The annual South Indian International Movie Awards are back in Dubai this weekend to celebrate the best in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema. Here is our insider's guide to the four regional film industries.
Kollywood
The Tamil film industry, based primarily in Chennai, is the biggest producer of South Indian cinema.
The industry, which in its early years thrived on mythological and historical dramas, now makes a range of films that are popular not only in Tamil Nadu, but as far afield as Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan and the Middle East.
The biggest megastars include Sivaji Ganesan (the first), Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth.
But Rajnikanth is unarguably the industry's biggest celebrity. Formerly a bus conductor, he started out playing the anti-hero. Bairavi (1978), in which he played the lead role for the first time, proved to be a turning point in his career, but it was Mullum Malarum (Thorns Also Blossom, 1978) that brought him stardom.
His best known movies include Muthu (1995), Thalapthi (Commander, 1991), Baasha (1995), Enthiran (Robot, 2010) and Sivaji (2010).
The multifaceted Kamal Haasan, who made his big-screen debut as a child actor in 1960, has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali films. As a director, Vishwaroopam (2013) is his most well-known film, a sequel to which is under production.
While Rajnikanth and Haasan are hailed as the icons of Tamil cinema, actors Vijay (Ghilli, 2004; Pokkiri, Rogue, 2007), and Ajith Kumar (Aasaai, 1995; Kadhal Kottai, 1996, which went on to win three National Awards) are not far behind, with some of their films breaking the 100-crore rupee (Dh57.5 million) mark at the box office.
This is also the industry in which Bollywood actress Sridevi got her first break, as well as two of Hindi cinema's biggest female stars: Priyanka Chopra with Thamizhan (2002) and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with Iruvar (1997).
Celebrated directors include Mani Ratnam (Roja, Rose, 1992; Mumbai, 1995; Iruvar, The Duo, 1997; Anjali, 1990) and S Shankar, reportedly India's highest paid director, (Sivaji, 2007; Anniyan, Outsider, 2005), and have also remade their box-office successes in other languages.
One to watch out for is Gautham Menon (Minnale, Lightening, 2001), an up-and-coming filmmaker whose intelligent, stylised films are very popular with the youth.
Tollywood
The Telugu film industry, based in Hyderabad, is the record-breaker of the South Indian cinema industries.
It holds the Guinness world record for the world's largest film production facility (Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad), the most expensive film made in India (Baahubali, 2015), and the highest number of films by a female director (Vijay Nirmala, 44 movies). It is also responsible for the third-highest-grossing film of all time, the recently released Baahubali.
As with most film industries in the region, mythological and fantasy dramas were mainstays of the early years, of which N?T Rama Rao was the biggest icon, and some of his films – including Mayabazar, 1957; Missamma, Miss Madam, 1955; Seetarama Kalyanam, 1961 – are cult classics.
Current stars include Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan and Nagarjuna. Rana Daggubatti, who began working in the industry as a visual-effects co-ordinator, is being touted as the next big thing, especially after his role as the anti-hero in Baahubali.
S?S Rajmouli, fresh from the success of his latest film, Baahubali, is his most popular yet, has revolutionised the use of special effects in the local industry. His first blockbuster, Magadheera (Great Warrior, 2009), hit the jackpot at the box office, earning more than a billion rupees.
His subsequent film Eega (Fly, 2012) – which had mixed reviews – not only earned more than 1.25bn rupees, but was also a huge hit at international film festivals.
It won multiple awards, including one for Best Hero (for the main character, a fly), at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.
Sandalwood
The Kannada film industry, based in Bangalore, really began to grow in the 1970s and 1980s – the age of parallel cinema, a glorious era that saw the rise of directors such as Girish Karnad (Kaadu, Forest, 1973) and B V Karanth (Chomana Dudi, Choma's Drum, 1975), while the actors that dominated the scene at the time were Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan.
Affectionately nicknamed Rajanna, Rajkumar won multiple national awards for playback singing and acting, along with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award and the Padma Bhushan.
Some of the most popular Kannada films include Kaviratna Kalidasa (1983), Mayura (1975), Bandhana (1984) and Apthamitra (Close Friend, 2004). Renowned singer S?P Balasubrahmanyam, who has sung more than 45,000 songs in several languages, got his break in the Kannada film industry. Even though he was a singer, Vishnuvardhan insisted on popular playback artist Balasubrahmanyam singing for him in his movies.
While Vishnuvardhan and Rajkumar were both revered – the former's fans even built him a temple – it was the latter that the masses seemed to be most fanatical about: when Rajkumar died of a heart attack in 2006, there were widespread riots in Bangalore, and many fans had to be stopped from committing suicide.
The late 1990s saw the rise of director and actor Upendra Rao, best known for the blockbusters A, 1998; Upendra, 1999; and Super (2010).
One of the industry's most-loved actresses is Umashree. She has starred in more than 400 films, and is known for her excellent comic timing. She won Best International Actress in 2008 at the Osian Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab cinema for Gulabi Talkies.
Girish Kasaravalli, a parallel cinema director, is known for sensitive portrayal of social issues. He has won 13 National Awards and the Padma Shri. His most notable films include Ghatashraddha (The Ritual, 1977), Tabarana Kathe (Tabarana's Tale, 1987) and Naayi Neralu (Shadow of the Dog, 2006).
Mollywood
Based mostly in Trivandrum and Cochin, the Malayalam industry has seen huge changes in the past few years.
From commercial comedies and one-man-show movies, filmmakers have come a long way, and have graduated to telling "real" stories that the audience can connect with.
Some of the most iconic films to come out of Mollywood include Chemmeen (Prawn, 1965); Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala (Shyamala Lost in Thought, 1998); Ustad Hotel (2012); Drishyam (2013); Premam (2015); Salt N' Pepper (2011); and North 24 Kaatham (North 24 Miles, 2013).
Mohanlal (Vanaprastham, The Last Dance, 1999; Drishyam, 2013), and Mammootty (Mrugya, 1998; Ambedkar, 2000), are its biggest stars, though the younger generation – Nivin Pauly (Premam, 2015; Bangalore Days, 2014) and Mammootty's son Dulqer Salmaan (Neelakasham, 2014; Ustad Hotel, 2012) – are thinking out of the box, starring in youth-friendly, bilingual films that have a wider appeal. Directors Bharathan (Chamaram, 1980; Chilambu, 1986), and A?K Lohithadas (Bhoothakannadi, 1997; Joker, 2000), are industry giants, although in the past few years, Anwar Rasheed (Rajamanikyam, 2005; Ustad Hotel, 2012) has garnered audience and critical acclaim for his simple stories about everyday life, all set to beautiful music. Top actresses include Shobhana, who has also appeared in a few Bollywood films, and Manju Warrier – both well known for their dancing skills.
Unlike the Tamil and Telugu film industries, Malayalam films operate on small budgets.
artslife@thenational.ae
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
Company%20profile
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Scoreline:
Manchester City 1
Jesus 4'
Brighton 0
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
Scoreline
Chelsea 1
Azpilicueta (36')
West Ham United 1
Hernandez (73')
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Company%20profile
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More on animal trafficking
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Abu Dhabi racecard
5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m.
5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m.
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20Profile
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
'Nope'
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BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)