Expresso Regional Cinema News Update at 3:30 pm on 9 July 2024

Regional news update: Kalki 2898 AD sees box office decline post-strong weekend. Kubera promo shows Rashmika Mandanna in cash find. Trisha’s Brinda teaser promises thrilling streaming series.

Let us begin with our top story: Kalki 2898 AD Box Office Collection Day 12: Following a splendid second weekend in theatres, director Nag Ashwin’s Prabhas and Deepika Padukone-starrer Kalki 2898 AD witnessed an anticipated yet significant slump in its daily box office figures on its second Monday, July 8th. Over the weekend, Kalki had accumulated a total domestic net collection of Rs 78.5 crore, with Sunday alone contributing Rs 44.35 crore. However, on Monday, July 8th Kalki’s India net collection dropped to Rs 11.35 crore, marking a decline of over 74.41 percent, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. This downturn is concerning for the film’s makers as it jeopardises their hopes of Kalki passing the Rs 1000 crore mark worldwide.

Moving on, The latest promo of Kubera, released on Friday, July 5th features Rashmika Mandanna digging out a suitcase full of cash in the middle of a forest. The promo doesn’t reveal much except that Rashmika is watchful while doing the deed. She is jubilant at the sight of the suitcase with wads of cash. She prays to it and is seen dragging it out of the forest. The intriguing teaser has gotten the attention of fans, who are eager to know about the source of the money. Fans have also praised Rashmika, who has expressed a lot in the brief promo.

The official teaser of Trisha’s first-ever streaming series Brinda is here and promises everything one could expect from a mystery thriller. The 88-second teaser begins by showing an area being readied for carrying out a ritual. A girl has been tied to a stone bound with red thread, and two women smear turmeric paste on her face, kumkum on her forehead, and spill some liquid over her head as she screams with fear. Written and directed by Surya Manoj Vangala, Brinda also features Indrajith Sukumaran, Jaya Prakash, Aamani, Ravindra Vijay, Anand Sami, and Rakendu Mouli in key roles. Padmavathi Malladi has also worked on the show as a co-screenwriter.

A day after three-time Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej shared his views on the ongoing war of words between actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu and hepatologist-medical influencer Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as The Liver Doc on social media, renowned Indian badminton player Jwala Gutta stepped in with a strongly worded message to Samantha. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Jwala wrote, “My only question to the celeb who’s prescribing medicine to the huge number of people who are following her. I understand the intention is to help. But just in case the prescription doesn’t help and causes a fatality, will you be taking responsibility too? Will the doctor who you have tagged also take the responsibility".

After criticising Samantha Ruth Prabhu for ‘endangering public health’, TheLiverDoc took to X to apologise on Saturday, July 6th, he wrote, “I understand and empathize with Samantha’s health condition and I wish her the very best. I apologize if she felt uneasy or bad about the way the message was conveyed. That was unintentional. My aim was for her to leave behind medical misinformation peddling “doctors” who are using her vulnerability, and catering to her anecdotal experiences, for their gain.” Previously, TheLiverDoc criticised Samantha’s recommendations and wrote on X, “This woman will be charged with endangering public health and fined or put behind bars.”

In more updates, Indian 2 has received a UA certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), making the film accessible to all age groups. However, changes were implemented by the makers to get the certification, which includes the replacement of seven Tamil and English expletives. Apart from replacing many words, the censor board has directed the makers to blur body exposure in a scene. It has also asked the makers to make the smoking disclaimers more visible than it was before. With all the changes made, the film is now all set to be released on Friday, July 12 in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu across India.

Both Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and Telugu star Mohan Babu began their careers around the same time in the ’70s and have since become iconic figures with massive fan followings in their respective film industries. At the same time, the two also share a deep and enduring friendship that has lasted for decades. Now, a photo has surfaced online showing the two stars sharing an adorable moment on a flight en route to Hyderabad. Babu had recently arrived in Chennai to attend Tamil actor Sarathkumar’s daughter Varalaxmi’s wedding reception. After the event, the actor returned to Hyderabad with Rajinikanth, who was heading there for the filming of his upcoming movie.

Lastly: As speculated earlier, Shruti Haasan is playing a role in Rajinikanth’s upcoming film Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The actor took to social media to share a selfie and wrote, “Coolie Day 1”. However, she deleted it later. Nevertheless, the screenshot of the post has gone viral on social media. It was rumoured that Shruti is playing the role of Rajinikanth’s daughter in the movie. Lokesh and Shruti recently collaborated on the music video for the song 'Inimel,' which was penned by Kamal Haasan. Lokesh and Shruti played a couple in the music video. While Shruti directed the song, Lokesh was an actor in it.

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