in two OTT original films. She says that she is open to the probability of the web some day overpowering films…writes  Yashika Mathur

Actress Radhika Madan has made a mark as a Bollywood actress with her roles in “Angrezi Medium”, “Pataakha” and “Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota”. However, before her film debut in 2018, she was a well-known television star.

Talking about her transition from television to films, the actress said it was important to shed the ego that comes with television stardom.

Radhika Madan

“In television, fame comes really quickly, so you get the ego boost really quickly. Once the ego is high up there and you want to start with films, I don’t think a lot of people are ready to bring their ego down and start as a student,” she told.

Was it easy for her to leave her ego behind? “I wouldn’t have survived otherwise. It’s a different medium. The dialogues are different, the delivery scenes are different. Now you are sitting a dark room in front of a huge screen in front of you without distraction. Whereas in television, people watch it — especially the saas-bahu sagas — while taking care of their kids or cutting vegetable or doing household chores. The actors’ performance needs to be up by a notch to get the attention but in movies even if you blink an eye, you miss the scene,” she said.

For Radhika, who played the lead in television show “Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi” between 2014 and 2016, taking the leap wasn’t difficult because she was ready to evolve in accordance to her new medium.

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“It (change of medium) was not difficult in my head. I understood both the mediums and I think people see you as you see yourself. Because it wasn’t a hindrance in my head, I don’t think people saw it as hindrance as well. I was aware that television is a different medium and movies are different and I needed to change my acting style. I needed to unlearn whatever I have learnt,” said the actress.

Radhika, who will soon be seen in the film “Shiddat”, added: “The problem comes when you want to approach movies with the same attitude, with same acting style as TV and you expect them to take you. It is about understanding the medium. Unlearning happens with every project.”

Radhika will also be seen in two OTT original films. She says that she is open to the probability of the web some day overpowering films.

“Earlier, there used to be a certain taboo connected with OTT. If you are coming on digital platform then it was a step down. Now if you are digital star, then people are in awe and they also want to be one. A time may come when digital stars are bigger than films stars. I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Radhika.

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Tollywood stars ready for mass releases

Actor Nagarjuna, with ‘Bangarraju’ and Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaaru Vaari Paata’ are among the other major releases expected in 2022…writes Narendra Puppala.

If the year that ended is any indication, Covid lockdowns and restrictions notwithstanding, the Telugu film industry is here to stay.

Imagine, no less than 182 Telugu movies had either theatrical or OTT releases in 2021! This despite a Covid pandemic that is yet to be understood or tamed effectively.

And with a string of big-ticket flicks in various stages of completion, and due for release in 2022, Tollywood certainly seems on course for further consolidation. 2022 is set to see several releases and quite a few of the established stars back on the silver screen after a short hiatus.

Megastar Chiranjeevi’s ‘Acharya’ is among the most awaited Telugu movies this year. Coming after his last release ‘Saira Narasimha Reddy’ in 2019, there’s a lot of buzz around ‘Acharya’ which also has Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan giving him company on screen. In 2022, the megastar will also be busy with two more productions in the form of ‘Godfather’ and ‘Bhola Shankar’.

This year will also see a slew of cinematic offerings from the Chiranjeevi clan. This includes Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’ which appears to be a stylised remake of Malayalam hit ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’. The movie also stars Rana of ‘Baahubali’ fame. And then, there are Chiranjeevi nephew Varun Tej’s ‘Ghani’ and ‘F3’ waiting in the wings, for release this year.

Not to forget, the sequel to ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ will go on the floors from March. The hit movie released in December stars Chiranjeevi’s nephew Allu Arjun.

Actor Nagarjuna, with ‘Bangarraju’ and Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaaru Vaari Paata’ are among the other major releases expected in 2022.

2022 will also see ‘Baahubali’ fame Prabhas’ return to the theatres with ‘Radhe Shyam’. The movie is also set for simultaneous release in multilingual versions. And then, the original Telugu version of ‘Kabir Singh’, actor Vijay Devarakonda is expected to set the silver screen on fire with his mixed martial arts movie ‘Liger’. This movie is also being released in several languages.

What has come as good news for the film industry is the eagerness with which movies were lapped up by audiences in 2021. Despite doomsday predictions and restrictions on theatre screenings, Telugu movie releases in the past year have bolstered industry confidence.

‘Pushpa’ director Sukumar says, “It’s heartening to see people returning to theatres. Movie watching is a communal experience. If not, movie theatres should have disappeared in a country like the US. But see people queuing up to see ‘Spiderman’ in theatres!”

In what seems to be a new trend, Tollywood has started actively looking beyond its traditional areas of influence. Although south Indian movies have made a favourable impact on Hindi-speaking audiences down the decades, they were never able to convert into box-office magic. In a way, it was S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ series that set the stage for presenting Telugu movies to a pan-Indian audience.

Tasting blood, Rajamouli went in with all guns blazing to create his next big screen project ‘RRR’. Apart from lead billboarding with Jr NTR and Ram Charan, Rajamouli roped in Ajay Devgan and Alia Bhatt for the movie. The movie has created a buzz across the country.

Capitalising upon the new-born fascination among audiences for Telugu films and stars, Tollywood producers are also looking at these markets with new eyes. They are no longer content with settling down for revenues generated by selling their movies’ dubbing rights. The focus is now on straight releases in a whole set of languages.

The stupendous success of Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ released in five languages – Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi – has underscored the potential for Tollywood releases in non-Telugu markets.

Meanwhile, ‘RRR’ was set to release on January 7, but with Covid rearing its ugly head once again in the form of the Omicron variant, the makers of ‘RRR’ have decided to put off the release for now.

But in a sign of the good times ahead, names like Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, and Vijay Devarakonda, are no longer unknown beyond the borders of the two Telugu states. In fact, Bollywood seems eager to rub shoulders with their filmy cousins from south of the Vindhyas.

In the face of adversity, the Tollywood industry certainly seems to have hit upon the key to revive itself and build up its fortunes.

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