Showing posts with label Vijay Antony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vijay Antony. Show all posts
Raveena Tandon returns to Tamil cinema after two decades with Vijay Antony’s film
8:08 AM
Roopa Radhakrishnan (BOMBAY TIMES; May 23, 2025)
Raveena Tandon is all set to make her return to Tamil cinema after 24 years with Vijay Antony’s new courtroom drama, Lawyer. This will be the third Tamil film for the actress, who had previously acted in Arjun Sarja’s Saadhu (1994) and Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan (2001).
The film’s director, Joshua Sethuraman, tells us, “I loved Raveena ma’am’s performance in Shool (1999), and we needed an actor with her dynamic presence for our film. She and Vijay Anyony sir will have equally important roles in this film.”
Elaborating on how he approached the actress for this role, the director says, “After Gentlewoman came on OTT, many from Bollywood called me. Since I studied at FTII, I have friends who are working in Bollywood, and that’s how I reached out to her. I told her that she’d get an idea of my work once she sees Gentlewoman, my debut film. After she saw it, I immediately narrated this film’s story and she was also interested.”
Joshua shares that there won’t be any love angle in Lawyer and adds, “It’s a slice-of-life story of a first-generation lawyer. It focuses on the struggles of a law school graduate, played by Vijay Antony, and issues of the working class.”
The director claims that his film will show how a real courtroom functions. “Usually, courtroom dramas deal with criminal cases, but this film deals with a civil case. It discusses a working-class issue taken up in a labour court. The courtrooms showcased in Indian movies are far removed from reality. Films like Visaaranai showcased how the police system functions, but I haven’t seen many films showcasing the proper functioning of a court,” he says.
Apart from playing the protagonist, Vijay Antony will also be bankrolling and composing music for the film. Joshua shares, “He contacted me after seeing Gentlewoman and said that he liked my perspective and wanted to work together.
Reflecting on his experience helming a two-heroine subject as his debut project, he says, “A lot of trade people asked us, ‘Who will come for a two-heroine film when no one even comes for a hero’s films.’ But the film got 50 per cent profit even though many other films released along with it.”
I am excited to make my debut in Tamil-Raima Sen
8:01 AM
Lakshmi V (BOMBAY TIMES; November 21, 2020)
A few days ago, South filmmaker Naveen shared a picture of him and actor Vijay Antony with Raima Sen on his social media and announced that the actress, known for her work in the Bengali and Hindi film industries, will be making her debut in Tamil films with Agni Siragugal. Confirming it, Raima says, “I was approached for the film last year. We finished shooting a lot of the movie last year, in Chennai and Kolkata. After the lockdown, we completed the rest of the portions.”
Ask her what made her say ‘yes’ to the film and she says, “I have always wanted to do a film in Tamil. My sister (Riya Sen) has done Tamil films and I’ve heard a lot of nice things about the industry from her. So, when I got this offer from Naveen, I thought, why not?” The actress started shooting for the film first in Chennai. “I met Naveen and others for the first time in Chennai last year. He is a young filmmaker with amazing energy and had some new, different ideas. I met Akshara Haasan, too, and she is very sweet. I had a pleasant experience and I’m excited to make my debut in Tamil,” she says.
So, was it easy to get a grasp of the language? “Naveen was very helpful. There were lines that I really couldn’t say in Tamil, he helped me say them in such a way that it matched the lip-sync of the dialogues,” she says.
Tamil actor Vijay Antony takes a pay cut; Will Bollywood follow?
8:45 AM
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 17, 2020)
Down south, Tamil actor-music director, Vijay Antony is taking a pay cut of 25% for his upcoming three films. Reportedly, Malayalam star Mohanlal and Telugu actor, Allu Arjun are accepting a smaller pay check than their original fee. Also, it’s believed that Tamil producers have convinced actors to slash their salaries by nearly half.
“That’s the only way out, especially if our actors/stars are looking at a rapid resurrection of the show business. For some time now, rationality needs to come in and vanity has to go out. An actor can’t charge a super-premium fee while others are stuck in an abyss. Their salaries shouldn’t put a pressure on the entire value chain, and make it all inviable,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi.Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels Bollywood actors also “ought to cut down their salaries”. He says: “Otherwise, producers won’t be able to release their films, considering an actor’s fee is about 60-70% of a film’s total budget.” Producer Ramesh Taurani concurs, saying: “It’d be a welcome move. But it’s a bit too early to talk about it. Let the work start, and only then, will there be clarity. It would also depend a lot on the kind of investments a producer has made.”
Interestingly, actors such as Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Kartik Aaryan and Taapsee Pannu have already lent their support to the idea. While Dixit-Nene feels “we have to come and pitch in our efforts”, Aaryan says he “would do whatever collectively we [the industry] decide to do”. Pannu, on her part, expects that when work begins, “we will need to take a salary cut and I am ready for that”.Going forward, “sharing the risk” could be the name of the game, says filmmaker Nikkhil Advani. He explains: “I think more and more actors are going to be big on back-end sharing route. They are also sensible, and know that a film can’t be loaded too much with their pay check. We will see a lot of them partnering in the risk, especially for films that they really want to do.”
Rathi also has the same remedy to the issue. “Actors can take a larger pie at the back-end instead of taking a big sum upfront. It’s a win-win situation for all then.”
When will silver-screen shine bright again?
Film theatres have been shut for close to four months now. But now, with the cinemas in China reopening next week with social distancing rules, theatre owners are hopeful of the same happening in India. They reveal that various bodies are “in touch with government.” “Away from prying eyes, we are having discussions with authorities and ministries. If all goes well, we are hopeful of getting a green signal to restart next month,” says a source from the theatre business.
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