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Logic and artistic sensibility both take the backseat in Hotstar’s latest Telugu series, Kobali. The show is all blood and testosterone and literally nothing else. The acting—barring Ravi Prakash, who plays Srinu—is underwhelming, the writing is poor and at times doesn’t make much sense, and even the action is quite dated. It’s not that the main story is bad; in fact, that’s the only thing Kobali has going in its favor. That also means a better, more engaging show could have been made from this base, with better execution.

Spoilers Ahead

What is the show about?

Old Sambaiah has lived his life bootlegging alcohol. His sons haven’t followed the same path, but other than Srinu—the middle one—they haven’t made much of themselves either. The younger, Ramu, mostly spends his days loitering in the village, hanging out with his friends, and playing cricket.

In the last two years, two opposing forces have shone brightly in the landscape of Indian cinema. The unprecedented international success of director SS Rajamouli’s “Rrr” (2022) has catapulted its lead actors into a level of worldwide fame previously reserved for the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. International audiences took particular appreciation of Ram Charan, whose morally conflicted and complex character won widespread admiration. Yet, this excitement is tempered by the fact that Ram Charan has a relatively meager filmography, and of these, there are only a small number of phenomenal films, such as “Magadheera” (2009) or “Rangasthalam” (2018), a couple of good-to-decent films such as “Yevadu” (2014) or “Dhruva” (2016), and several outright stinkers like “Rachcha” (2012), the remake of Bachchan’s “Zanjeer” (2013), or the infamous “Vinaya Vidheya Rama” (2019).

Perhaps his biggest flop, 2022’s “Acharya”, was technically an extended cameo role and mercifully came and went before international audiences had fully latched onto “Rrr”. Despite this,...

“Om” is a landmark for Kannada cinema for a number of reasons. Focusing on the presentation of Bangalore’s criminal underworld, including appearance of real-life gangsters, “Om” was a rather costly endeavor but the result definitely justified the effort. Currently, the movie is credited for ushering in the genre of underworld mafia in a full-fledged manner in Kannada cinema, was a a successful venture at the box office and was declared an industry hit. It remains a cult classic film in Kannada cinema with a dedicated fan following, owing to its re-release every two weeks, holding a record for re-releasing more than 550 times. Let us see what the whole thing is about though.

Follow our Tribute to Kannada cinema by clicking on the image below

Shashi is a journalist who interviews underworld gangsters and provides a book titled ॐ, which is written by her and request them to read. Eventually,...

Thiruvananthapuram, June 18 (Ians) After a woman died on Sunday, the total number of deaths due to dengue and rat fever in Kerala has reached 23 in the last two weeks.

Sujatha (50) from Kodumanchira in Pathanamthitta district died due to rat fever at Kottayam medical college on Sunday morning, said officials.

Reports said that many people are admitted to hospitals across the state due to various fevers, including dengue and rat fever, and the bacterial infections are also spreading. The state health department has issued a directive to people not to resort to self medication and to consult a medical doctor.

At least 877 dengue fever cases were reported from across the state in the past few days.

The local administration has failed to clean up water bodies and drainages before the monsoon and this has led to an increase in the presence of mosquitoes and rats leading to the spread of contagious diseases.

Death is a tricky yet sensitive subject to deal with. But Venu Yeldandi, in his directorial debut, ‘Balagam,’ has greatly amalgamated superstitions associated with crows in relation to death to narrate a sad family tale. When you observe a crow cawing right at the beginning of the movie above Koamrayya’s head, you know for sure that death awaits. Venu quite efficiently uses death as the reason for a dissociated family to reconnect and revive their ties. He employs the crow as the messenger of Yamraj, the Hindu deity of death, to resolve family issues, bringing about harmony and unity and breaking the odd drama of egos.

‘Balagam’ gives us a moment to stop and enjoy the beauty of a rhythmic village, which perhaps today would be impossible to treat ourselves to. The film starts with a song that introduces us to the village and its peculiar nature of being a mother and daughter,...

Chennai, July 19: Acclaimed Tamil lyricist Vaali was cremated Friday at the Besant Nagar crematorium here.

He died Thursday following respiratory problems. He was 82. He is survived by his son Balaji.

On Friday, several members from the Tamil film fraternity paid their last respects to Vaali at his residence.

One of the Tamil cinema's most influential lyricists after Kannadasan, Vaali was born as T.S. Rangarajan. He rechristened himself to Vaali, since he was an ardent fan of artist Mali.

After years of struggle, he wrote his first song in 1958 in the film "Azhagarmalai Kallan", but it was the song "Odivadhu Pol Idai.

Chennai, July 18: Famous Tamil lyricist T.S. Rangarajan, popularly known as Vaali, passed away Thursday in a private hospital due to lung problem. He was 82.

He is survived by his son Balaji.

The funeral will take place here Friday, family members said.

An Iyengar Brahmin, Vaali has penned several memorable songs of different varieties --love duets, sad, philosophical and others. His famous songs include "Unnai nenachaen paatu paaduchaen Thangamae gnanathangamae...."

He equalled another illustrious lyricist late Kannadasan, who is considered as an all-time great in penning meaningful philosophical songs.

Vaali, who started writing in 1958, had penned more than 10,000 songs and worked with three generations.

Endhiran's music, set to tune by Oscar-winner A R Rahman, had been released in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July. No surprises there - South Asia loves Rajinikanth, and if Endhiran (the Hindi version is titled Robot) has to succeed, a lot rests on the southern superstar and his director Shankar. In fact, Malaysia was the only overseas market where one of Shankar's earlier movies, Jeans, had a 100-day run.Social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter, are already abuzz with Endhiran gossip. There's plenty to talk about Endhiran, not least its roller-coaster ride up to the release. In fact, the film was almost shelved till Sun Pictures (a division of Sun TV) stepped in to salvage the project.Endhiran, originally conceived by acclaimed Tamil science fiction writer Sujatha, has had a bumpy ride before Sun Pictures gave it a new lease of life.Shankar, the most commercially successful director in the South,...

Raavan

Mani Ratnam has often said that he lets his technicians do half his work and considering that he works only with the best in the country - the likes of Santosh Sivan and A R Rahman – it’s not surprising that that his films always turn out accomplished in all the departments. But in Raavan - I think - while the technicians have done a fabulous job, Mani Saar hasn’t kept his part of the bargain.

Ratnam likes to fix his stories - more specifically love stories - against pulsating backgrounds; be it the insurgency ridden Kashmir or North-East, the violence marred city of Mumbai or even the dark and humid days of the licence-quota permit-raj - the stage for the Guru Bhai-Sujata Ben’s love story in his last film Guru. A lot of people, at various times, have had issues with Ratnam over this approach.

'Guru' (2007)

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, R. Madhavan

While actor Abhishek Bachchan might seem like a natural to play romantic heroes, given his looks—and he's usually cast in that type of role—he does his best work when playing unconventional, even unlikeable, leads—for example, his exceptional portrayal of a thug in 'Yuva' (2004). His turn in 'Guru' as a business tycoon with slippery morals is likewise one of his finest performances. The film chronicles the rags-to-riches rise of his character, Gurukant Desai, a poor Gujarti boy who goes first to Istanbul and then to Mumbai to make his fortune selling textiles. He's not book-smart, but he's a savvy hustler, and he gets ahead the only way a common man can—by bending the rules. His arrogance and ambition take him far, and he eventually becomes the king of a polyester manufacturing empire.