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Around Tinsel Town
>> BAFTA 2025 results announced
The 2025 BAFTA Film Awards, the UK’s top movie honours, were presented at a ceremony in London on February 16, 2025 (Sunday). Papal thriller Conclave won four prizes including best picture while The Brutalist equalled the awards tally of Conclave, scooping four trophies, including best director for Brady Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody. Here is the list of full winners.
Supporting performer prizes went to Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain and Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez, which also won the award for best film not in the English language. The film beat Payal Kapadia’s acclaimed Malayalam film All We Imagine As Light.
Bollywood
Kartik Aaryan, Sreeleela promise a stirring love story in first look of Anurag Basu’s next
‘The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’: Makers unveil new poster of Rishab Shetty’s film
‘Sikandar’: Salman Khan looks primed for action in new poster
Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt to reportedly star in Hollywood thriller
Kriti Sanon starts shooting for ‘Tere Ishk Mein’ co-starring Dhanush
‘Kesari Chapter 2 – The Untold Chapter of Jallianwala Bagh’: Akshay Kumar, Ananya Panday film gets release date
Hollywood
Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ debuts first look at Matt Damon as titular hero
Cynthia Erivo to play Jesus in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
Guy Pearce reflects on troubling experiences with Kevin Spacey on ‘L.A. Confidential’, Spacey responds
Brady Corbet reveals he made ‘zero’ money for the Oscar-nominated ‘The Brutalist’
‘It Ends With Us’ saga: Blake Lively says two other actors ready to testify against Justin Baldoni
Regional Cinema
Mohanlal confirms ‘Drishyam 3’
‘NTRNeel’: Jr. NTR, Prashanth Neel action film goes on floors
Madhavan’s biopic on GD Naidu titled ‘G.D.N’
‘Kalamkaval’: First look of Mammootty, Vinayakan’s film with Jithin K Jose out
‘Madharasi’: Sivakarthikeyan-AR Murugadoss film gets a title
‘Multiverse Manmadhan’: Nivin Pauly to star in ‘India’s first multiverse superhero movie’
‘Bison’: Mari Selvaraj’s film with Dhruv Vikram wrapped up
World Cinema
South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron passes away; father alleges YouTuber contributed to actress’ death
Chinese film ‘Ne Zha 2’ surpasses ‘Inside Out 2’ as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time
Trailers
Shabana Azmi leads an all-female drug ring in ‘Dabba Cartel’ trailer
In ‘Freaky Tales’ trailer, Pedro Pascal gets an offer he can’t refuse
Rajkummar Rao is stuck on a time loop in ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ teaser
Soubin Shahir, Namitha Pramod bring heart and humour in ‘Machante Maalakha’ trailer
It’s rebellion-versus-tradition at an elite Delhi college in ‘Ziddi Girls’ trailer
With ‘The Devil’ teaser Darshan teases returns to the silver screen for the first time since arrest
Essential reading
1) Lee Child on ‘Reacher’ Season 3: ‘A classic lone wolf Reacher story’
>> Lee Child, the author of the bestselling series about the giant, talks about the reasons for choosing ‘Persuader’ for Season 3
2) Sai Abhyankkar interview: ‘Music and spirituality shaped me’
>> Meet 20-year-old Sai Abhyankkar, the composer behind recent viral indie hits, ‘Katchi Sera’ and ‘Aasa Kooda’
3) ‘Understatement to say I am overwhelmed,’ says German filmmaker Wim Wenders on Kolkata visit
>> Wenders, a central figure of 1970s’ New German Cinema and director of award-winning films, is currently on a month-long, multi-city tour of India
4) Kerala’s rising star Anaswara Rajan calls herself an accidental actor
>> With three film releases already in 2025, Anaswara Rajan is ready to take on what the industry has to offer
5) Jiiva interview on ‘Aghathiyaa’: Heroes are not bigger than the craft
>> He also talks about the success of ‘Black’, doing big-budget films, and diversifying into other language industries
6) Director Varsha Bharath on what it takes to be a ‘Bad Girl’
>> ‘Bad Girl’ director Varsha Bharath talks about working with Vetri Maaran, Anurag Kashyap, her cast, and a new language of Tamil cinema
7) From ‘Black Warrant’ to ‘Visaranai’, how prison dramas explore the human condition
>> No other setting lends nuanced cinematic takes on the human condition as much as the state-approved confines
8) Shreya Ghoshal interview: On ‘All Hearts Tour’, memorable film recordings and AI in music
>> The singer speaks about mastering the art of singing in regional languages and the changing musical landscape
9) How the film ‘Shaktidasan’ reiterates the enduring appeal of Subramania Bharati
>> Over generations, Mahakavi Subramania Bharati has inspired people. The new film explores who inspired him.
10) Malayalam film producers set to stake sole claim of music rights
>> Producers’ association on why it will cease to collaborate with music composers who seek sole rights of music albums
11) PVR INOX’s Oscar Film Festival: ‘The Brutalist’ IMAX release and why ‘Anora’ is missing from Indian theatres
>> PVR INOX executive director and co-founder Sanjeev Kumar Bijli pulls back the curtain on this year’s Oscar Film Festival lineup
12) G.D. Naidu: the ‘Edison of India’ who will be brought to life on screen in Madhavan-starrer biopic
>> A look at the legacy that Gopalsamy Doraisamy Naidu left behind after his passing in 1974 has been invaluable
13) Directors Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls on documentary, ‘Grand Theft Hamlet’
>> The makers talk about the connection forged between gamers in the lawless sandbox of ‘Grand Theft Auto’, and scouting new virtual stages in ‘Cyberpunk 2077’
14) ‘Madharasi’: All you need to know about Sivakarthikeyan’s next with AR Murugadoss
>> Here are a few interesting trivia on Sivakarthikeyan’s upcoming film ‘Madharasi’ with ace filmmaker AR Murugadoss
15) From Rajinikanth to Kamal Haasan, rare photos from film sets take over Chennai park
>> The golden age of Tamil cinema takes over Thiruvanmiyur MRTS park as veteran photographer T Lakshmikanthan’s archive becomes a public art project
What to watch
1) Sean Baker’s kitsch working-class fantasy, ‘Anora,’ is stripped off any nuance
Read the full review here
2) Mathew Thomas steals the show in Dhanush’s ‘Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam’, a rocky rom-com
Read the full review here
3) Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson burn up the screen in ‘Babygirl’, a sexy play of basic instincts
Read the full review here
4) Pradeep Ranganathan entertains and captures the zeitgeist, again, in ‘Dragon’
Read the full review here
5) Brahmaji shines in ‘Baapu’, but lacklustre writing squanders the film’s potential
Read the full review here
6) Shahi Kabir conjures up yet another gripping police tale with ‘Officer on Duty’
Read the full review here
7) ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 lets you take a tranquil trip to Thailand
Read the full review here
8) Han Ji-min and Lee Jun-hyuk lead a mature, refreshing workplace romance in ‘Love Scout’
Read the full review here
9) Renée Zellweger returns as our favourite singleton in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ that’s strictly for fans
Read the full review here
10) ‘Bromance’ is a fun-filled ride despite its thin plotline and some failed gags
Read the full review here
Published – February 21, 2025 05:59 pm IST
