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The allegations made by Malayalam film actor Minu Muneer have brought significant attention to the ongoing issue of sexual harassment and exploitation within the Malayalam film industry.

In her recent Facebook post, Muneer accused prominent actors M Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Idavela Babu of sexually harassing her on the set of a 2013 movie. Her claims have further fueled discussions about the treatment of women in the South Indian film industry, especially in light of the Justice K Hema Committee’s findings, which highlighted widespread harassment and abuse.

Muneer recounted specific instances of abuse, including an encounter where Jayasurya allegedly hugged and kissed her without consent and another where Idavela Babu reportedly abused her under the pretense of helping with a film association membership. She also accused Mukesh of denying her membership in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (Amma) after she refused his advances. These experiences, Muneer claims, forced...

TributeA cancer survivor, the 75-year-old actor and politician died on Sunday night, after suffering from Covid-19 related complications.At the Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi on Sunday night, many known faces from the Malayalam film industry dropped by, unable to hold back tears or speak into the microphones extended toward them. One among their most senior and respected colleagues, Innocent, had just passed away, half past ten on March 26. A cancer survivor, the 75-year-old actor and politician had suffered from Covid-19 related complications in the last few weeks. Politicians – ministers ruling the state among them – were there too, equally distressed, some knowing the actor on a personal level. Innocent, an actor for five decades, had also entered politics in the last decade, winning a seat with the support of the Left in 2014. Mammootty, superstar and longtime colleague of Innocent, was there earlier in the day, and came back in the night.

Review‘Varaal’, in its attempt to take digs at Kerala politics and carve out a new leader, becomes a wannabe political thriller, unable to shake off the filmmaking tactics of a decade long gone by.CrisVaraal, director Kannan Thamarakkulam’s new film, starts off jerkily, much like the fish it is named after – the snakehead. It begins with a chase and some beating up in a college hostel, followed by a young man walking dejectedly into his room, and another jumping off a fence. Just as you shake your head and allow things to fall in place, you are given one important character after another – you know they are important, because the heavy background music with its dramatic highs and lows never stops playing. There is a plethora of politicians dropping on screen, with little attempt to hide the similarities to their real life versions. Varaal, in its attempt to...

MollywoodThe film is helmed by ‘Premam’ fame Alphonse Puthren. Tnm StaffTwitter/ Prithviraj SukumaranAlphonse Puthren’s upcoming film Gold featuring Nayanthara and Prithviraj Sukumaran, is gearing up for release. The director announced on social media that the film will be released during the festival of Onam, which will start on August 30 and end on September 8. Sharing the update, Alphonse Puthren wrote, “Gold is melting this Onam.” Earlier, the first look poster of the film was unveiled on June 6. Prithviraj is seen speaking to someone on the phone, while Nayanthara sports a surprised look. The vibrant poster also features other characters in the borders of the image. Sharing the poster, Prithviraj had tweeted, "#Gold An #AlphonsePuthren Film! @puthrenalphonse @PrithvirajProd @magicframes2011 (sic)." Bankrolled by Supriya Menon and Listin Stephen, the cast of Gold also includes actors Ajmal Ameer, Krishna Sankar, Shabareesh Varma, Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Roshan Mathew, Mallika Sukumaran, Deepti Sati,...

MollywoodThe association’s office bearers, when questioned about rape-accused actor Vijay Babu and the disbanding of its Internal Committee, echoed answers similar to those they gave during the Dileep case.Tnm StaffMen at the dais of the 28th general body meeting of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (A.M.M.A) had two blanket answers for a multitude of questions they were asked at a press meet on Sunday, June 26. One is an answer to questions on the lackluster action taken towards Vijay Babu, producer and actor accused of rape of a woman actor – ‘but the case is under the consideration of the court’. Two is an answer to repeated questions on the recently disbanded Internal Committee (Ic) of the association - 'why don't you ask any positive questions, instead of harping on these' – ‘these’ meaning issues of sexual assault and lack of an Ic for women to make complaints at. Both...

Mollywood‘Gold’ marks ‘Premam’ filmmaker Alphonse Puthren’s next directorial venture after 2015. Tnm StaffTwitter/ Prithviraj SukumaranThe first look poster of upcoming Malayalam film Gold, which stars actors Nayanthara and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead, was unveiled on June 6. Billed as an action comedy flick, Gold is directed, written, and also edited by Premam fame director Alphonse Puthren. In the poster, Prithviraj is seen speaking to someone on the phone, while Nayanthara sports a surprised look. The colourful and quirky poster features other characters in the borders of the image. Sharing the poster, Prithviraj wrote, "#Gold An #AlphonsPuthran Film! @puthrenalphonse @PrithvirajProd @magicframes2011 (sic)." Bankrolled by Supriya Menon and Listin Stephen, the star-studded supporting cast of Gold includes actors Ajmal Ameer, Krishna Sankar, Shabareesh Varma, Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Roshan Mathew, Mallika Sukumaran, Deepti Sati, Baburaj, Lalu Alex, Jagadish, Saiju Kurup, Suresh Krishna, Shanthi Krishna, Shammi Thilakan, Sudheesh, Idavela Babu, Shebin Benson,...

MollywoodThe film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Avira Rebecca.Digital NativeSreenivasan in '501 Days'Director Avira Rebecca, who won the State Award for Best Debut Director for Thakarachenda in the year 2007, is teaming up with Sreenivasan for a movie titled 501 Days. Incidentally, Avira’s debut film Thakarachenda also featured Sreenivasan in the lead role. His next film was Pigman, which had Jayasurya and Ramya Nambessan in the lead roles. His third film Negalukal, made in 2016, was not released in theatres. It was based on the life of the award-winning farmer Cheruvayal Raman who had stored and preserved 100 varieties of traditional seeds for years. Manoj K Jayan played the protagonist in the film. Avira’s new film 501 Days is touted to be a social drama that is based on some true-life incidents, we hear. Sunny Wayne, Aju Varghese, Manoj K Jayan, Idavela Babu, Kozhikode Haridas and Mammoottykka are roped in to play...

MollywoodThe film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Avira Rebecca.Digital NativeSreenivasan in '501 Days'Director Avira Rebecca, who won the State Award for Best Debut Director for Thakarachenda in the year 2007, is teaming up with Sreenivasan for a movie titled 501 Days. Incidentally, Avira’s debut film Thakarachenda also featured Sreenivasan in the lead role. His next film was Pigman, which had Jayasurya and Ramya Nambessan in the lead roles. His third film Negalukal, made in 2016, was not released in theatres. It was based on the life of the award-winning farmer Cheruvayal Raman who had stored and preserved 100 varieties of traditional seeds for years. Manoj K Jayan played the protagonist in the film. Avira’s new film 501 Days is touted to be a social drama that is based on some true-life incidents, we hear. Sunny Wayne, Aju Varghese, Manoj K Jayan, Idavela Babu, Kozhikode Haridas and Mammoottykka are roped in to play...

Mollywood The producers body has decided to discontinue all association with actor Shane Nigam in the future, allegedly due to complaints about the actor’s conduct on film sets.Sreedevi JayarajanThe Kerala Film Producers’ Association (Kfpa) on Thursday decided to scrap three major projects involving actor Shane Nigam. Speaking at a press conference in Kerala, M Renjith, president of the association, alleged that there is rampant drug abuse on locations and film sets in the Malayalam industry, especially among the new crop of young actors, and welcomed a probe by the excise department to crack down on substance abuse. The three films that have been scrapped are Veyil, Ullasam, and Qurbaani - all of which had actor Shane Nigam roped in to play the lead role. According to Kfpa members, the decision to scrap the films and discontinue any association with Shane henceforth was made due to continuous complaints against...

MollywoodSome of these character actors have played the hero or heroine in some films but more often than not, they are cast as friend or sibling to the main lead. CrisFor a funny conversation at the dining table, a tit for tat in the kitchen, a word of advice and confessions, film scripts place next to the central characters, a sibling or else a friend. Most of these friend and sibling characters are crucial when there is a story to be built or a point to be made, but slowly fade into the background and don't take the attention away from the heroes and heroines they are so attached to. Malayalam cinema has always had a habit of entrusting a few regular faces with these roles. In the early days, it would have been the likes of Adoor Bhasi and Sreelatha, but we are swishing past the '60s and...

EntertainmentThe film marked the Malayalam debut of actors, Vishal, Raashi Khanna and Hansika MotwaniDigital Native villain main 750.jpgThe Mohanlal starrer Villain directed by B Unnikrishnan is celebrating its 50th day of run in Kerala theatres. The movie, which hit the theatres on October 27, 2017, has had an extremely good outing at the box office. Though it opened to mixed reviews, it continued its run at the box office. The film is still continuing its run in certain centers like Ernakulam and Trivandrum. Elated with the successful run, the film producers celebrated the 50 days success in Trivandrum. The film marked the Malayalam debut of Tamil stars like Vishal and Hansika Motwani, as well as Telugu star Raashi Khanna. It also marked the return of Mohanlal to cop roles. Villain is a cop thriller that has Mohanlal playing the lead role while Manju Warrier plays his wife. The film is all about how Mathew Manjooran (a police officer played by Mohanlal) and Dr Shaktivel Palaniswamy (played by Vishal) cross paths. The ensemble cast includes Raashi Khanna, Telugu actor Sreekanth, veteran Siddique, Aju Verghese, Chemban Vinod, Renji Panicker, Anand, Idavela Babu, Kottayam Nazeer and Antony Perumbavoor. The film is a stylish and technically slick film, Manoj Paramahamsa had cranked the camera and it was shot in the 8K resolution camera and released in the same format. Bankrolled by Rockline Venkatesh under his banner Rockline Entertainments Pvt Ltd, his first venture in the Malayalam film industry. Surya TV has purchased the satellite rights of the movie for Rs 7 crore while the audio rights fetched 50 lakhs and the Hindi dubbing rights have been sold for Rs 3 crore, which is a record for any Malayalam movie so far. It was Malayalam writer-director B Unnikrishnan’s fourth film with Mohanlal. Their last film Mr. Fraud, released in 2014, was a heist story and a mass entertainer. Enanble Notification: NoTNM Marquee: No...

EntertainmentThe film marked the Malayalam debut of actors, Vishal, Raashi Khanna and Hansika MotwaniDigital Native villain main 750.jpgThe Mohanlal starrer Villain directed by B Unnikrishnan is celebrating its 50th day of run in Kerala theatres. The movie, which hit the theatres on October 27, 2017, has had an extremely good outing at the box office. Though it opened to mixed reviews, it continued its run at the box office. The film is still continuing its run in certain centers like Ernakulam and Trivandrum. Elated with the successful run, the film producers celebrated the 50 days success in Trivandrum. The film marked the Malayalam debut of Tamil stars like Vishal and Hansika Motwani, as well as Telugu star Raashi Khanna. It also marked the return of Mohanlal to cop roles. Villain is a cop thriller that has Mohanlal playing the lead role while Manju Warrier plays his wife. The film is all about how Mathew Manjooran (a police officer played by Mohanlal) and Dr Shaktivel Palaniswamy (played by Vishal) cross paths. The ensemble cast includes Raashi Khanna, Telugu actor Sreekanth, veteran Siddique, Aju Verghese, Chemban Vinod, Renji Panicker, Anand, Idavela Babu, Kottayam Nazeer and Antony Perumbavoor. The film is a stylish and technically slick film, Manoj Paramahamsa had cranked the camera and it was shot in the 8K resolution camera and released in the same format. Bankrolled by Rockline Venkatesh under his banner Rockline Entertainments Pvt Ltd, his first venture in the Malayalam film industry. Surya TV has purchased the satellite rights of the movie for Rs 7 crore while the audio rights fetched 50 lakhs and the Hindi dubbing rights have been sold for Rs 3 crore, which is a record for any Malayalam movie so far. It was Malayalam writer-director B Unnikrishnan’s fourth film with Mohanlal. Their last film Mr. Fraud, released in 2014, was a heist story and a mass entertainer. Enanble Notification: NoTNM Marquee: No...