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KollywoodOur social acceptance of police brutality is partly influenced by the glorification of the police taking the law into their own hands in popular culture.Tnm StaffThe recent custodial deaths of father-son Jayaraj and Bennix in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu have triggered massive public outrage. The alleged impunity with which the police acted and the reported injuries on the bodies of the men have sparked discussions on police brutality and the violation of human rights in the legal system. Many have also begun a conversation around cinema and the glorification of bad cops. Unlike crimes against women like stalking, which are hugely influenced by popular culture, police brutality is more a product of the flawed legal system which gives law enforcement too much power without enough checks. However, it cannot be denied that our social acceptance of these crimes is partly influenced by the glorification of the police taking...

KollywoodWielding the megaphone for this venture is Nissar, a director from Mollywood. Digital NativeDigital Native Varalaxmi Sarathkumar has tasted box office success in recent times with notable performances in films such as Vikram Vedha, Nibunan, Sathya, Sandakozhi 2 and Sarkar. Proving herself by going against the grain and picking unique roles, Varalaxmi has made a mark for herself. She has always been selective as far as her projects are concerned. She has now signed up a new film titled Colors. Wielding the megaphone for this venture is Nissar, a director from Mollywood. LimeLight Pictures, a well-known production house in the Middle East, is foraying into the Tamil film industry with this flick.  Besides Varu, the film will also have Iniya and Mottai Rajendran in important roles and Ramkumar will be debuting as hero. Sp Venkatesh has been signed up to score the music for Colors.  Varalaxmi currently has the Telugu film Krack in her kitty.

SandalwoodPosting a blurred image of herself dressed in black, standing against a blue wall, the actor wrote that she was very eager to welcome her child.Tnm StaffInstagram/ShrutiHariharan/RaghavPopular Kannada actor Sruthi Hariharan has posted a photo of her baby bump on Instagram, sharing the news of her pregnancy. Posting a blurred image of herself dressed in black, standing against a blue wall, the actor wrote, “To actually feel life beating within you .... to know that this is the beginning of a whole new journey… and to finally acknowledge that clarity is over rated and sometimes it's all about the blur - brings us to this point. Welcome to the circus little peanut. We can't wait to see you.” View this post on Instagram To actually feel life beating within you .... to know that this is the beginning of a whole new journey .. and to finally acknowledge that clarity...

CinemaActors Aishwarya Rajesh, Shraddha Srinath, Aishwarya Lekshmi and filmmaker Leena Manimekalai speak to Tnm about how the public views the bodies of women in cinema. Sowmya RajendranThe Me Too movement has come to the southern film industry, with several women actors speaking up against sexual harassment in their workplace. However, it has been far from easy for them to do so. Many on social media and even journalists have questioned them on why they were speaking up now, after all these years. The disbelief is compounded by the fact that as actors these women may have worn certain clothes on screen or performed in certain scenes or roles that are considered “vulgar” or “bold” by the audience. This, several people believe, erases their right to complain when they are subjected to harassment. There seems to be a lack of understanding that what they do on screen is their work, performed with consent,...

InterviewIn an interview with Tnm, Sruthi talks about the backlash and support she has received after she spoke up about Arjun Sarja, and about the Me Too movement. Sowmya RajendranFacebook/Sruthi HariharanDays after actor Sruthi Hariharan accused Arjun Sarja of sexually harassing her during the shoot of the Tamil film Nibunan (released in Kannada as Vismaya), she has been applauded and derided in equal measure. In a Facebook post, Sruthi alleged that Arjun had behaved inappropriately towards her on the pretext of a rehearsal. She said that he’d pulled her close to him and had run his hand on her back without her consent. She also alleged that he’d called her to meet him after work hours. Arjun has denied the allegations and has said that he will take legal action against Sruthi. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (Kfcc) has said that it will attempt a...

In an industry as fickle as cinema where an actor is only as good as his last film and his longevity hinges on box office returns, milestones in the form of number of films are not that easy to attain.

The regular entry of new faces keeps the veterans on their toes and if they fail to deliver, they might have to face a dearth in offers. In such a situation, an actor like Arjun Sarja has been holding his own and his 150th film Nibunan where he plays a sleuth stricken by a rare disease has been doing brisk business in theatres in Tamil Nadu.

Arun Vaidyanathan's Nibunan is a cop film with an interesting premise - a serial killer is on the loose and he's taunting the police team led by supercop Ranjith Kalidoss (Arjun) to try and catch him.