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Around Tinsel Town
The Hindu Huddle has, over the last four editions, brought under one roof, some of the best minds from politics, academia, industry, corporate, entertainment sports, civil society, literature, arts and culture.
Here’s a collection of stories from the The Hindu Huddle 2025:
> ‘Pan-India’ filmmaking a ‘massive scam’, streaming content ‘worse than television’: Anurag Kashyap
> Anurag Kashyap on difference between Kollywood and Bollywood
> Anurag Kashyap calls out Tamil composers for anglicising film music
> Nandita Das, Shahana Goswami and Jeo Baby discuss censorship and OTT platforms
> ‘Every film is political,’ remarks Vetrimaaran
> ‘Would there be takers for a series like Adolescence in India?’: Nandita Das
Bollywood
‘Homebound’: First poster of Neeraj Ghaywan’s next, starring Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor, unveiled
Pakistani actor Mawra Hocane dropped from ‘Sanam Teri Kasam 2’ after remarks on Operation Sindoor
Alia Bhatt postpones Cannes red carpet debut amid India-Pakistan tensions
Jacqueline Fernandez honoured, Nitanshi Goel pays tribute to Indian cinema icons at Cannes 2025
Karan Johar blasts nepotism trolls targeting Alia Bhatt: ‘Most idiotic person on this planet’
Hollywood
Tom Cruise shares emotional moment with Michael B. Jordan at ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ premiere
Nicolas Cage returns as Spider-Noir in first look at live-action series for Prime Video
‘Shogun’ star Cosmo Jarvis to play young Stalin in new biopic from ‘The Zone of Interest’ producers
‘Godzilla x Kong’ sequel titled ‘Supernova’, production begins
Alison Brie and Dave Franco sued for copyright infringement over Sundance horror ‘Together’Regional Cinema
Regional Cinema
Mohanlal’s ‘Thudarum’ becomes highest-grossing film in Kerala, surpasses ‘2018’
‘Sabar Bonda’ continues strong festival run, wins audience award at IFFLA
‘Benz’, produced by Lokesh Kanagaraj and starring Raghava Lawrence, goes on floors
‘Kingdom’: Vijay Deverakonda’s film gets postponed due to India-Pakistan tensions; new release date out
Pranav Mohanlal’s horror film with ‘Bramayugam’ team titled ‘Diés Iraé’
World Cinema
Major premieres, potential Oscar contenders, and what to expect from Cannes 2025
Robert De Niro receives standing ovation, Palme d’Or from Leonardo DiCaprio at Cannes 2025
Organisers crack down, nudity and oversized gowns banned from red carpet at Cannes 2025
Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ premiere gets standing ovation at Cannes 2025
French actor Gérard Depardieu gets 18-month suspended sentence in sexual assault case
Trailers
Brad Pitt plays a veteran driver facing the past in the trailer for ‘F1’
Aamir Khan returns as politically insensitive coach of a basketball team on the spectrum in the trailer for ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’
David Corenswet’s Man of Steel faces heat as Lois Lane questions his interference in a war in trailer for ‘Superman’
Vijay Sethupathi’s elusive ‘Bold’ Kannan promises a stylish heist comedy in trailer for ‘Ace’
Essential reading
1) The big cost of watching a film on the large screen in Bengaluru
>> Bengaluru has remained infamous for high-priced movie tickets. The State government’s proposal to cap the ticket price at ₹200 came as a ray of hope for film buffs, but a similar move in 2017 had borne no result
2) Actor Soori interview: On ‘Maaman’ and if Vetri Maaran would revive their ‘Ajnabi’ adaptation
>> Soori speaks about his upcoming film, ‘Maaman’ and reminisces about his early days after moving to Chennai in the late ‘90s
3) Actor Soori opens up on criticism against ‘Kottukkaali’: ‘PS Vinothraj should continue making such films’
>> Calling ‘Kottukkaali’ as a special film in his career, the actor stated box office collections cannot be used as a metric to measure the success of such off-beat attempts
4) Basil Joseph on his journey as an actor, returning to directing a film and being a part of ‘Maranamaas’
>> The actor-director has carved a niche for himself in Malayalam cinema as one of the industry’s bankable names
5) Mission (im)possible: how Tom Cruise is running to keep our dreams alive
>> The ‘Mission: Impossible’ films, from 1996 to 2025, has an untiring Tom Cruise racing on trains, planes and automobiles to serve our favourite comfort food
6) Sumanth: Acting is the only thing I know and can do reasonably well
>> Actor Sumanth reflects on his 26-year career, his new Telugu film ‘Anaganaga’, how he picks scripts, and the joy of working with kids
7) Mridul Sen on ‘Subham’: We took a cinéma vérité approach
>> Cinematographer Mridul Sen on the visual aesthetics of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Praveen Kandregula’s ‘Subham’, and her next Telugu film, ‘Paradha’
8) Hyderabad’s Annapurna Studios marks its 50th year
>> From film units shooting and engaging in post-production to students at the Annapurna College of Film and Media learning the fundamentals of filmmaking, the energy in the studio is unmistakably dynamic
9) ‘Mana Cinema – First Reel’ author Rentala Jayadeva wants to make film history readable
>> His book is a compelling account of the evolution of Indian cinema, from the silent film era to the talkies
10) How S.D. Burman’s music was deeply influenced by folk and classical traditions
>> ‘The Monk And His Music’, a new book on the composer is replete with precious anecdotes from those who worked with him.
11) What ‘The Two Popes’ reveals about the lost dialogue in Indian academia
>> In an academic climate where the space for ideas to clash and grow can be scarce, ‘The Two Popes’ shows what true dialogue could look like
What to watch
1) The Force is with Cassian and company in the thrilling, tragic climax of ‘Andor’ Season 2
Read the full review here
2) The perverse joy of a thousand tiny dooms in ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’
Read the full review here
3) Sumanth leads a soulful tale of education and relationships in ‘Anaganaga’
Read the full review here
4) Young hearts run free in the timely and timeless love story of ‘Forever’
Read the full review here
5) Soori, Aishwarya Lekshmi shoulder ‘Maaman’, a flawed drama
Read the full review here
6) ‘23’ is a hard-hitting film that raises tough questions
Read the full review here
7) Devil’s Double Next Level
Read the full review here
8) ‘Naale Rajaa Koli Majaa’ is a delightful satire on food politics
Read the full review here
Published – May 16, 2025 06:07 pm IST