Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese share a hearty laugh in Sarvam Maya new poster
The two also share a great rapport beyond films, as evident from their offscreen interactions. It is worth mentioning that Aju, who recently debuted in Tamil with Ram's Parandhu Po, credited Nivin for helping him land the role.
Meanwhile, Sarvam Maya's shooting is progressing at a brisk pace. The makers are planning to release it for Christmas 2025.
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Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Malayalam megastars are doing what Bollywood hesitates to: Redefining the Indian man
In Indian cinema, masculinity has long had a template – broad shoulders, clenched jaws, an aversion to tears, and an unyielding sense of control. Vulnerability is rare, flamboyance is frowned upon, and queerness is almost taboo. To deviate from this image is to risk ridicule, rejection, or worse – irrelevance. And yet, in a consistent act of defiance, a handful of performances and projects dismantle this myth of masculinity. One of Malayalam cinema's most enduring legends, Mohanlal, recently appeared in a jewellery advertisement that made waves – not because it was outlandish, but because it was so quietly subversive. In the ad, the 65-year-old star is seen wearing bridal jewellery, comfortable in his skin, and absolutely unapologetic. He strikes classical mudras whilst admiring himself in the mirror in his vanity van. There's no caricature, no winking at the camera, no self-preservation – only an actor willing to stretch his horizons, to explore, to express. When he is 'caught' trying on women's jewellery, Mohanlal smiles, and so does the person who finds him. There is no embarrassment in the exchange, no macho posturing. It is an act of gender-nonconforming performance, and Mohanlal does it without self-consciousness. In a society where gender expression is tightly policed, such an act by a male superstar, especially one of Mohanlal's stature, challenges viewers to rethink their assumptions. And that, in today's India, is a form of quiet rebellion. A couple of years ago, another stalwart of the Malayalam film industry, Mammootty, portrayed a closeted gay man married to a woman (Jyothika) in Kaathal: The Core (2023), a character battling internalised shame and the weight of societal expectations. The film doesn't offer cheap drama or caricature queerness. Instead, it presents a restrained, intimate portrait of a man torn between duty and identity – an experience countless queer people in India continue to live through. The backlash was swift. Right-wing and conservative groups called for a boycott of the film. Muslim clerics, too, criticised the film's portrayal of homosexuality, calling it an attempt to 'brainwash the youth'. What made Mammootty's choice especially powerful is that he did not distance himself from the role after the backlash. He stood by it. No apologies, no explanations, just conviction. Both Mohanlal, and Mammootty's portrayals were sincere, dignified, and unafraid. At a time when most male stars, particularly in Bollywood, are still clinging to rigid, outdated ideas of manhood, these actors show that maturity doesn't mean safety. It means freedom — not to protect their image, but to expand the space for what men can look like, feel like, and act like on screen; not as a parody, but as a performance. Mainstream Hindi cinema has manufactured a singular idea of the Indian man: Emotionally distant, physically dominant, often angry, rarely vulnerable. The hero is rarely queer, almost always flamboyant, and if he cries, it must be in the heat of battle or in the shadow of revenge. To wear a nose ring, drape a saree, or play a man in love with another man – these are choices that threaten to 'feminise' the hero in the eyes of a market that still equates masculinity with power, and power with dominance. So only a few movies, such as Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), dare to go where others haven't. The fear is not of artistic failure, it is of image erosion. It is also commercial. Bollywood remains deeply conservative, and while urban audiences may appreciate nuance, large segments of the film-viewing public and financiers continue to associate masculinity with aggression, dominance, and heteronormative desire. But this rigidity doesn't just stunt creativity. It stifles emotional truth. When our stories only show one kind of man – silent, stoic, alpha – what do young boys learn about expressing pain, seeking intimacy, or embracing vulnerability? The damage spills beyond the cinema. It seeps into homes, schools, relationships – boys are told to stop crying, to assert, instead of feeling and listening. There have been disruptions along the way, though. Kamal Haasan portrayed an effeminate dancer in Vishwaroopam (2013). Vijay Sethupathi broke new ground with his role as a trans woman in Super Deluxe (2019), bringing vulnerability, complexity, and care to a character that could easily have been reduced to a trope. Moving away from the south, Atul Kulkarni gave a devastating performance as a nachya performing in '70s Maharashtrian tamashas in 2010's Natrang. The younger generation, in a rare experiment, followed suit with Riddhi Sen's National Award-winning turn in 2019's Bengali film Nagarkirtan. But these remain exceptions. Portrayals in Bollywood specifically have always been an inch away from caricatures. Most actors fear the repercussions: From losing roles and endorsements to being trolled online. This fear is real. But the silence that results from it is dangerous. As older, influential male icons, what Mohanlal and Mammootty have done is brave because they are choosing roles not out of necessity, but out of a sense of artistic freedom. They are not selling youth. They are not hawking testosterone. They are, instead, inhabiting the vast emotional landscapes that masculinity so often ignores — pain, shame, tenderness. And in doing so, they're giving younger actors and audiences permission to imagine masculinity beyond muscle and machismo, as something much more than a straitjacket.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
When Suriya, Vijay, Jyotika and Madhavan joined forces in a short film to show how to be a ‘hero', and not a ‘zero'. Watch
There was a time, long before the 'pan-India' trend took over, when actors could collaborate effortlessly. It wasn't seen as a big deal, nor was it made into one. These collaborations would happen naturally, without any conscious attempt to blow them out of proportion. The same was true in the Tamil film industry. In fact, in his debut film, Suriya wasn't the solo hero; Vijay, who had already made a name for himself and was rapidly rising to stardom, also played a central role. In other words, director Vasanth's Nerrukku Ner (1997) featured both Suriya and Vijay in lead roles, with Simran and Kausalya playing their respective love interests. The film was a commercial success and helped establish Suriya almost instantly as a promising actor. It didn't take long for the two stars to join forces again. They reunited in Siddique's Friends (2001), a remake of his own 1999 Malayalam film of the same name. In it, Suriya and Vijay played best friends alongside Ramesh Khanna. The film became a blockbuster and marked a turning point in both actors' careers. Though they haven't shared screen space in a feature film since, their mutual respect and affection have remained strong, rooted in a bond that predates their stardom as both hail from prominent film families and knew each other well even before entering the industry. But did you know that Suriya and Vijay collaborated once more after Friends, and that too in a short film? Yep, you read that right. Along with them, the short docudrama 'Herova? Zerova?' also featured Suriya's wife Jyotika and R Madhavan, all playing themselves. Produced and released by Suriya's Agaram Foundation to emphasise the need for education, the short film was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Tamil Nadu. It was directed by Priya V and featured a stellar team comprising KV Anand (cinematography), Harris Jayaraj (music), Sreekar Prasad (editing) and Na Muthukumar (lyrics), making it a dream collaboration. The short film opens in a classroom where a teacher is taking attendance. While many students are present, a few are absent. Each time a name is called and the student is missing, the scene cuts to reveal where they actually are. While one is shown working in a stone quarry, another — a little girl — is running her household while carrying a baby in one hand. As the film progresses, more kids are shown in child labour, their right to education denied. Soon, Suriya, Vijay, Jyotika and Madhavan appear on screen, rescuing these children from labour and teaching them about the value of schooling, emphasising that education determines whether one becomes a 'hero or zero'. The short ends on a hopeful note, showing that their campaign has yielded good results and that the children have embraced education and are now attending school. 'You will become heroes in life only if you study,' the four of them say. Speaking about his foundation, Suriya once told Rediff, 'Agaram is the first alphabet in Tamil. Agaram is the beginning of everything connected with education. That is why we decided to have the name for our foundation.' Opening up about the decision to make the short film, he noted, 'This was done to make people aware of the importance of education. I am not doing this for publicity for me or my family. That is the reason why I have roped in actors like Vijay and Madhavan in the film; so that they can send the message across effectively. I will not be able to meet each and every child who doesn't go to school and tell him the importance of education. If I can inspire anybody to sponsor a child's education though this film, it will be great.' He added, 'It was the Tamil Nadu Education department that asked us to make a video clip urging students not to drop out of school. I thought that was not enough and why should this be restricted only to me? Why not include other like-minded actors who are my friends in the film? It is a great cause and it brought all of us — Vijay, Maddy Jo, K V Anand Sir, Priya, Harris Jayaraj, Srikar Prasad — together.'
Pink Villa
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- Pink Villa
Karuppu Teaser Review: Suriya shines as massy justice-giver Saravanan, Sai Abhyankkar packs punch with debut melody
Suriya 's next film, Karuppu, has been in the spotlight for all the right reasons. The RJ Balaji directorial will feature the Tamil actor in a massy avatar, as evident from the first few posters which have been unveiled. And now, on the actor's 50th birthday, the makers have shared the much-anticipated teaser of the film. Karuppu teaser review The 1-minute 42-second video opens with the proclamation that Suriya's character, Saravanan, is like a fierce demigod who delivers justice instantly. As the teaser progresses, audiences get a peek of the actor pulling off dual shades in a single role, one where he's the powerful lawyer and the other where he's the unforgiving model of delivering instant justice. The other highlights of the teaser certainly include some massy punchlines by Suriya, along with his rowdy look around which the role has been characterised. Most importantly, debutant composer Sai Abhyankkar 's background score keeps the thrilling aspect intact throughout the teaser. More about Karuppu The title 'Karuppu' literally translates to 'black' in English. The movie will retain the same name across its Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi versions at the time of its release. Speaking about the film's cast, besides Suriya, it also stars Trisha Krishnan as the leading lady, who'll reunite with the actor on-screen after 20 years. Other stars featured in the movie include Sshivada, Swasika, Indrans, Yogi Babu, Natty Subramanium, and more. It is written and directed by RJ Balaji and produced by S.R. Prabhu and S.R. Prakash Babu under the banner of Dream Warrior Pictures. The release date of the movie is yet to be announced by the makers. Suriya's work front Well, Suriya was last seen on-screen with Karthik Subbaraj's Retro this year, which was a mediocre hit at the box office. Moving on, besides Karuppu in the pipeline, the actor also has Suriya 46 with Venky Atluri on the cards. It stars Mamitha Baiju as the leading lady opposite him.
