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Around Tinsel Town
>> CBFC asks SRK’s ‘Pathaan’ to make ‘changes’ in songs
Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming action film ‘Pathaan’ has been in the news since the release of the controversial song ‘Besharam Rang.’ Now, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has directed the makers to implement “changes” in the movie, including its songs. Chairperson Prasoon Joshi said that CBFC has asked production banner Yash Raj Films to submit a revised version of the spy action thriller in accordance with board guidelines.
Earlier, the video song of ‘Besharam Rang’ created controversy after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra criticised the makers for Deepika’s costumes in the song and hinted at a ban for the film in the state if the “visuals weren’t corrected.” The film, however, also got a lot of support. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel took a dig at Hindu organisations that called for a boycott of the film and said that colours cannot decide one’s caste and religion.
Bollywood
First look of Pankaj Tripathi as Atal Bihari Vajpayee in ‘Main Atal Hoon’ unveiled
Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi share first poster of ‘Merry Christmas’, film to release in 2023
First look of Rajkumar Santoshi’s film ‘Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh’ unveiled
Hollywood
Marvel Studios to release documentary on Stan Lee in 2023
Kate Hudson says nepotism prevalent in other industries ‘way more than’ in Hollywood
Paul Mescal-starrer ‘Aftersun’ to stream on MUBI India from January 6
Regional Cinema
Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 2’ to release on April 28, 2023
Adivi Sesh to star in ‘Goodachari’ sequel ‘G2’, motion poster out
Veteran Telugu actor Chalapathi Rao passes away
Bobby Deol to play Aurangzeb in Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu’
Documentary filmmaker K.P. Sasi passes away
Darshana Rajendran to star in ‘Aavasavyuham’ director’s next, ‘Purusha Pretham’
SonyLIV’s Tamil anthology series ‘Story of Things’ to debut on January 6
Kannada film ‘Made in Bengaluru’ released in metaverse
World Cinema
India release of Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ pushed indefinitely
New in streaming
Coming to Netflix this weekend: Noah Baumbach’s White Noise, Second season of Secrets of Summer, Spanish comedy series Alpha Males, and more
Coming to Netflix in 2023: Raj & DK’s Guns and Gulaabs, Sidharth Malhotra-starrer Mission Majnu, Anushka Sharma’s sports drama Chakda ‘Xpress, and more
New on Disney+ Hotstar in January: Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy starrer The Menu, Bhuvan Bam starrer Taaza Khabar, superhero adult animated series Koala Man, and more
New on Amazon Prime Video: Tom Cruise’s blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick, Akshay Kumar’s action-adventure Ram Setu, animated superhero feature DC League of Super-Pets, and more
Coming to Apple TV Plus: Season 2 of Gary Oldman-starring series Slow Horses, Julianne Moore starrer Sharper, season 4 of Servant, and more
Essential reading
1) The brains behind ‘Kantara,’ ‘KGF 2’ and ‘Salaar’: A deep-dive into the workings of Hombale Films
>> Founder Vijay Kiragandur talks about the unprecedented success Hombale Films enjoyed in 2022
2) Kovai Sarala: What I wish never happens, but ‘Sembi’ fulfilled a long-time dream
>> The veteran actor speaks about shooting for ‘Sembi’, what she desires to do in cinema henceforth, and more
3) Tamil cinema’s biggest surprises of 2022: From ‘Love Today’ to ‘Vilangu’
>> Here’s how creators surprised us in the first year post-pandemic in which theatres were open for a full calendar year
4) Explained | How did Tamil cinema fare at the box-office this year?
>> As big films get bigger and small ones get smarter, the arena is getting more competitive and interesting
5) From ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ to ‘Kantara,’ how 2022 became the year of Kannada cinema
>> Kannada cinema became bigger in canvas and ambition, as well as louder in decibels, machismo and spectacle
6) Telugu cinema 2022: The year that was and 10 films worth recommending
>> ‘RRR’ to ‘Masooda’, ‘Sita Ramam’ to ‘Major’, Telugu cinema offered both tentpole movies and small wonders in 2022
7) Rewind 2022: The pick of Telugu web series
>> The Telugu digital space has plenty of catching up to do, but a few web series showed some spark
8) Rewind 2022: When supporting actors took the lead in Malayalam cinema
>> Cast in roles, big and small, these actors immortalised their characters with some fine acts in Malayalam cinema
9) Hindi films to watch out for in 2023: ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Tiger 3’ to ‘Khufiya’
>> 2023 Bollywood will be exciting with some big names returning to the turnstiles to woo audiences back
10) The best TV shows of 2022: ‘The Bear’ and ‘Andor’ to ‘The White Lotus’
>> Here’s how fantasy, crime, sci-fi, satire and comedy were all represented in divinely delicious shows this year
11) The best of K-Dramas in 2022: ‘My Liberation Notes,’ ‘Our Beloved Summer’ and more
>> From the nuances of ‘Little Women’ to the sensitivity in ’Extraordinary Attorney Woo,’ there was a lot to cherish
12) 2022: A year of trial and error for superhero themed cinema
>> This year, Marvel and DC played with form, introduced newer formats, and gave some great characters to root for
13) From ‘Euphoria’ to ‘Abbot Elementary,’ how mothers came-of-age in 2022
>> In 2022, the on-screen mother stepped away from common stereotypes and became a complex, dynamic woman
14) 2022: The Year of the Angry Woman on-screen
>> This year, female characters amplified the shared anxieties and anger of being a woman in the contemporary world
15) Shark Tank India’s Aman Gupta, Peyush Bansal on what to expect in season two of the reality show
>> Season 2 has “smarter entrepreneurs and smarter sharks,” say the sharks Peyush Bansal and Aman Gupta
16) The cast of K-Drama ‘Island’ on their experience filming the fantasy-thriller
>> Kim Nam Gil, Sung Joon, Lee Da Hee and Cha Eun Woo speak of their artistic choices while making the K-Drama
17) After movies, streaming platforms set to offer more web series in Tamil
>> Over 50% of viewership for Tamil films came from other States and around 25% from international markets
18) In photographer L Ramachandran’s new calendar, Vijay Sethupathi shows different shades of an artist
>> Ramachandran’s new calendar, ‘The Artist’, aims to support artists who paint Tamil film banners
What to watch
1) Prabhu Solomon’s ‘Sembi’ is an imperfect film with a hopeful story
2) ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ is a strikingly-lush safari on the co-existence of man and nature
3) ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ is not camp enough to be fun or even watchable
4) Noah Centineo spy thriller ‘The Recruit’ is a jolly good time
5) The third season of ‘Emily in Paris’ is a beautiful, shallow confection full of joie de vivre
