Expresso Regional Cinema News Highlights of the week

Let's begin with our top story. Mammootty is gearing up to take on a negative role in a horror movie. The upcoming film, written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, will star Arjun Ashokan in the lead role. According to a report by Kerala Kaumudi, the shooting for this unnamed project is scheduled to commence on August 15. Mammootty has set aside 30 days for filming. Mammootty, who recently received his 8th Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, is preparing for multiple releases. While his Kaathal – The Core and Kannur Squad are already in their post-production stage, the shooting for the stylish thriller Bazooka is currently underway.

Next up. “Thalaivar” Rajinikanth returned to the big screen on Aug 10th with Jailer. The film hit a mammoth 900 theatres across Tamil Nadu. Helmed by Nelson Dilipkumar under the Sun Pictures banner, Jailer also stars Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, Ramya Krishnan, Tamannaah Bhatia, Vinayakan, and Yogi Babu in pivotal roles. Its songs are composed by Anirudh Ravichander. Jailer achieved an impressive pre-booking total of Rs 14.18 crore in India, as reported by industry tracker Sacnilk. The Tamil version generated Rs 12.82 crore in revenue from the sale of 5,91,221 tickets, while its Telugu variant accumulated Rs 1.35 crore in bookings through the sale of 77,554 tickets.

In other news, on Fahadh Faasil's 41st birthday on Aug 8th, Mythri Movie Makers, the production house of Pushpa 2, revealed a new poster of Fahadh with the caption, “Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat Sir will be back on the big screens with vengeance.” Fahadh looks stylish in the poster. He is not seen in his police uniform, which was mocked by Pushpa at the climax of part one. Pushpa: The Rise ended with an epic face-off between the titular hero and the egoistic police officer Banwar Singh Shekhawat which ends with the latter suffering a humiliating defeat. One can surmise that the sequel, Pushpa: The Rule, will be about the feud between Pushpa and Banwar.

Following an extended period of absence, Tamil actor Abbas has made a comeback and is in the spotlight once again. During an interview with Galatta Tamil, Abbas recently spoke candidly about his equation with actor Vishal, whom he revealed he forgave a long time ago. He also showered praise on Ajith, Vijay, and Suriya, describing Ajith as a genuine person. Describing Vijay as unaltered, Abbas remarked, “He’s still jovial and down-to-earth." Regarding Suriya, Abbas said: “I know Suriya ever since his debut movie. While Suriya is undoubtedly a remarkable person, it’s evident that Jyothika has been the driving force behind his success. He is a benchmark for all of us actors.”

Next up. Hollywood producer Nick Thurlow, who is known for executive-producing and co-producing many popular films like Moonlight and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, has joined the crew of Mohanlal’s upcoming film Vrushabha. The venture, directed by Nanda Kishore, is another big-budget movie that’s in production in the Malayalam film industry, which is starting to catch up on the pan-India trend. Vrushabha marks the first Indian film of Thurlow. He was quoted as saying, “This is my first brush working on a multilingual film that too outside my country and I am absolutely thrilled. Every film is a new experience for me, giving me something to learn, and with Vrushabha I am sure the experience will be extraordinary.”

Filmmaker Mani Ratnam and his wife Suhasini recently hosted a party to celebrate 30 years of director Shankar. Ratnam invited some of the celebrated names in the industry including director Lokesh Kanagaraj. Karthik Subbaraj, Lingusamy, Sasi, AR Murugadoss, and Gautham Vasudev Menon were also in attendance. Shankar took to Instagram to thank Ratnam and Suhasini for hosting the party. In an emotional post, he wrote, “Thank you Mani sir for this truly special evening! Catching up with these fine and celebrated filmmakers, sharing memories while making them, vibing to some evergreen #Illayaraja and @arrahman songs sung by @karthikmusicexp…I feel these moments are the true wealth that we’ve earned! And thank you @suhasinihasan for the hospitality!”

Samantha Ruth Prabhu took to Instagram and shut down reports that said she’d borrowed Rs 25 crore from a superstar for her myositis treatment. She urged people to be responsible when commenting about medical illnesses. She sounded disturbed by the reports and wrote, “25 crores to treat myositis!? Someone got you a pretty bad deal. I am glad I am only spending the smallest fraction of that. And, I don’t think I was paid in marbles for all the work I’ve done in my career. So, I can easily take care of myself. Thank you.” adding, “Myositis is a condition thousands suffer from. Let’s please be responsible with the information we put out regarding the treatment.”

Lastly, in an interview with ManoramaNews.com, speaking about his directorial debut Barroz, Mohanlal mentioned, “The majority of the re-recording has been finished in Los Angeles, USA. Currently, the remaining tasks are underway in Budapest, Hungary. Special effects will be handled in India and Thailand. Most other aspects of the movie are now complete, and we are aiming for a December release this year.” A fantasy film penned by Jijo Punnoose based on his novel Barroz: Guardian of D’Gama’s Treasure, Barroz, Mohanlal’s first directorial, has been bankrolled by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas.