Conviction over commerce

At a special screening to mark Raanjhanaa’s (2013) 12th anniversary, Dhanush revealed that director Aanand L Rai “didn’t have the right kind of budget” to cast him, yet “invested his own money” to ensure he played Kundan. “He could have offered any actor this part, but he went against all odds. He saw Kundan in me and stayed true to his vision,” the actor said. The film, also starring Sonam Kapoor, was a box office hit. Calling it a result of “two mad men who believed in [the story],” Dhanush credited the director and writer Himanshu Sharma for creating a “cult classic” driven by conviction, not commerce.

In a hurry to get home?

Mani Ratnam; (right) Kamal Haasan in Thug Life

At a time when filmmakers are trying to extend the gap between a film’s theatrical release and its OTT debut, Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life is reportedly heading to streaming in just four weeks. The buzz is that the Tamil actioner is set to arrive on Netflix sooner than expected. Despite originally promising an eight-week window, the team seems to have opted for an early release on OTT. The movie’s director, Mani Ratnam, recently reacted to the film’s underwhelming performance at the box office. He told 123 Telugu, “For those who were expecting another Nayakan [1987] from the two of us, all I can say is we are sorry. It was never our intention to go back. Why should we? We wanted to do something completely different. The audience expected something far removed from what we delivered.” The movie’s worldwide earning was Rs 97.87 crore gross.