First Day First Show | Reviews of ‘Jailer’ and ‘Made in Heaven 2’

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Around Tinsel Town

>> ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ stars Bomman and Bellie allege exploitation by docu makers; send legal notice

Bomman and Bellie, the mahout couple who, along with the elephant Raghu, headlined the Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers, have alleged that the makers of the documentary have not remunerated them and had been irresponsive after the Oscar win. The duo shared they were subjected to difficult situations during the making of the documentary, and added that they spent a large sum of money to cover the expenses of the shoot. The duo also sent a legal notice seeking a ‘goodwill gesture’ of Rs 2 crore from filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves

>> Filmmaker Siddique passes away

Popular filmmaker Siddique suffered a heart attack and breathed his last in Kochi on August 8. Siddique was one-half of the most successful filmmaker duo in the industry, who conjured up humorous repartees, which are still a part of everyday conversations for Malayalis, three decades later.

>> IDSFFK 2023 ends, Nausheen Khan’s Land of My Dreams wins Best Long Documentary

Here are a few highlights and interviews from the 15th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy

> ‘Miles Away’ looks at migration through the experiences of three women

> Deepa Dhanraj interview: A lifetime of raising pertinent questions through documentaries

> ‘Bagawat’ takes a journey back to Chambal to understand the history of dacoity

> A day of focusing on the lines and strokes at the IDSFFK

> When documentary filmmakers look inward and bare their personal lives before a larger audience

> Nausheen Khan’s ‘Land of My Dreams’ wins Best Long Documentary Award

Bollywood

Farhan Akhtar announces ‘Don 3’, Ranveer Singh replaces Shah Rukh Khan

First-look posters of Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor from ‘The Archies’ revealed

Wamiqa Gabbi joins Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh in Atlee project

Rani Mukerji reveals she had a miscarriage in 2020

‘Thank You For Coming’ to have its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival

Vir Das joins Ananya Panday in the cast of ‘Call Me Bae’

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘12th Fail’ starring Vikrant Massey locks release date

It’s a wrap for Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s ‘Phule’

Hollywood

Strike-delayed Emmy Awards move to January, placing them firmly in Hollywood’s awards season

William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection,’ dies

Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ mints $1 billion globally

Sandra Bullock’s partner Bryan Randall dies after private battle with ALS

Wes Anderson to be honoured at Venice Film Festival

Dwayne Johnson says dropping ‘Black Adam’ “will remain a big mystery”

DC Studios has no immediate plans for ‘Wonder Woman 3’

‘Succession’, ‘The Bear’ bag top honours at Television Critics Awards

First look of Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott’s ‘All of Us Strangers’ out

Rebel Wilson suffers ‘stunt accident’ during ‘Bride Hard’ filming

First look images from Emerald Fennell’s ‘Saltburn’ out

Regional Cinema

First look of Kangana Ranaut from ‘Chandramukhi 2’ out

This Japanese couple has travelled from Japan to Chennai to watch Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer’

It’s a wrap for Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth’s ‘Lal Salaam’

Boyapati Sreenu-Ram Pothineni’s ‘Skanda’ wraps up shoot

Director Vinayan teams up with Unni Mukundan for ‘Athbhutha Dweepu’ sequel

Priya Bhavani Shankar, Malavika Sharma to play female leads in Gopichand’s film ‘Bhimaa’

Yogi Babu’s ‘Lucky Man’ gets a release date

Santhakumar’s film starring Arjun Das titled ‘Rasavathi – The Alchemist’

It’s a wrap for Suraj Venjaramoodu’s ‘Madhuvidhu’

Kannada actor Vijay Raghavendra’s wife Spandana dies due to cardiac arrest

World Cinema

Switzerland picks ‘Thunder’ as the International Feature Submission for this year’s Oscars

‘Firebrand’ director Karim Aïnouz starts production on ‘Motel Destino’

Trailers

Dulquer Salmaan is gangster, footballer and folk hero in ‘King of Kotha’ trailer

Teaser of Hansal Mehta’s ‘Scam 2003: The Telgi Story’, a series on the Stamp Paper Scam, is out

Trailer of Vijay Deverakonda, Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s relationship drama ‘Kushi’ out

Raj B Shetty returns in another intense avatar in ‘Toby’ trailer

John Cena’s buddy comedy ‘Vacation Friends 2’ trailer out now

Uma Thurman and Maya Hawke feature together in ‘The Kill Room’ trailer

Sushmita Sen fights for transgenders in India in trailer of ‘Taali’

‘Fair Play’ trailer shows Alden Ehrenreich, Phoebe Dynevor’s steamy romance turns turbulent

Varun Tej is a man on a mission in ‘Gandeevadhari Arjuna’ trailer

Apple TV Plus drops the trailer of parenthood drama ‘The Changeling’

‘Adiye’ trailer shows GV Prakash Kumar and Gouri Kishan team up for a multiversal love story

Trailer of Disney+Hotstar’s extraction series ‘The Freelancer’ out

Trailer of ‘I Am Groot’ Season 2 shows mischievous Baby Groot return for a fun adventure across galaxy

A dare game exposes hidden secrets in the trailer of Malayalam film ‘1001 Nunakal’

‘Mathagam’ trailer shows Atharvaa take on Manikandan in an intense crime drama

New in streaming

New on Netflix in August: Spy action thriller Heart of Stone, Season 2 of Heartstopper, the coming-of-age comedy, The Hunt for Veerappan, the docuseries following the rise and fall of the forest brigand, and more

New on Disney+ Hotstar in August: The action thriller series Commando, the comedy-drama series Only Murders in the Building Season 3, Star Wars: Ahsoka, and more

Coming to Apple TV+: Final season of dramedy Physical, adult animated series Strange Planet, third season of The Morning Show, and more

New on Amazon Prime Video this week: Second season of Made in Heaven, Sivakarthikeyan’s superhero hit Maaveeran, rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, and more

Essential reading

1) AR Rahman: I asked Kamal Haasan to make a Hollywood film, just for the heck of it

>> Ahead of his concert in Chennai, Rahman talks about why the city will always remain home for him

2) Ramya Krishnan on her ‘Jailer’ reunion with Rajinikanth, and reigniting the ‘Padayappa’ magic

>> She talks about being part of Rajinikanth’s latest and why she’d love to do a dance number in S.S. Rajamouli’s next

3) Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju on ‘Made in Heaven’ and representation of trans characters

>> The doctor-turned-actor talks about her journey and breaking stereotypes about the trans community

4) Team ‘Made in Heaven’ on marriages: Not an endogamous monolith

>> Sobhita Dhulipala, Arjun Mathur, Jim Sarbh and team talk about marriages in India and their bondings on set

5) Love and progressiveness: Are Bollywood romances losing their verve?

>> Bollywood is grappling with self-reflection, as makers challenge conventional narratives and question stereotypes

6) Actor Shanthi Krishna: I am happy that I could do justice to my role in ‘Nila’

>> Shanthi, basking in the appreciation, talks about her character in the film and her journey in Malayalam cinema

7) From Ponnambalam to Dhilip Subbarayan, stunt masters in Tamil cinema have found limelight as actors

>> While heroes have turned into villains and vice versa, many stunt choreographers have made their mark as actors

8) Meghana Raj: It is amazing to see women flourish in so many aspects of filmmaking

>> The actor talks of her role in BISFF and the space of women in the world of cinema

What to watch

1) With ‘Jailer’, Rajinikanth, Nelson make a captivating comeback that majorly works

Read the full review here

2) Sunny Deol is superb in ‘Gadar 2’, a middling sequel

Read the full review here

3) Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi have a talk with society in ‘OMG 2’

Read the full review here

4) Chiranjeevi’s stardom doesn’t help ‘Bhola Shankar’, a stale, unimaginative tale

Read the full review here

5) Season 2 of ‘Made in Heaven’ is proud, progressive and a tad lost

Read the full review here

6) Gal Gadot shines in ‘Heart of Stone’, a forgettable spy film, while Alia Bhatt deserved more

Read the full review here

7) A British royal and US’s first son fall in love in ‘Red White & Royal Blue’, a smart, sensitive rom-com 

Read the full review here

8) ‘The Jengaburu Curse’ is a noble cli-fi that lacks cinematic heft

Read the full review here

9) Watching Urvashi-Indrans courtroom drama ‘Jaladhara Pumpset Since 1962’ is a tiring experience

Read the full review here

10) Third season of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ is thrice as good

Read the full review here

11) ‘King The Land’ has chemistry and charm aplenty from Lim Yoon-a and Lee Jun-Ho, but little else 

Read the full review here

12) Sigourney Weaver dazzles with fierce dignity in ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’, a tender story of generational trauma

Read the full review here

13) ‘Medusa Deluxe’ is a stylish, inventive murder mystery that will keep you guessing

Read the full review here

14) Netflix docu-series ‘The Hunt for Veerappan’ is engaging and riveting despite coming close to devil-worshipping

Read the full review here

15) Shanthi Krishna excels in Indu Lakshmi’s refreshing narrative in ‘Nila’

Read the full review here