Expresso Regional Cinema News Update at 3:30 pm on 19 October 2023

Let's begin with our top story. Tamil Nadu Sports Minister and actor Udhayanidhi Stalin tweeted the first review of Vijay’s Leo and revealed a major spoiler that the film is part of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s cinematic universe. His tweet read, “Thalabathy @actorvijay Anna’s #Leo. @Dir_Lokesh excellent filmmaking, @anirudhofficial music , @anbariv master, @7screenstudio #LCU! All the best team!” Fans have lashed out for it and memes and tweets trolled him. Leo, after many struggles and legal battles, was finally released today at 9 a.m. across Tamil Nadu.

In the Leo box office collection Day 1 early reports, Vijay’s film looks poised to beat Rajinikanth’s Jailer with its record Tamil opening and become the biggest Tamil opener of the year. As per industry tracker Sacnilk, it has already registered advance sales worth Rs 46.36 crore net. Jailer made Rs 44.5 crore on opening day. Trade analyst Ramesh Bala had previously predicted that the film could make Rs 100 crore worldwide on the opening day. Leo is not going to enjoy a great run in the Hindi belt. Multiplexes in North India will not be releasing Leo because of the film’s eight-week OTT window, while The Tamil Nadu Film Association has a four-week OTT window.

In other news, the Japan teaser was released on Oct 18th and shows Karthi playing a highly-talented thief, eccentric thief, sporting an all-golden outfit and a quirky hairstyle, and is called Japan. Karthi and director Raju Murugan have joined hands for the first time for this film. The movie also stars Vijay Milton, Sunil, and Anu Emmanuel, among others. Karthi had a great time last year with three back-to-back hits in Komban, Ponniyin Selvan 1, and Sardar. This year Ponniyin Selvan 2 couldn’t live up to the success of the first part and Karthi didn’t have any release in the meantime. Japan is releasing this Diwali.

On Oct 18th, the film Family Star's teaser was released and shows Vijay Deverakonda in an amusing avatar as a multi-tasker who is adept at household work and villain-bashing. Vijay and Mrunal Thakur will be seen together for the first time in this Telugu movie. Fans seemed thrilled and a YouTuber commented on the teaser, “Glimpse itself feels Block Buster to me. I Hope This Movie will Break all your previous Box office records.” Another emotional fan wrote, “Vijay Deverakonda’s ‘Family Star’ glimpse is proof that he’s not just an actor but a phenomenon. His charisma and mass appeal are unparalleled. This movie promises a blend of class and mass like never before.”

Meanwhile, during the 69th National Film Awards ceremony, fanboy Allu Arjun expressed delight over Waheeda Rehman’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award win. Taking to social media with a picture with her from the venue, he noted: “It was a lifetime experience to witness Shri Waheeda Rehman ji win the Dadasaheb Phalke award. More than 6 decades of career in films. Truly inspiring.” Heaping praise on Mimi actor Kriti Sanon, he noted: “A well-deserved award for a league jumper performance. What a lovely lady… wishing her more in this journey… and hopefully a movie together soon.” Congratulating Alia Bhatt for her win, Allu wrote: “It was an absolute pleasure to see dear Alia Bhatt win this award. Truly deserving and many more.”

Ravi Teja, in an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia, said he doesn’t believe in God and is ‘absolutely not’ interested in daily prayers and ‘mahurats’. He revealed that for him, religion has a very different meaning and shared, "I believe in nature. Nature is my god. I don’t believe in praying daily and ‘mahurats’ and things of this kind. Nature, positivity, I enjoy my work.” Ravi said that he is also a ‘very private person’, and that his philosophy in life is to not waste time and to focus on doing the things he enjoys, such as watching films, working out, and eating well. The ‘Mass Maharaja’ of Telugu cinema, is gearing up for the release of Tiger Nageshwar Rao.

In some tragic news, Malayalam film actor Kundara Johny passed away at 71, at a private hospital in Kerala’s Kollam district on Tuesday, Oct 17th. He appeared in notable films such as Aavanazhi, Aram+Aram=Kinnaram, Rajavinte Makan, Nadodikkattu, Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, Kireedam, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Godfather and Chenkol. He marked his movie debut at the age of 27 in J Sasikumar’s Nithya Vasantham (1979). His rugged appearance and strong physique immediately caught the attention of viewers, leading to a plethora of opportunities over the years. Johny was last seen in Vishnu Mohan’s Meppadiyan (2022). He is survived by his wife and two children.

Lastly: Music composer D Imman, in a recent interview with a YouTube channel, has said he will never work with Sivakarthikeyan again, adding, ‘He betrayed me’. He shared he was in the dark about it for a long time, and admitted he was friendly with Siva without knowing about the betrayal. D Imman has delivered many hit songs for the Tamil star and also played a significant role in his emergence as a star. The allegations made by D Imman have shocked the fans of Sivakarthikeyan. It has also left them with many questions as the composer refused to make the entire issue public.

Click to listen to yesterday's bulletin