Entertainment

The makers of Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1, the much-awaited prequel to the 2022 blockbuster, have introduced the first look of actor Gulshan Devaiah. He is set to play the character Kulashekara.

Starring and directed by Rishab Shetty, Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 is set to hit the screens on October 02, 2025. In the poster, Gulshan is seen sitting on a throne and dressed as a king in royal clothes, jewellery, and a crown.

Bollywood celebrities such as Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Meiyang Chang, and Wamiqa Gabbi cheered for Devaiah in the comments section after the actor shared the update on Instagram.

The revelation has arrived weeks after Rishab confirmed wrapping the shoot of the film. Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 is expected to take audiences back in time to explore the roots of the story as shown in the original film. Rishab is likely to return to his character. A poster of his upcoming look was revealed on his 42nd birthday, showing him in tribal warrior gear, hinting at a dramatic backstory.

ALSO READ: ‘Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1’ behind-the-scenes video: Rishab Shetty brings his dream project alive

The first Kantara film was set in the fictional village of Dakshina Kannada. It focused on the character of a Kambala champion, who had a face-off with an upright Forest Range officer. The film became a pan-India hit, even bringing Rishab the prestigious National Award for Best Actor.

Actor Mammootty is expected to return to action soon, after a hiatus from work following speculations about his health.

A social media post by his close associate and producer Anto Joseph on Tuesday set the social media abuzz after he stated that “prayers from around the world have been answered. Thank you, God thank you.” The note possibly indicated that the veteran actor had sailed through his health concerns.

Without making any direct reference to the actor or his health, S. George, producer and personal secretary to the actor, expressed his gratitude to all who had prayed and stood by him to reassure that nothing would happen.

‘Cleared the test’

Actor V.K. Sreeraman shared an old picture of him with Mammootty and wrote a note, which purportedly referred to a telephone conversation between the two on Tuesday. Without naming the actor, the post has a line in which the person interacting with him is saying that he had cleared the final test.

Actor Mohanlal shared a picture of him planting a kiss on Mammootty’s cheek.

“Welcome back Tiger,” greeted actor Manju Warrier in a social media post.

Actor Maala Parvathi pointed out that “Mammookka has regained his health fully. Thanks to doctors and all others who took care of him. The king is back,” she said.

Leaders too

Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan, Speaker A.N. Shamseer, MPs K. Radhakrishnan and John Brittas, Ministers P. Rajeeve and Veena George and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala were among those who shared the actor’s photo on social media and welcomed his return.

Mammootty was working in filmmaker Mahesh Narayanan’s movie when he took a break amidst concerns about his health. The film has actors Mohanlal, Kunchacko Boban, Fahadh Faasil, and Nayanthara in lead roles.

The actor’s production company Mammootty Kampany had announced his latest movie Kalamkaval directed by Jithin K. Jose, which is expected to hit the big screen soon.

The internationally acclaimed Shillong Chamber Choir (SCC) has released a new track, ‘You came into our lives’, a heartfelt reflection on love, friendship and the transformative power of music. Written by the choir’s founder and mentor, Neil Nongkynrih, along with his friend, Deelip Kumar Sahu, the song is a moving tribute to Uncle Neil’s friends and family. Released on the occasion of his 55th birth anniversary (July 9), the song reflects the profound impact that he had on the lives of the choir members.

“I had almost forgotten this song until one day, a choir member reminded us. Listening to it again, we felt it was meant to be shared with all our listeners. It’s a thank you, a celebration of love, gratitude and the steadfast bonds that hold us together,” said Banlam Lyndem, Bass of the choir. The accompanying video, is a beautiful visualisation of Uncle Neil’s enduring presence — offering glimpses of cherished moments.

Founded in 2001 by composer, conductor and pianist Neil Nongkynrih, the SCC began as a small group of dedicated singers and dreamers under his mentorship. Over the past two decades, the ensemble has evolved into one of India’s celebrated musical groups, blending rich harmonies, emotional depth and technical brilliance. Winners of India’s Got Talent, 2010, the choir’s journey since then has been marked by a string of national and international accolades.

The choir new track ‘You came into our lives’ was written by Neil Nongkynrih, along with his friend, Deelip Kumar Sahu
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Special Arrangement

Renowned for their unique blend, their repertoire includes songs in 40 different languages ranging from Opera to Rock, Folk to Jazz, Hindustani classical to current chart toppers as well as major collaborations with Alan Walker, Boney M, Amitabh Bachchan and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

Neil Nongkynrih passed away in 2022, but his vision and artistry remain at the heart of the choir’s music. “More than just focusing on the voice, he worked on the individual. That’s perhaps why, nearly two decades later, we’re still here — singing together,” shared tenor William Basaiawmoit.

The choir is keeping Neil Nongkynrih’s memory alive through a range of projects.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

With the mentor’s passing, the choir continues to work on various projects — from their usual medleys to originals, albums in Khasi (native language of Meghalaya) to the opera, ‘Sohlyngngem’, composed by Neil. “We also have many unreleased songs on the shelf. Three of our music videos of Bollywood medleys in different styles of arrangements are being released by Saregama in August, September and October on various social media platforms,” said Kynsaibor Lyngdoh, manager of the choir.

SRMG Creations recently staged a play on Karaikkal Ammayar at Bharat Kalachar. Karaikkal Ammayar is one of only three women Nayanmars, and her story is recorded in Sekkizhar’s Periya Puranam.

The play (story and script: Poovai Dhaya; direction: V.S. Sridharan) differed from Periya Puranam in some respects. In Periya Puranam, Nidipathi, a rich merchant of Nagapattinam, proposes a marriage between his son Paramadattan and Punithavathi, daughter of Dhanadattan, a wealthy merchant of Karaikkal. But in the play, the hero and heroine meet, before the engagement takes place. They argue about whether God exists, with Punithavathi, an ardent devotee of Shiva, vowing to prove God’s existence to the agnostic Paramadattan. The arguments between Parvathi and Shiva were thought provoking. Parvathi wonders why the marriage of Punithavathi should end tragically. She says that men find themselves a new wife at whim, but what is to happen to poor Punithavathi?

The lively exchanges between Shiva and Parvathi were welcome additions, enhancing the dramatic appeal of the play.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

The lively exchanges between Paramadattan and Punithavathi and the sparring between Shiva and Parvathi were welcome additions, enhancing the dramatic appeal of the play. Punithavathi does finally prove to Paramadattan that God exists. But Paramadattan is now filled with awe for his wife, because he sees her as divine. He leaves for Pandya Nadu, remarries, and has a daughter, whom he names Punithavath.

In Sekkizhar’s story, Paramadattan, his second wife and child seek the blessings of Punithavathi. When Paramadattan says he can no longer look upon her as his wife, Punithavathi prays to Shiva for a pey uruvam (a skeletal form). Punithavathi, who came to be known as Karaikkal Ammayar, is in fact, depicted as a skeletal figure in bronzes. In the play, however, she asks not only for a pey uruvam, but also for mudhumai (old age). Also, the name of Nidipathi was changed to Sivagnanam in the play. Such liberties should not have been taken with the original story. The comic interludes were pathetic.

S.R.M.G. Creations ‘Karaikal Ammaiyar’ staged at YGP Auditorium, T. Nagar.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

Gopalakrishnan as Paramadattan and Vidhyalakshmi as Karaikkal Ammayar turned in good performances. But why was Paramadattan smothered in makeup, with a more than generous daubing of lipstick and rouge? The story of Karaikkal Ammayar could have been handled better.

Netflix hosted a special pre-release screening of The Great Indian Kapil Show (Independence Day Special Episode) for the visually impaired community. Held at the Netflix India office in Mumbai, in collaboration with the National Association for the Blind, Mumbai, the screening was enabled with built-in audio descriptions, ensuring the episode could be fully experienced by all.

In attendance at the screening were Tukaram Mundhe, IAS (Secretary, Divyang Kalyan Department, Government of Maharashtra), and Prakash Magdum, IIS (Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation of India). The cast of the show joined for a surprise and a curated talent showcase by the blind community – Kapil Sharma, Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda and Archana Puran Singh, to celebrate the occasion.

Netflix globally has been creating Audio Descriptions for its content since 2015. Today, all Netflix original titles come with built-in audio descriptions, a voiceover that narrates key visual elements like facial expressions, physical actions, settings, and scene changes. This makes the story more accessible for blind or low vision audiences.

The platform is further enabled with additional accessibility features and plug-ins such as screen reader compatibility, customizable subtitles, and assistive listening systems to ensure that entertainment can be enjoyed by everyone, without barriers.

Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Kapil Sharma, actor and host of The Great Indian Kapil Show, added, “As performers, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing your work can reach more hearts. Being part of this special screening, where every joke, every moment could be felt and experienced equally, was a beautiful reminder of why we do what we do.”

Dr. Vimal Kumar Dengla, Secretary General, National Association for the Blind, said, “Entertainment should be for everyone, and when platforms like Netflix prioritise accessibility, it opens up a world of entertainment for our community. Audio description is more than a feature; its inclusion in action. We truly appreciate this collaboration and hope to see many more such initiatives in the future.”

ALSO READ: Aryan Khan’s directorial debut ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’ first glimpse out

Speaking about the initiative, Tanya Bami, Series Head, Netflix India, said, “Storytelling feels complete only when everyone has the opportunity to be a part of it. At Netflix, we’re deeply committed to making our content more accessible. All our titles globally are available with audio descriptions, and we’ve hosted similar inclusive screenings in other countries too. This screening is not just an event, it’s a step towards building a space where every voice matters and every viewer feels seen and heard.”

Among instruments, flute is one, based on the most fundamental sign of life, which is breath. Jayaprada Ramamurthy, who performed recently at Mudhra’s Venuganam series, is the daughter of vocalist Prema Ramamurthy. She was mentored by flute virtuoso N. Ramani.

Her profound Bhairavi alapana was followed Dikshitar’s ‘Balagopala’ on Lord Rajagopala of Mannargudi. This kriti is in the eighth (Sambodhana Prathama) Vibhakti. She made full use of the infinite scope to improvise, which the kriti offers and captured the bhakti rasa embedded in the lyrics. She embellished it gamakas and swaraprastharas. On the Violin, Chidambaram Badrinath responded impeccably in alapanas and kalpanaswaras.

Jayaprada was accompanied by Chidambaram Badrinath on the violin, Melakaveri K. Balaji (mridangam) and Adambakkam K. Sankar (ghatam)
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Courtesy: Mudhra

In the percussion department, Melakaveri K. Balaji (mridangam) and Adambakkam K. Sankar (ghatam) enriched the swaraprastharas with anticipation and competence. Their tani with deft transitions was enjoyable.

Jayaprada’s handling of both long (with a deeper base) and short flutes enhanced the melody in the songs. Another extensive raga enunciation that stood out for its manodharma was Pantuvarali. She chose a lovely Oothukkaadu kriti, ‘Ati nirupama sundarakara’, which has both tisra gati and chatusra gati patterns. The transition from tisra (pallavi and anupallavi) to chatusra (charanam) was seamless. The percussionists lived up to the task.

Earlier, Jayaprada commenced the concert with ‘Vandeham jagat vallabham’ in Hamsadhwani (khanda chapu) by Annamacharya. Again, swaras at pallavi were replete with rhythmic patterns. Chidambaram Badrinath embellished the kriti with his soft bowing technique. Tyagaraja’s ‘Chinna naade na’ in Kalanidhi bore the stamp of Ramani’s style.

After a short sketch of Kapi, she played ‘Enna thavam seythanai’, a popular kriti by Papanasam Sivan. Jayaprada concluded her recital with ‘Bhaja bhaja manasa’ (Sindhubhairavi) by Swati Tirunal and the Revathi tillana (Misra Chapu) by Lalgudi Jayaraman.

Natyarangam, the dance wing of Narada Gana Sabha, conducted the 27th annual thematic Bharatanatyam festival from August 14 to 18 at Narada Gana Sabha. The theme chosen for this year was ‘Acharya Bharatham’ (Gurus Divine), which reiterated the fact that spiritualism is the bedrock of Indian culture.

The five-day festival highlighted the life and teachings of five acharyas. Day one featured artistes Vidhun Kumar, Uma Govind and Sibi Sudharshan. Their performance was themed on Adi Sankaracharya. The introduction by Sudha Seshayyan about acharyas and the Advaita philosophy of Sri Adi Sankara set the tone for the presentation.

The performance depicted the essence of Adi Sankara’s philosophy.
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath

The performance began with Pranava Mantram ‘Om’, followed by the Gayatri Mantram and a Ganesha vandanam, which was an invocatory nritta piece, marked by clarity of adavus and hasta mudras.

By way of recreating the disciplined life of the Vedic age, the dancers depicted people living in solidarity and performing rituals. Soon there is disparity and people take to durmargas, which leads to a lot of chaos.

This is when Dakshinamurthy takes the form of Sankara and is born to reinstate dharma. The dancers through the Kanakadhara Stotram depicted the incident where the crocodile grabs Sankara’s feet and release it only when his mother grants him permission to become a sanyasi. Vidhun was impressive as Sankara.

Sankara now goes in search of a guru and approaches Govinda Bhagavathpada, who enquires who he was. Sankara immediately recites the Nirvana Shatakam telling that he is pure consciousness. The guru understands that he was Sankara and takes him as his sishya Having mastered the Advaita philosophy from his guru, Sankara writes the bhashyam of the Brahma Sutra and other religious texts and spreads the message to the world. Sankara’s intellectual growth is seen when he asks a chandala, who crosses his path, to move aside. He in turns asks him if he should move his body or his consciousness. This makes Sankara fall at his feet.

It traced Adi Sankara’s journey across the country.
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath

The interesting debate between Sankara and Mandana Misra reflected the spirit of the vedic age . Sibi as Madana Misra played his part well. Ubhaya Bharathi, the wife of Mandana Misra is asked to judge the debate as she was an expert in both Mimamsa and Advaita. Uma Govind as Ubhaya Bharathi brought out the quiet confidence of the character Though Sankara wins the debate, Ubhaya Bharathi refuses to accept him as a sarva gyani as he had never experienced the sensual pleasures of a grihasta. Sankara then does Parakayapravesha, entering the body of king Amaru. The tillana that followed, performed by Vidhun and Uma, choreographed with great care conveyed the sensual joys experienced by the king and the queen.

Sankara returns to his original body and clearly states that he had experienced and renounced the sensual pleasures of a grahasthan. Now, both Madana Misra and his wife become his sishyas.

Then followed a depiction of the shanmatas and Sankara unifying them as manifestations of the formless brahman (connection with the divine). Sankara does the four mata sthapanas and attains the sarvasya peetam status.

The production concluded with Sankara’s popular composition “Bhaja Govindam’, where he stresses the need for people to stop worldly pursuits and understand the need to connect with the Brahman making it relevant to the present generation.

The music scored by Rajkumar Bharathi deftly highlighted the mood of each scene. The orchestra led by Jayasree Ramnathan on the nattuvangam, Venkateswaran Kuppuswamy (vocal support), Venkatesan Vedakrishnaram (mridangam), Soundarajan’s (veena) and Hariprasad (flute) helped enhance the divine experience.

The choreography was done under the guidance of the dancers’ gurus Priyadarsini Govind and V. Mythili.

The production was a good start to rasikas’ journey into the world of acharyas.

Even if you have not seen it, maybe you’ve heard of it, but you can definitely the music from itSuch is the immortal nature of Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra’s ‘Rang De Basanti’, a film that is all about identity and purpose in a world where everyone is confused, but everyone forgets to question. The film starts like a Disney movie, but progresses into anything but that.

A British woman (Sue) interested in the lives of those who fought for the freedom of India. A group of friends who could not be any less affected by the stories of courage that allowed them to live in democratic India. The irony is immense. When Sue decides to make a film, she is rejected by his bosses, who urge her to make a film on Gandhi, because ‘Gandhi sells’. Yet she remains fixated on telling the stories of those she read about in her grandfather’s journal. So she travels to India, and finds Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Rajguru, Durga Vohra, Ashfaqullah Khan and Ramprasad Bismil in a group of rebellious misfits from Delhi University, which feels utmost fitting. The problem? They don’t seem to be particularly moved by the characters they have been asked to play. In fact, they don’t even believe in the idea that modern India is free- Their thoughts and opinions are a subtle echo to the underwave of issues that exist in the country of imperfections. This is where the film’s the interspersed themes of history, religion, the confusion of youth, all blend into one and the writing manages to find honesty in tone, especially whenever the friends talk, even if their conversations are serious, they treat each other exactly like a group of friends from college would. So as they pave their way through all of their hooliganism and banter, it is only when they put themselves in the shoes of others that they learn a deeper truth. A truth that has lied around us for decades (78 years to be exact), but we perhaps have overlooked it far too often, or taken it for granted.

It cannot be overstated enough that Mehra’s films come with an album that is a work of magic. Born out of the genius that is A.R. Rahman, each song is composed masterfully and captures the ethos of the situation perfectly. Be it the catchy tune that introduces us to the group of rebels without a cause, or the titular track itself that has the essence of Punjabi “maati” (soil), or the melancholy you feel when Luka Chuppi plays, there is a diversity in so many ways in Mehra’s film, that the music isn’t restricted to a style or genre, nor are the characters similar, everyone is distinct, and their chemistry feels so natural, that you could argue that these are the kind of people you’d meet when you go to college. It is Mehra’s understanding of music and where to place it that allows for the dramatic essence of a scene to unveil in full flow. Towards the climax in this film, he uses music to change the very tone of what most filmmakers would have treated in utmost contrasting fashion, and that is what truly makes Mehra’s film stand out. Giving moments of hope, both in story and structure, only to take it away from you before returning it again, this back-and-forth style of Mehra’s direction sees the film breathe life in a way you rarely see. Through the seeming ‘misfits’, Mehra manages to highlight a youth of India that is rapidly finding disbelief in the system, but through his political commentary, as widespread his thoughts may seem, ultimately circle back to changing the grassroots itself. To complain without action is to walk two steps backwards. He asks people to question politicians and politics, to demand answers, and seek the truth, and to stay true by it. He reminds you to remember those who fought for freedom- They too are like God in a sense for Mehra, and in a country where belief is built on the echelons of faith, he asks to choose carefully in who we put our belief in when it comes to leading a country of over a billion people.

Bodybuilder-cum-fitness trainer and winner of a popular reality show, Jinto, has been booked in a theft case lodged by a woman gym owner in Kerala, the police said on Tuesday (August 19, 2025).

According to the police, the complainant alleged that Jinto trespassed on the gym, which she had taken on lease from him, and stole money and some documents.

The complainant also reportedly submitted CCTV visuals which allegedly showed the accused entering the gym in the wee hours of Monday, vandalising cameras and other articles and stealing the documents and money.

The Palarivattom police registered a case against the accused under BNS Section 305 (theft). Further actions are yet to be taken, they said.

Jinto was reportedly interrogated by investigators in connection with a hybrid ganja case earlier.