(This article forms a part of the First Day First Show newsletter that brings you the latest and best from the world of movies and entertainment. Subscribe now)
Around Tinsel Town
>> Bollywood actor Satish Kaushik passes away
Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik passed away on Thursday following a heart attack. He was 66. Film personalities such as Hansal Mehta, Soni Razdan, Manoj Bajpayee, and Kangana Ranaut remembered the veteran actor as a ‘kind man’ and ‘gentle soul’ whose love for life was irreplaceable.
Kaushik’s close friend and colleague Anupam Kher wrote on Twitter that he “had not thought even in my wildest dreams that I would write this thing about my best friend.” Anil Kapoor, who worked with Kaushik in films like ‘Mr. India’, ‘Ram Lakhan’, ‘Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai’, ‘Gharwali Baharwali’ and more, mourned the death and said that he lost his younger brother.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the demise and said that his contribution to Indian cinema will always be remembered
>> Oscars 2023
As the world of cinema is inching towards its most prestigious night, here are some updates from this week:
> Lilly Singh, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Graham to host ‘Countdown to the Oscars’
> Creative team reveals ceremony theme; to address last year’s slapgate incident
> IMDb shares list of top-rated Oscar-nominated Indian films
> The Oscars producers have one main goal: Keep you entertained
>> Disney+ Hotstar to stop streaming HBO content from March 31
Disney+ Hotstar subscribers hoping to put off their ‘The Last of Us’ or ‘Succession’ binge are in a jam. According to a recent update, the streaming platform will stop showing HBO content from March 31 due to the company’s new cost-cutting and restructuring strategies. Confirming the development, Disney+ Hotstar tweeted on Wednesday, “Starting 31st March, HBO content will be unavailable on Disney+ Hotstar. You can continue enjoying Disney+ Hotstar’s vast library of content spanning over 100,000 hours of TV Shows and Movies in 10 languages and coverage of major global sporting events.”
Bollywood
Trailer of ‘Kaithi’ remake ‘Bholaa’ shows Ajay Devgn taking on the mafia
Amitabh Bachchan injured during ‘Project K’ shoot, returns to Jalsa
Ajay Devgn speaks about Amitabh’s injury and a possible team-up with Lokesh Kanagaraj at ‘Bholaa’ press meet
Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ becomes all-time number-one Hindi film in India
They hid in Shah Rukh Khan’s make-up room for 8 hours: Mumbai Police on ‘Mannat’ trespassing
Trailer of Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar’s ‘Bheed’ recalls lockdown horror
My kids have been made hostage for past 45 days: Nawazuddin Siddiqui on estranged wife’s allegations
Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti team up with Ankur Tewari to launch Tiger Baby Records
Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey’s ‘Gaslight’ to release on Disney+ Hotstar on March 31
Radhika Apte turns spy in ZEE5 film ‘Mrs. Undercover’
Parineeti Chopra wraps shoot of Imtiaz Ali’s Chamkila
A one-of-a-kind heist-hijack thriller: Sunny Kaushal, Yami Gautam on ‘Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga’
Netflix renews ‘Class’ for a second season
‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ remake?: Sanya Malhorta wraps up ‘special film’
Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan-starrer ‘Sui Dhaaga’ to release in China on March 31
Netflix’s ‘Caught Out’ sheds light on infamous ODI match-fixing scandal
Hollywood
Year after ‘the slap,’ Chris Rock punches back in new special
Before Oscars, ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ sweeps Spirit Awards
‘Citadel’ trailer shows Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden as spies on a mission
‘Saving Private Ryan’ actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61
Elon Musk documentary in works with Alex Gibney attached to direct
Bob Odenkirk to star in in Tommy Wiseau’s ‘The Room’ remake
Patty Jenkins, Kevin Feige led ‘Star Wars’ movies shelved, say reports
‘Devil in the White City’ series officially called off by Hulu
Seth Rogen’s ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ trailer features John Cena, Paul Rudd, Jackie Chan
Aaron Taylor-Johnson joins the cast of Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’
Disney+ sets April premiere for Jeremy Renner’s ‘Rennervations’
‘MPower’ to spotlight MCU’s most inspirational women heroes
‘Schmigadoon!’ season 2 trailer shows Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong in a new world of musicals
Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘No Hard Feelings’ to release in India on June 23
Bill Hader’s ‘Barry’ to end with season 4
Jenna Ortega in talks to join Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice 2’
Clancy Brown to play Salvatore Maroni in ‘The Penguin’ series
James May to tour India for the third season of his show ‘Our Man in…’
Director Jonathan Krisel in talks to helm ‘Pokemon Detective Pikachu’ sequel
Regional cinema
Vetri Maaran’s ‘Viduthalai Part 1’ trailer shows an intense drama starring Soori and Vijay Sethupathi
Pa Ranjith-Arya reunite for ‘Sarpatta Parambarai’ sequel
Trailer of Upendra’s ‘Kabzaa’ released
Kamal Haasan to produce Silambarasan TR’s next
Vetri Maaran’s ‘Viduthalai’ is unlike anything you’ve seen in Tamil cinema, says Ilaiyaraaja at audio launch
Janhvi Kapoor joins Jr NTR’s ‘NTR30,’ directed by Koratala Siva
Soori, Anna Ben to headline ‘Koozhangal’ fame PS Vinothraj’s next, ‘Kottukkaali’
Selvaraghavan joins the cast of Vishal’s ‘Mark Antony’
Khushbu Sundar says she was abused by her father as a child in interview
Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s ‘Lal Salaam’, featuring Rajini in a cameo, goes on floors
Shruti Ramachandran’s ‘Neeraja’ first look out
Ilaiyaraaja’s guitarist and computer music pioneer Chandrasekar passes away
Bhavana, Honey Rose and Urvashi team up for Shanker Ramakrishnan’s ‘Rani’
World cinema
Netflix making live-action ‘One Piece’ from popular manga
New in streaming
Coming to Netflix in March: Rana Daggubati and Venkatesh’s Rana Naidu, season two of Sex/Life, Netflix’s first global live-streaming event Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, 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
K-Dramas coming to Netflix in 2023: Part 2 of the revenge drama The Glory, the time-slip romance A Time Called You, romance drama Doona!, and more
Korean films coming to Netflix in 2023: Yeon Sang-ho’s JUNG_E, biopic film The Match, crime action film Believer 2, and more
New on Disney+ Hotstar in March: Season 3 of the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, high-school rom-com Prom Pact, first season of action-comedy series True Lies, and more
New on Amazon Prime Video: Hindi family comedy Happy Family: Conditions Apply, Tamil drama film DaDa, Malayalam procedural drama Christopher, and more
Coming to Apple TV Plus: Comedy-drama Ted Lasso, Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves’ My Kind of Country, Vincent Cassel and Eva Green’s thriller series Liaison, and more
Essential reading
1) India at the Academy Awards: from ‘Mother India’ to ‘RRR’
>> Ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, a look at memorable appearances by Indians at the Oscars over the years
2) It’s action for Amy Jackson: The actor on her love affair with Indian films
>> Amy chats about how motherhood was ‘life-changing’ and why she’s into action films these days
3) Ramya Pandian: One good commercial break will change things for me
>> The actor speaks about ‘Nanpakal Nerathu… ,’ ‘Accidental Farmer & Co.’, why she prioritises quality over quantity, etc
4) With three nominations at Oscars 2023, India has reason to cheer. But do the awards really matter?
>> Wooing the Asian market may be Hollywood’s top priority but the Oscars hype does little for global indie cinema
5) Satish Kaushik, an artist of the everyday
>> Satish exuded the charming everydayness of a self-made man who always wore his earthiness on his sleeve
6) Reel change: Hindutva’s widening film catalogue
>> Filmmakers are now looking for a more nuanced narrative that aligns with BJP’s narrative of nationalism
7) Adhil Maimoonath Asharaf on ‘Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn’: ‘I wanted to make it look as real as possible’
>> A love story about estranged childhood sweethearts, Adhil’s film is peopled with relatable characters
8) Malayalam actor Manoj KU: I don’t want to repeat characters
>> Manoj has four films running in theatres, with ‘Chaaver’ and Mammootty’s ‘Kannur Squad’ coming next
9) The end of Induna and physical film releases in India
>> The shuttering of Induna highlights the takeover of OTT, and the gradual end to physical film releases themselves
10) John Legend is immune to the vagaries of chart success
>> John, who played two concerts in India last weekend, says he’s no longer affected by vagaries of chart success
11) British sportswoman-turned-singer Anne-Marie speaks of her Indian connection
>> The English singer speaks about her maiden visit to India and her association with singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh
What to watch
1) ‘Ray Donovan’ adaptation ‘Rana Naidu’ is Venkatesh and Rana’s walk on the wild side
2) Ranbir Kapoor carries Luv Ranjan’s rom-com ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’… almost all the way
3) Rajeev Ravi’s ‘Thuramukham’ is an important document of the struggles to unionise for rights
4) ‘Agilan’ movie review: Jayam Ravi can’t save ‘Agilan,’ a mishmash of ideas watered down by insipid writing
5) ‘Scream VI’ is a tense, entertaining addition to the ‘Scream’ franchise
6) Argentina’s Oscar entrant ‘Argentina, 1985’ is a timely reminder of the spirit of democracy
7) Telugu anthology ‘Anger Tales’ is a potpourri of hits and misses
8) Documentary film ‘Fire of Love’ is an explosive romantic rendezvous with volcanoes
9) ‘Crash Course in Romance’ shows love in the time of academic pressure, competition, and parental trauma
10) Sarah Shahi is back with Netflix’s guiltiest pleasure in ‘Sex/Life’ season 2
11) Tilda Swinton is the lonely heartbeat in Joanna Hogg’s eerie, distant world of ‘The Eternal Daughter’
12) ‘Balagam’ is death and drama, wrapped in humour
13) Prabhu Deva’s performance can’t save ‘Bagheera,’ a problematic mess
14) ‘Creed III’ is a thrilling addition to the ‘Rocky’ series
