Latest news with #Jyothi
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Director Jyothi opens up about VFX criticism in Pawan Kalyan starrer 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu'; acknowledges some CGI flaws, says film's core was never the problem
Picture Credit: X After much anticipation and delays, 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 – Sword vs Spirit,' starring Power Star Pawan Kalyan , finally hit theaters on July 24. The movie is making good numbers at the box office; however, it also drew some criticism, especially for its visual effects. Recently, director Krish Jagarlamudi shared that he was aware that some visual elements were not completely up to the mark. Acknowledges CGI flaws , defends storytelling In an interview with ABN, the 44-year-old director shared that while certain shots did fall short of perfection, the narrative and storytelling remained unaffected. "When they nitpicked, all they could find was that the CGI and VFX were bad in some places. No one could point out the story and screenplay, or say it's boring, or that they can't understand it," he said. Jyothi revealed that the film contains over 4400 VFX shots and admitted that he knew some of them weren't perfect. "I knew in my heart that a few shots weren't up to par, but it wasn't something huge," he added. Trolling is inevitable for popular films, says Jyothi. Jyothi also mentioned the trolling that the movie has been facing ever since it went on floors. He said, "Anyone will troll only those who are in the limelight. People only get views when they write about something famous. I do not take any of the negativity to heart." Strong box office despite mixed reactions 'HHVM' has performed reasonably well at the box office. As per early trade estimates by Sacnilk, the period action drama has collected Rs 77.57 crore in India alone. The film has managed to pull audiences to theaters and has even had sold-out premieres before release. The film stars Pawan Kalyan as Veera Mallu, Nidhhi Agerwal as Panchami, and Bobby Deol as the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Hari Hara Veera Mallu director reacts to trolling for poor VFX in Pawan Kalyan's film, blames audience for nitpicking: ‘No one said it's boring'
Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan returned to the big screen after a gap of two years with Hari Hara Veera Mallu. The film opened with a bang at the box office, but has since seen a free fall in numbers. Apart from its lukewarm commercial performance, it is also being criticised for its shoddy VFX. Now, in a recent interaction, the film's director Jyothi Krisna admitted the flaws but called them a 'minor issue.' Speaking to ABN, Jyothi blamed the audience for nitpicking and defended his film, claiming that no one has called it 'boring.' He said, 'When they nitpicked, all they could find was that the CGI and VFX were bad in some places. No one could point out the story and screenplay, or say it's boring, or that they can't understand it. There are 4400 shots in the film that required CGI. I knew in my heart that a few shots weren't up to par, but it wasn't something huge. We needed to hold special premieres for which tickets were sold out, and they turned that minor issue into something major.' Jyothi also shared that he thinks people are trolling his film because they believe targeting famous people gets them views. He said, 'Anyone will troll only those who are in the limelight. People only get views when they write about someone famous. I do not take any of the negativity to heart. Every single day, I see something negative being written about Hari Hara Veera Mallu. This is not the first time a film has taken this long to produce.' Hari Hara Veera Mallu has largely received negative reviews from critics. The film opened at the box office with Rs 34.75 crore on Thursday but saw a 76% drop the next day, earning only Rs 8 crore. The film witnessed a minor increase in collections over its first weekend, but saw a steep fall on Monday, earning just Rs 2.32 crore. The film is directed by Krish and Jyothi Krisna and also stars Nidhhi Agerwal and Bobby Deol in key roles.
Time of India
23-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
How villagers next to industrial township in Karnataka got together to restore 10th-century hero stones
Bengaluru: A community cleanliness drive to retrieve the buried, defaced, and mutilated hero stones and stone inscriptions at a small village near Tumakuru in Sept 2022 has now paved the way for a mega campaign across the district to retrieve hundreds of such neglected monuments belonging to ancient and medieval eras. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The district administration has now sought state govt's permission to prepare an action plan to preserve these ancient monuments in close to 1,000 schools across Tumakuru district. While this heritage revival is gaining momentum, the cleanliness drive at Hiregundagal village by a panchayat development officer (PDO) has resulted in the setting up of the fourth heritage monument park around Bengaluru. This park features 13 unique hero stones (Veeragallu) dating back to various periods between the 10th and 12th centuries, offering a sneak peek into the contributions of Ganga and Rashtrakoota rulers. Located just a few kilometres from Vasanthanarasapura industrial township, where multinational companies are setting up base, the villagers had almost forgotten that their settlement once witnessed a fierce battle between the Gangas and Rashtrakootas, resulting in the latter's supremacy over the region. "All hero stones that had key details of the battle and other events of that era were lost. When we saw a few of the remaining pieces, we took up a drive under Swachata hi Seva (SHS) in Sept 2022. Subsequently, out of 18 recorded hero stones, about 13 were retrieved in full length, and the rest have either been damaged to make roads or other works," explained Jyothi, PDO of Chikkathotlukere gram panchayat. But the real challenge is in safeguarding these monuments for future. "Finding land and sourcing funds to develop a heritage park was an uphill task then. But our taluk officers and CEOs of Tumakuru zilla panchayat took this up and granted funds for the project. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The tahsildar also helped in securing two guntas of Kharab land required for the park. Due to the administrative support, the monument park is now ready at a cost of Rs 13 lakh," she added. In the meantime, the villagers, assisted by heritage and history activists, also contributed to the setting up of the park and adding additional monuments that they spotted in the nearby vicinity. "We came across similar monuments around temples in the nearby hamlets. Some heritage enthusiasts assisted us in tracing them. A stone idol of Nandi and Shivalinga—both belonging to the Ganga period—was also retrieved," said Praveen, a resident of Gundagal. Efforts are on to decipher the script on these hero stones and display the content by putting up QR codes. The move has won appreciation from history enthusiasts. "The ancient veeragallus of Hiregundakal now stand with pride one again. We are grateful to officials and villagers of Hiregunadakal who made this revival possible," history blogger Swaminathan Natarajan tweeted to @TOIBengaluru. Inset -1 Monument parks in schools Prabhu G, IAS, chief executive officer, zilla panchayat, Tumakuru, said the community-collaborated work at Hiregundagal was the beginning of a mega campaign across the district. "Over the last three years, we rejuvenated 18 kalyani (temple ponds) that were forgotten or filled with debris constructed during the ancient and medieval periods. Under MNREGA, we have chalked out plans to set up similar monument parks in schools, benefiting kids across Tumakuru districts. We have already identified 900 schools and sought permission from the govt to prepare an action plan for setting up monument parks there," he said.
Indian Express
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Flask movie review: Saiju Kurup's comedy is a festival of missed opportunities, but Suresh Krishna proves he's truly the ‘convincing' star
Flask movie review: Whenever watching something penned and/or directed by Rahul Riji Nair, a sense of semi-dissatisfaction often lingers in my mind. This isn't because his works are outright poor, but more because of how weakly he develops scenes that had the potential to soar and end up settling at a middling level. Take the series Jai Mahendran (2024), written by Rahul and directed by Srikanth Mohan, for instance. Although its premise is quite outdated, it still could have been crafted into a light-hearted watch offering some genuine laughs and a bit of relaxation for the audience. Even his earlier works like the sports drama Kho-Kho (2021), the thriller Keedam (2022) and the adventure comedy Dakini (2018) could have been much better had Rahul refined the scripts further. The same is the case with his latest directorial Flask, which features several moments that could have elevated the film, but are ultimately undercut by average writing. Though a civil police officer (CPO) by profession, Jyothi Kumar's (Saiju Kurup) heart lies in music; he loves singing. Living with his small family comprising his wife Nisha (Aswathy Sreekanth), their daughter (Bhadra Mithun) and his father Kumaran (Balachandran Chullikkad), Jyothi is happiest when he's on stage, singing old Malayalam melodies for a music troupe, Souparnika Orchestra, based in his hometown of Pattambi. Meanwhile, his job at the Vaniyamkulam police station takes a hit when he loses an official file on a bus. As punishment, he's removed from law-and-order duties and reassigned as the personal security officer (PSO) — pejoratively referred to as a Flask, since they're often seen carrying flask containers for their principal(s) — to District Judge Venkidesh Balaji (Suresh Krishna). A strict, no-nonsense jurist, Balaji seldom even smiles when around his family either. He is even colder and distant towards his subordinates. As a result, Jyothi's musical dreams go out the window, since he must be at Balaji's beck and call almost always, despite there being another PSO. One day, as Jyothi and Balaji are proceeding to Wayanad for a function, their official car is attacked and they both are kidnapped by Maoists led by Ganeshan (Sidharth Bharathan), who hold them hostage to negotiate the release of one of their imprisoned comrades, Manu (Anand Ekarshi). What unfolds next forms the rest of the film. At its core, Flask had the potential to be something like director Khalid Rahman's Mammootty-led Unda (2019) or Amit V Masurkar's Rajkummar Rao-starrer Newton (2017). But writer-director Rahul Riji Nair makes it clear early on that he isn't interested in aiming that high and presents a string of mediocre, been-there-seen-that moments instead. In the opening sequence, we see Jyothi, in police uniform, winning over his colleagues and the audience at a local stage event by singing 'Nee En Sarga Soundaryame', composed by Ouseppachan, from Bharathan's classic Kathodu Kathoram (1985). This brings up a valid question for contemporary Malayalam filmmakers: how long are you going to milk people's nostalgia and love for Kathodu Kathoram? It was only recently that Nna Thaan Case Kodu (2022) featured a remixed version of 'Devadoothar Paadi' from the same film, and Rekhachithram was set against the backdrop of its production. With Flask also following suit, it just feels like riding the coattails of yesteryear classics. What makes the scene even more irksome is that playback singer Nikhil Menon's voice sounds nothing like Saiju Kurup's, and it feels especially jarring since we just heard the actor speak a few lines in his actual voice moments before. What follows is a series of scenes that leave little impact, mainly due to all-too-familiar dialogues and underdeveloped ideas. While Rahul maintains a certain organic flow in the narrative, the scenes themselves feel half-baked from the start. Once Jyothi joins Balaji as a PSO, we can sense that there are opportunities to explore more — be it the power imbalance, Jyothi's dissatisfaction with his job, the judge's toxic rigidity, or the possibility to slip in some humorous moments. Instead, all we get are repeated shots of Jyothi rushing to work, attending night duty, opening doors for Balaji and exchanging mundane conversations with co-workers. While these could have contributed to establishing how monotonous such people's lives are, that doesn't seem to be Rahul's intention here. As a result, this entire portion ends up feeling like a series of missed opportunities. What makes it worse is that even the few intended 'jokes' fall flat, closing off any chance of comic relief. Even after they are kidnapped by Maoists and the power dynamics between Jyothi and Balaji begin to shift, with the judge shedding his superiority complex and meeting others at their eye level, Rahul's script fails to capitalise on the narrative potential. Both the serious and comedic interactions between Ganeshan, Balaji and Jyothi are marred by poor dialogues and a complete lack of dramatic weight. In fact, the dialogue writing throughout is so uninspired that we even hear extremely cliched lines like Jyothi saying, 'Vayaru niranju (I'm full)' after being scolded by a superior, or a top cop saying during a meeting, 'Avarude mahathvam parayaanalla nammal ivide koodiyirikkunnath (We haven't gathered here to praise their greatness).' Going forward, we also witness that Ganeshan isn't just all talk as he guns down a turncoat Maoist. But since the character is so poorly developed, we feel no emotion towards him. No fear, no empathy, not even intrigue. He's just there, and hence, we are watching him. Although Balaji's eventual change of heart also could have been much more neatly shown, the writing and the execution lack the required emotional depth. In fact, from beginning to end, Rahul's writing remains largely superficial as he avoids digging deep into any character or theme. Even the final shootout lacks tension, drama and thrill, rendering it just another generic scene. Also, the superficial treatment of sensitive themes like Maoism, especially when the militants are portrayed as living in forests adjacent to tribal settlements, is not just lazy writing, but irresponsible as well, as they simply cater to popular perceptions. While Saiju Kurup is apt as Jyothi Kumar, he isn't given much space to explore or elevate the character, mostly due to weak writing and underwhelming scenes. Suresh Krishna, on the other hand, is excellent as Venkidesh Balaji, with his body language and measured dialogue delivery standing out. Despite this character also being underwritten, Suresh rises above the material to deliver a 'convincing' performance. After all, he's the 'Convincing Star'. While Sidharth Bharathan is wasted in the role of the shallowly sketched Ganeshan, Anand Ekarshi as Maoist Manu is a delight to watch in his limited screen time. On the technical front, cinematographer Jayakrishnan Vijayan and composer Sidhartha Pradeep deliver decent work, though not particularly memorable. Flask movie cast: Saiju Kurup, Suresh Krishna, Sidharth Bharathan Flask movie director: Rahul Riji Nair Flask movie rating: 2 stars Anandu Suresh is a Senior sub-editor at Indian Express Online. He specialises in Malayalam cinema, but doesn't limit himself to it and explores various aspects of the art form. He also pens a column titled Cinema Anatomy, where he delves extensively into the diverse layers and dimensions of cinema, aiming to uncover deeper meanings and foster continuous discourse. Anandu previously worked with The New Indian Express' news desk in Hyderabad, Telangana. You can follow him on Twitter @anandu_suresh_ and write (or send movie recommendations) to him at ... Read More
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology researchers gear up to study seeds that were sent to space
With Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and the rest of the Axiom-4 crew expected back on earth on Tuesday, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) here is preparing for post-flight field studies using the crop seeds that were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the high-profile mission. Post-flight studies will be conducted in collaboration with the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), which released the seeds for the project, according to IIST sources. Seeds of Jyothi and Uma rice varieties, Kanakamani (horse gram), Vellayani Vijay (tomato), Thilakathara (sesame) and Soorya (brinjal/eggplant) were sent to the ISS under the 'Crop Seeds on ISS', a project spearheaded by the IIST's Space Biology Lab. The IIST officials said they expected the seeds to reach Thiruvananthapuram within a few days. The biology payload consisted of dry seeds that were packed and exposed to microgravity conditions on the ISS and returned to earth. Back on earth, the space-returned samples will be grown to assess the unique effects of microgravity on growth and yield parameters and how it will be manifested in growth. Comparative studies will be carried out using three sets of samples under different conditions. The 'Crop Seeds on ISS' project was the result of multi-level memorandums of understanding between the ISRO and the European Space Agency, the ISRO's Human Spaceflight Centre (HSFC) and the IIST, and the IIST and the KAU. IIST Vice- Chancellor Dipankar Banerjee and HSFC Director D.K. Singh had inked an MoU in this regard in May. K.G. Sreejalakshmi, Professor, IIST, is the Principal Investigator of the project.
