Tag: Entertainment

A 36-year-old Indian stand-up comedian in the UAE collapsed and died on stage in Dubai while performing in front of a packed audience, who thought it was part of his act, according to a media report. Manjunath Naidu, 36, suffered a cardiac arrest while performing his routine on stage on July 19. He complained of […]

Around a month ago, when singer Smita was giving finishing touches to her new music video and planning to unveil it, those around her felt that a special event should mark the occasion, considering that 2019 marks 20 years of her musical journey. “I hadn’t thought of a special event until then. But when people […]

“It’s overwhelming to see people of Hyderabad telling me they still remember my portrayal of Satyabhama on stage. It fills me with joy to see young girls pursuing Kuchipudi here with passion,” Sumathy Kaushal had said while talking to us at her sister Vijaya Ramam’s Banjara Hills residence in 2017. She had come to the […]

As an old woman goes about her daily chore of sorting lentils, her mind wanders. Her memory revisits instances from her past, and poignantly she realises the passage of time. Woman Cleaning Lentils — a poem by Armenian poet Zahrad, is what inspired Lentils and Stones, a collusion of theatre, puppetry and dance, which will […]

The first time actor-producer Vanitha Vijayakumar ascended the Bigg Boss stage before entering the house for the third season of the show, TV audiences across Tamil Nadu let out a collective gasp. Known for her outspokenness and penchant for drama, the daughter of actors Vijayakumar and the late Manjula was already popular for her viral […]

Last weekend, multiplexes across Chennai and its suburbs reported the lowest footfall in recent times, despite India’s defeat in the World Cup 2019. People preferred watching the much-awaited clash between England-New Zealand in the finals. The multiplexe managers, for a change, are not blaming cricket, but the poor quality of content. Says the manager of […]

Singer Sid Sriram is collaborating with maestro Ilaiyaraaja for the first time in Psycho, which is being directed by Mysskin. The news has already created a buzz among music lovers, for Sid Sriram is popular for his chartbusting songs in south Indian movies. His recent hit songs include ‘Inaye’ (Thadam), ‘Anthi Maalai’ (Monster), ‘Anbe Peranbe’ […]

I live in a house that was built in 1910 and was flanked by Citadel Studios and Newtone Studios, two well-known yesteryear film production houses of Madras. Home for the holidays from boarding school, I remember a few film scenes being shot in our garden. I recall watching Telugu and Tamil black-and-white classics in my […]

The Government better take immediate steps to solve the farmers’ crisis in the country. If it doesn’t, chances are Tamil cinema will make a hundred more films on it, and we, the audience, will be forced to sit through them. The minute Gorilla, which positioned itself as a comical heist film, goes all serious and […]

Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: the Tamil comedy scene is almost on the verge of extinction and beyond redemption, unless some writer miraculously pops up to save the dying art of comedy. In Tamil cinema’s universe, it’s easy to gauge the success of a comedian. A couple of hilarious films and it […]