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After the massive success of his film ‘Leo’ at the box office, Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay and the entire team of his upcoming film tentatively titled ‘Thalapathy 68’ have gone to Thailand for shooting.

Bangkok is becoming one of the go-to-places for South Indian cinemas these days be it ‘Virupaksha’ or the upcoming fantasy-war-drama film ‘Kanguva’. The team of ‘Thalapathy68’ announced their Thailand flight on their official X account.

Reportedly, the feature may have Thalapathy doing a dual role though director Venkat Prabhu while having teased this never confirmed it.

‘Thalapathy 68’ brings together some very prominent names from South Indian cinema together on the big screen. Some of the most prominent members who attended the feature’s inauguration puja include Prabhu Deva, Prashanth, Snena, Meenakshi Choudhary, Laila, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Amir, Yogi Babu, Vtv Ganesh, Vaibhav, Premgi, Aravind Akash and Ajay Raj.

The feature is helmed and co-written by...

After the massive success of his film ‘Leo’ at the box office, Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay and the entire team of his upcoming film tentatively titled ‘Thalapathy 68’ have gone to Thailand for shooting.

Bangkok is becoming one of the go-to-places for South Indian cinemas these days be it ‘Virupaksha’ or the upcoming fantasy-war-drama film ‘Kanguva’. The team of ‘Thalapathy68’ announced their Thailand flight on their official X account.

Reportedly, the feature may have Thalapathy doing a dual role though director Venkat Prabhu while having teased this never confirmed it.

‘Thalapathy 68’ brings together some very prominent names from South Indian cinema together on the big screen. Some of the most prominent members who attended the feature’s inauguration puja include Prabhu Deva, Prashanth, Snena, Meenakshi Choudhary, Laila, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Amir, Yogi Babu, Vtv Ganesh, Vaibhav, Premgi, Aravind Akash and Ajay Raj.

The feature is helmed and co-written by...

PoliticsBVSN Prasad and Pawan Kalyan had earlier collaborated for the 2013 film Attarintiki Daredi, following which they had a dispute over unpaid remuneration dues to the actor. Senior Telugu film producer Bvsn Prasad joined actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party on Monday, June 12, after meeting the latter at Jsp’s headquarters in Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh. Prasad was welcomed into the party by Pawan Kalyan who felicitated him with Jsp's scarf. Prasad has produced several hit movies including Chatrapathi, Magadheera, Darling, Nannaku Prematho, Tholi Prema and the recently released Virupaksha. Prasad and Pawan Kalyan had earlier collaborated for Attarintiki Daredi. Following the film’s release, a dispute arose between the two when Prasad allegedly failed to clear Pawan Kalyan’s dues for the film. In 2016, the actor approached the Movie Artistes Association (Maa) over unpaid remuneration dues of about Rs 2 crore. Prasad, however, settled the dues eventually. It remains to be...

The commercial cinema space in the Telugu language is littered with supernatural horror and fantasy stories of varying quality. One can either really enjoy them for the entertainment or detest them for making a film just for the heck of it. I’m not sure which category Virupaksha comes under. Directed by Kartik Varma Dandu, Virupaksha is a sad attempt at reigniting the supernatural fantasy genre. Why can’t Telugu cinema make an engaging story in this genre that would not leave anyone wanting to walk out of the theater? This commercial movie is about a supernatural entity that has discreetly taken over a small village and starts creating havoc by killing the adults one by one. How will this entity be caught and destroyed?

A Tragic History Of The Village

Virupaksha begins with a man supposedly performing black magic by placing a young girl in the middle of his home,...

The Telugu movie ‘Virupaksha’, which stars Sai Dharam Tej and Samyukta Menon, is set to have a theatrical release in Hindi circuits on Friday, May 5.

Looking at the positive response to the film in the Telugu-speaking states, the makers have decided to roll out the Hindi version as well.

Directed by Karthik Varma Dandu, ‘Virpaksha’ is a mystery horror film. ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ helmer Sukumar, who is now busy with the production of the Allu Arjun-starrer sequel, has penned the film’s screenplay.

‘Virupaksha’ collected close to Rs 70 crore in the Telugu-speaking states. It collected Rs 62.5 crore in its first seven days, according to trade expert Ramesh Bala. The film has been produced by Bvsn Prasad and Manish Shah.

The Telugu film had its theatrical release on April 21. The digital and satellite rights of the film have been acquired by Netflix and Star Maa, respectively.

Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid did solid business in its second week, expanding from four screens to well over 900 for a gross of $2.7+ million and a cume of $3.14 million. The A24 film starring Joaquin Phoenix has a $2.8k per screen average and no. 9 spot. It’s a weekend with a wide range of specialty films in a market that’s improving by some measures — some more product, some stronger openings — but still hard to read amid the blockbusters.

Aster has a committed fan base and a core group of theaters carried the weekend. This film is a tougher sell than the previous two, also from A24. Beau “has already sparked countless passionate debates and discourse from critics and audiences alike,” the distributor said, and, like all of Aster’s films, it “will have a long life in the weeks, months, and years to come.”

Somewhere in Queens...

EntertainmentLast month, Naatu Naatu bagged the Oscar for Best Original Song to become the first Indian and Asian song to receive the coveted award.FilePhotoUnion Home Minister Amit Shah would meet Oscar award winning team of Naatu Naatu song in Hyderabad on Sunday, April 23. During his brief visit to Telangana, he will meet the artists associated with the award winning song from S.S. Rajamouli's blockbuster Rrr over high tea at Novotel Hotel near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.Rajamouli, Music director M.M. Keeravani, lyricist Chandrabose, singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, choreographer Prem Rakshith, actors Junior Ntr and Ram Charan are likely to be present during the meeting. Last month, Naatu Naatu bagged the Oscar for Best Original Song to become the first Indian and Asian song to receive the coveted award. After returning to India, Ram Charan along with his father Chiranjeevi had met Amit Shah in Delhi. In August last year,...

ReviewWhile making a commentary against superstition and ignorance, ‘Virupaksha’ is also not entirely supportive of science and reason, which is where it falls short of being a great film. India has a dubious distinction of lynching people to death, and committing atrocious crimes against people on the mere suspicion of practising withcraft or black magic. In this backdrop, writer and director Karthik Dandu’s Virupaksha seemingly makes a commentary against these prejudices and superstitious beliefs, which stem from ignorance. Sai Dharam Tej (playing Surya) and Samyuktha (as Nandini) appear in the lead roles in the film. Virupaksha’s story takes place around the early 1990s. In Rudravanam, a small Telugu village cut off from the rest of the world, a series of mysterious deaths occur. The suspicious deaths lead to strict impositions by the village’s priest. While these deaths seem to be triggered by the involvement of an outsider seeking revenge,...