Fans want to see Mahesh Babu as Lord Ram. (Photo: Ramesh Bala/Twitter, Prithviraj Sukumaran/Instagram)
It has been a rough few months since the outbreak of the coronavirus threw a wrench in the normal functioning of life and business. The film industry, which majorly depends on movie theaters to survive, is staring into a void of uncertainty. A paradigm shift is expected to be caused by the virus in the Indian film industry in terms of how films are made and released.
The traditional distributional chain and multiplexes have already started feeling the heat with the loss of the entire summer season. Summer is an important season from the business standpoint as the footprints across cinema halls receive a big boost. Due to the dry spell at the box office, the Tamil film industry alone roughly incurred a loss of Rs 500 crore in the last few months. To add to the worries of the exhibitors, some of the high-profile films have decided to take the OTT route.
How is industry preparing itself to resume its business even as the challenges from the COVID crisis are far from over?
Below you will find all the latest updates of the south Indian film industry, including news, gossip, celebrity social media updates and more.
Malavika Mohanan described her Master experience in a LIVE interaction on The Indian Express' Facebook page. The actor said, "It was like a big college picnic. It was so much fun. We made something cool and different from anything that has been made in Tamil cinema before. It was a blast working on the film. I wish I could say more but yes, it is going to be a treat for Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi fans for sure. It is going to be madness." Read More
Actor-filmmaker Prithviraj has lost a significant amount of body fat to achieve the best physique of his life yet. The star shared a selfie from the hotel, where he is currently quarantined to check for symptoms of coronavirus. Read more
RX100 actor Kartikeya has not let the lockdown affect his goals. The actor shared a stunning photo of himself showing off his chiseled body.
Ahead of the release of Ponmagal Vandhal on Amazon Prime Video, Jyotika and Suriya will be holding a first ever virtual meet and greet with fans on May 28.
A few days back, SS Rajamouli fans made #RajamouliMakeRamayan trend on Twitter. Now, a fan has come up with a poster of Mahesh Babu as Lord Ram. The fan-made poster is trending on social media platforms.
Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday shared the trailer of Ram Gopal Varma's co-production titled Corona. He called the director "irrepressible." The tweet read, "The irrepressible Ram Gopal Varma, 'Ramu' to many .. 'Sarkaaar' to me .. makes an entire film about a family in Lockdown, shot during Lockdown"
Nishabdham director Hemant Madhukar posted on Twitter, "Both our films #nishabdham Telugu and #silence given U/A censor certificate and I am overwhelmed by the response of the #cencorboard panel members and my sincere thanks to them for there advice to release the film first in theatre"
Telugu film producer Dil Raju has acquired the remake rights of Nani's prodution venture HIT.
Sharing the trailer of his latest co-production titled Coronavirus, Ram Gopal Varma wrote on Twitter, "Here is the CORONAVIRUS film trailer..The story is set in a LOCKDOWN and it has been SHOT during LOCKDOWN ..Wanted to prove no one can stop our work whether it’s GOD or CORONA @shreyaset"
The film is helmed by Agasthya Manju of Lakshmi's NTR fame.
Telangana cinematography minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav is all set to distribute groceries to 14,000 cine daily wage earners through his Talasani Trust. This initiative was planned after Talasani held discussions with Telugu film industry bigwigs about the lockdown.
The team of Telugu film Naandhi has started post-production of the project. Some actors have started dubbing for their respective roles.
Directed by debutant Vijay Kanakamedala, Naandhi stars Allari Naresh, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Harish Uttaman, Priyadarshi and Praveen. Satish Vegesna is producing the actioner under the SV2 Entertainment banner.