First Day First Show | Reviews of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ and ‘Vikram Vedha’

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September 30, 2022 06:14 pm | Updated October 03, 2022 12:27 am IST

(This article forms a part of the First Day First Show newsletter that brings you the latest and best from the world of movies and entertainment. Subscribe now)

Around Tinsel Town

>> Asha Parekh to get Dadasaheb Phalke Award

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry announced this week that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2020 would be conferred on veteran Bollywood actor Asha Parekh. The 79-year-old actor, best known for films such as ‘Dil Deke Dekho’ and ‘Caravan,’ is considered one of the most influential actresses of all-time in Hindi cinema.

>> Cafe in Chennai offers tea at ₹5 for struggling Tamil cinema aspirants

A hot cup of chai with biscuits to dunk into may be comfort food for the privileged lot. But perhaps it is the only meal that struggling assistant directors and aspiring technicians can afford on some days. Film activist and writer Arun Mo of Thamizh Studio, a film society movement that has been involved in the welfare of film aspirants, has now launched Cine Cafe, where anyone remotely associated with cinema can have a cup of tea for ₹5.

>> National Award-winning film ‘Semkhor’ in legal soup for alleged misrepresentation of Dimasa culture

‘Semkhor’, the first-ever Dimasa-language movie landed in legal trouble after an FIR was lodged against the film’s director Aimee Baruah by the All Dimasa Students’ Union for allegedly ‘misrepresenting’ Dimasa culture and perpetuating stereotypes against the community.

Multiple Dimasa organisations, like All Dimasa Women Welfare Society and Dimasa Mothers’ Association, have condemned the film for the alleged misrepresentation of customs, livelihood, and tradition. On Thursday this week, Dimasa organisations requested President Droupadi Murmu to intervene and halt the screening of the film

Bollywood

‘Ram Setu’: Teaser of Akshay Kumar’s action-adventure out

Teaser of Ajay Devgn, Tabu’s suspense thriller ‘Drishyam 2’ out

Barriers have gone down: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on north vs south cinema debate

Kumar Sanu, Shailendra Singh, Anand-Milind to get Lata Mangeshkar Award

Netflix launches ‘Class,’ the Indian adaptation of popular Spanish series ‘Elite’

Parth Saurabh’s ‘On Either Side of The Pond’ earns special mention at San Sebastian Film Festival

Hollywood

Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine for ‘Deadpool 3’

‘Enola Holmes 2’ trailer shows Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill in need to solve a mystery together

First-look teaser of Gal Gadot, Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Heart of Stone’ released by Netflix

Marilyn Monroe fascination comes to Netflix with Ana de Armas’ ‘Blonde’

Alan Rickman’s journal reveals why he continued playing Severus Snape in ‘Harry Potter’ films

Tom Hanks pens novel from his Hollywood experiences

New seasons of ‘The Crown’ ‘You’ and ‘The Witcher’ get release dates

Al Pacino, Charlie Heaton to star in feature film ‘Billy Knight’

Vince Gilligan’s next series to be headlined by Rhea Seehorn, projects lands at Apple

‘Free Your Mind’: Danny Boyle to direct dance adaptation of ‘The Matrix’

Prime Video’s ‘Reacher’ season 2 begins production

Lisa Kudrow to headline Taika Waititi’s Apple series ‘Time Bandits’

Storm Reid to headline ‘The Nun 2’

‘Money Heist’ spin-off series ‘Berlin’ begins production

‘True Detective’ Season 4 adds Fiona Shaw, John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston

New ‘Cloverfield’ movie in the works at Paramount, Babak Anvari to direct

Malala Yousafzai’s production banner unveils first slate with Apple TV+

Regional Cinema

Prabhas’ first look as Lord Ram from Om Raut’s ‘Adipurush’ out

Fahadh Faasil, Aparna Balamurali to star in Hombale Films’ ‘Dhoomam’

‘Coffee With Kadhal’ trailer shows Jiiva, Jai, and Srikanth in Sundar C’s twisted rom-com story

‘Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale’ teaser shows the actor talk about marriage, ‘Lady Superstar’ tag, and more

Actor Sreenath Bhasi taken into police custody for questioning in verbal abuse case

Mahesh Babu’s mother Indira Devi passes away

New in streaming

Coming to Netflix: Season two of romantic drama Mismatched, horror thriller The Midnight Club, documentary film The Trapped 13, and more

New on Disney+ Hotstar: Star Wars title Andor, Live-action Pinocchio movie, Akshay Kumar-starrer Cuttputlli, and more

Coming to Apple TV Plus: Jennifer Lawrence-starrer Causeway, documentary film Sidney, Ethan Hawke-starter Raymond & Ray, and more

New on Amazon Prime Video: Punjabi rom-com Yaar Mera Titliaan Warga, horror-thriller My Best Friend’s ExorcismThe Outlaws sequel The Roundup, and more

Essential reading

1) Mani Ratnam: ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ offered huge scope to me as a filmmaker

>> The director also speaks about how the success of SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ opened new doors for him

2) Dressing up the characters of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’: How Eka Lakhani and Pratiksha Prashant cracked it

>> The costume designer and jewellery designer disclose what it took to dress up the characters of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’

3) Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ takes on the ‘book vs movie’ debate 

>> With ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ releasing, this age-old question is once again dragged into the public realm

4) Singer Antara Nandy on how AR Rahman chose her ‘scratch version’ of ‘Alaikadal’ for ‘Ponniyin Selvan’

>> The singer describes her journey from almost losing her voice to being a lead singer in the Mani Ratnam film

5) Sanah Moidutty: Been looking forward to working with Mani Ratnam-AR Rahman combo

>> Sanah, who sung ‘Chol’ in the Malayalam version of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, speaks about her working experience

6) Saluting Yash Chopra, the showman of Hindi cinema

>> On his 90th birth anniversary, we look at how the filmmaker explored every shade of romance and life

7) Pan Nalin: About 60% of ‘Chhello Show’ is from my childhood

>> The director of ‘Chhello Show,’ India’s official entry for the Oscars, speaks about his semi-autobiographical drama

8) Ernie Hudson on the future of ‘Ghostbusters’: I’d love to see ghostbusting happen in India

>> The Hollywood star discusses the future of the legendary film franchise, how it has impacted Hollywood

9) Prasanna and SPB Charan on ‘Mad Company’, being in the industry for 20 years, and more

>> The actors speak about creating content for OTT and their careers that have spanned over two decades

10) Adil Hussain seeks answers: On ‘The Storyteller’ and ‘Max, Min and Meowzaki’

>> In his latest films, Hussain questions the idea of identity and originality

11) Siju Wilson makes a splash as Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker in Vinayan’s ‘Pathonpatham Noottandu’

>> Siju says it’s a role he had been waiting for since 2010 and one for which he trained for six months

12) Singers Kayan and Noor Chahal: On YouTube Music Foundry, and breaking out in style

>> The two Indian artists were selected among the global 30 for YouTube’s Foundry class of 2022

13) Siddharth, Souumil on how ‘Boom Padi’ from Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Maja Ma’ was born

>> The composer duo do a fine balance between traditional folk and contemporary

14) Angamaly brass bands to Bulgarian orchestra: How Malayalam cinema composers are scoring high

>> Four composers who brought new music to Malayalam cinema discuss their approach to film music

15) The innocence of the story of ‘Anurag Engineering Works’ is appealing: Kiran Josey

>> Kiran’s Malayalam short film has created quite a buzz having been viewed more than three million times

16) Youtuber Puneeth BA enters Kannada cinema with a flourish

>> The YouTuber, started off by promoting Kannada film posters on his platform, speaks about his journey

What to watch

1) The epic story of ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1’ gets Mani Ratnam’s royal treatment

Read the full review here

2) Hrithik Roshan runs away with glory in ‘Vikram Vedha’, an absorbing game of cat-and-mouse

Read the full review here

3) In ‘Naane Varuvean’. Dhanush, Selvaraghavan are in fine form, but the film stops short of being great

Read the full review here

4) Ana de Armas dazzles as Marilyn Monroe in ‘Blonde’, but biopic only scratches the surface

Read the full review here

5) With ‘Athena’, Romain Gavras gives us a spectacle to behold

Read the full review here

6) ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ is a heartwarming anti-war drama with a charming Zac Efron

Read the full review here

7) ‘Mei Hoom Moosa’ has a decent subject but a lacklustre treatment

Read the full review here

8) In ‘Kantara’, Rishab Shetty bats for folklore and native culture in his latest

Read the full review here

9) ‘Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ is a beautifully-acted, but ultimately unnecessary biopic

Read the full review here

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