Shruti Haasan says South stars are more humble, God-fearing, compared to Bollywood
"There were rules regarding what was and wasn't allowed on set, and the actor and their staff were always very aware of how they presented themselves. I found there to be a higher level of awareness and consciousness in the South, compared to when I worked in the Hindi film industry. I think it's just a South Indian thing to do; you know, many people who have a lot of money won't dress up very flashy. They will still have that old Ambassador car for many years. It's just the psychology of the place, and it's very important to realise that we are merely vessels for art," the actor went on."We aren't a conduit of any kind; the conduit is a good film, a good script or even a good song. We just receive that art, and we are supposed to spread it outwards. Learning music very early in my life and working with people in close quarters for hours on end teaches you to just play your bits, to not try to surpass anyone else, and to be humble," Shruti added.The actor has featured in Hindi films such as 'Luck' (2009), 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' (2011) and 'D-Day' (2013).Shruti was recently seen in actor Rajinikanth's 'Coolie', directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The film was released on August 14, 2025.- EndsMust Watch
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The Hindu
13 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan, National Film Award winners for Best Sound Design, on the soundscape of ‘Animal', and the intricacies of sound in storytelling
When the 71st National Film Awards were announced, Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan were at work, as usual. 'My dad called to inform me, which made it all the more special,' recalls Sachin. He and Hariharan jointly bagged the National Award for Best Sound Design for the Hindi film Animal. 'We are grateful; we weren't expecting this recognition at all,' adds Sachin, during this interview. The duo was in Hyderabad recently on a brief visit to finalise the sound design of director Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie starring Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna Akkineni. Animal won three awards at the 71st National Film Awards, including Special Mention for re-recording (MR Rajakrishnan) and Best Background Score (Harshavardhan Rameshwar). 'Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the director, has a clear vision. We observed this since the time we worked with him on Arjun Reddy and Kabir Singh. He knows precisely where the music should begin and end. It is easy when a director and a composer (Harshavardhan) have that clarity,' says Sachin. All for realism Vanga wanted the sound to be realistic, reflecting the ambience and conveying the emotions. For example, for the scene featuring Ranbir Kapoor walking into the classroom with a gun, ambient sounds were recorded on campus to keep the mood realistic. The task was also to capture the anger with which the gun shot is fired. For the 18-minute action episode featuring the mammoth 'war machine gun', both music and sound were designed to be dramatic and over the top. 'A lot of layering was involved. If you amp up both music and sound to 100%, it would sound noisy; we worked towards balancing the sound, music, and silences,' says Sachin. Sachin and Hariharan are based in Chennai, where they founded Sync Cinema studio in 2016, four years after they began working together. They met while studying sound engineering at SAE Institute, Chennai. They began as foley artists (recording everyday live sounds to suit a scene) for Tamil films Pizza and Maya, and have so far worked on the sound design of more than 200 films across languages Notable films Telugu: Arjun Reddy, Devara, Rangasthalam, Jersey, Dear Comrade, Kushi, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram. Tamil: Vikram, Vikram Vedha, Kaithi, Master, Leo, Amaran, Parking, Dragon, Coolie. Malayalam: Hridayam, Jo and Jo, Jana Gana Mana Hindi: Kabir Singh, Animal. Work brings them to Hyderabad often and the duo explains that while both Chennai and Hyderabad have state of the art sound recording and mixing studios, the choice often rests on the director. For instance, Lokesh Kanagaraj prefers having on board sound engineer Kannan Ganpat, who moved to Hyderabad from Chennai, and hence Sachin and Hariharan were here to work alongside Kannan at the Annapurna Studios' Dolby Atmos original suite. The workflow has been steady. 'We almost never say no to work,' laughs Hariharan, 'Unless there's an odd case of two films having simultaneous release dates, making it impossible to work on. We had to let go of Nag Ashwin's Mahanati because the timeline was too short.' A few years ago, they would get three to four months to work on a film's sound. The window gradually reduced to 45 days, then a month, and today they face a situation of completing the sound design within two to three weeks. 'Sometimes we are on board at the scripting stage, which gives us the edge to think, plan and record some sounds that would be required,' they say. Sync sound While most films prefer to add the dialogues in the dubbing studio rather than recording live on set, a few films take the tougher route of sync sound recording. Sachin and Hariharan observe that sync sound can cut down on post-production time. 'The dubbing process can take two or three months. Recording the dialogues on set is a time saver. We have also noticed that the actors' performances are better.' For film units that are unable to do this owing to varied reasons, Hari and Sachin try to make the sound appear realistic by capturing live sounds on set — footsteps, the sound of placing a glass on a table or thumping of a fist on the table. 'Imagine recording the sound of Ranbir Kapoor thumping his fist on a table in anger on set as opposed to a foley artist trying to replicate that emotion in a studio. The former will be more authentic,' Hari explains. The duo worked on the sound of the Tamil web series Suzhal that opted for sync sound recording. 'Sriya Reddy opted to dub her lines later at a studio, and we tried to match it with the rest of the sync sound recording.' The dialogues of Arjun Reddy, though recorded in a dubbing studio, were treated like sync sound. 'We used mic techniques, echoes and reverbs to convey the sense of real space,' Hari explains in simple terms. Up next Sachin and Hari are now working on a handful of films, including director Sujeeth's They Call Him OG starring Pawan Kalyan, the Prabhas-starrer The Raja Saab, director Vineeth Sreenivasan's Malayalam film Karam, and Vijay's Tamil film Jana Nayagan. 'We also take up short films; a few directors whose short films we have worked on are now directing feature films,' says Sachin. As a parting shot, Hari explains why it is crucial that storytellers think of sound at the scripting stage: 'The first sound each of us has listened to is our mother's heartbeat, even before we saw the world. Sound is that important.'
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
Hasan Minhaj fanboys over Zakir Khan's all-Hindi MSG show, jokes 'my parents love him more than me'
When two worlds of comedy collide—one in Hindi, one in English—you get a moment that transcends language. On a historic night at Madison Square Garden recently, Indian stand-up sensation Zakir Khan made history with a full house and a full Hindi set. Watching from the wings and cheering from the front row was none other than Hasan Minhaj, the Indian-American comedian, who proudly fanboyed over Zakir's milestone with the energy of a younger sibling watching his big brother win. A historic night for the South Asian comedy community On August 17, 2025, Zakir Khan made history by becoming the first comedian to headline a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden with an all-Hindi set. The event marked a significant milestone in South Asian entertainment, proving that Hindi-language comedy can captivate global audiences at one of the world's most prestigious venues. Hasan Minhaj, the well-known Indian-American comedian and former Patriot Act host, attended the show and publicly expressed his admiration for Zakir's achievement. Hasan Minhaj lauds Zakir Khan's historic feat Although Hasan did not perform at the event, he used his platform to celebrate Zakir's success. He praised the Farzi Mushaira star's storytelling and the cultural significance of the show, emphasising the importance of such representation on a global stage. In a heartfelt Instagram post the next morning, Hasan wrote, 'A historic night for comedy around the world! Last night I got to see my brother Zakir Bhai become the first comedian in history to headline Madison Square Garden entirely in Hindi.' He joked that his own parents probably now love Zakir more than him — 'and I'm okay with that.' Hasan Minhaj's stylish appearance Aside from his heartfelt opening act, Hasan also attracted attention for his fashion choice at the event. He wore a full outfit from SAAF GARMENTS, including a pleated long jacket in black suede, a pleated cummerbund in black velvet, high-waisted side-adjuster pants in black, and black grain loafers. His attire was noted for its elegance and cultural influence, complementing the significance of the occasion. Meanwhile, on the acting front, the former Patriot Act host is set to star in the upcoming Netflix original film Best of the Best. The coming-of-age comedy, directed by Lena Khan (Flora and Ulysses, Never Have I Ever), delves into the competitive world of collegiate Bollywood dance. Minhaj co-wrote the screenplay with Prashanth Venkataramanujam and is producing the film through his company, 186K Films. The cast includes Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) and Priyanka Kedia (Everything To Me).
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Business Standard
43 minutes ago
- Business Standard
War 2 collection day 6: Hrithik-NTR starrer slows down, nears ₹200 cr mark
War 2 Box Office Collection: War 2, the recent film starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR continues to hold ground at the box office despite a noticeable dip in collections on Tuesday. After a strong opening weekend, the high octane action drama has made single-digit profits in India on weekdays. August 14 marked the release of War 2. With a final box office collection of Rs 192.85 crore, the Ayan Mukerji-directed film has continued to make good money in all of the key territories. It scored in double figures each day of the long opening weekend, then on Monday it fell by a staggering 75% to single figures. On Tuesday (day 6), the movie saw yet another slight decline in theatre footfall. War 2 box office collection: Day-wise breakdown (all languages) 1. Indian box office collection • Day 2 (Friday): ₹57.35 crore • Day 4 (Sunday): ₹32.15 crore • Day 5 (Monday): ₹8.50 crore • Day 6 (Tuesday): ₹8.35 crore 2. Worldwide box office collection • Hindi: ₹133 crore • Telugu: ₹49.15 crore • Tamil: ₹1.35 crore. Total Worldwide Gross: ₹300.50 crore. War 2 box office 'occupancy' 1. On Tuesday, the movie's occupancy rate among Hindi viewers was 23.42%. With 1,229 showings, the Delhi NCR area saw the most screenings of War 2 (in Hindi in all media). Mumbai, with 862 shows, comes next. More than 300 shows were recorded in other places, including Pune, Ahmedabad, and Surat. The following was the occupancy for Hindi: • Morning Shows: 11.71% • Afternoon Shows: 21.77% • Evening Shows: 27.25% • Night Shows: 32.96%. 2. On Tuesday, 17.80% of seats were occupied in the Tamil version of War 2. War 2 is not being screened in any Tamil belt region in triple-digit shows. All other regions have fewer than 50 screenings, while Chennai has the greatest occupancy with 83 shows. The following was the Tamil occupancy rate: • Morning Shows: 16.44% • Afternoon Shows: 17.08% • Evening Shows: 16.49% • Night Shows: 21.17%. 3. On August 19, 2025, the Telugu version had an even lower attendance rate in theatres, with 16.17% occupancy. The most shows and occupancy in Hyderabad were the Telugu versions of War 2. With 360 performances, Hyderabad is in first place, followed by Vizag-Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, with 117 and 96 performances, respectively. Telugu's occupancy was as follows: • Morning Shows: 14.15% • Afternoon Shows: 16.44% • Evening Shows: 17.57% • Night Shows: 16.50%. About War 2 Part of YRF's spy universe franchise, the film, directed by Ayan Mukerji, also features Kiara Advani and Anil Kapoor. Even though Rajinikanth's Coolie is a fierce rival, the movie nevertheless pulls audiences, particularly in urban areas. As the movie approaches its Rs 200-crore milestone in India, expectations remain high, although the worldwide profits have not yet been announced.
