Movies
Relive the magic of Telugu Cinema with Tata Play Telugu Classics
Mumbai: Bringing alive old Telugu movies, Tata Play, has expanded its regional foothold with the launch of its new value-added service Telugu Classics. This platform will transport viewers back to the 50’s to 90’s era of Telugu cinema and recreate the magic of golden cinema. Tata Play aims to strengthen its Classic portfolio offering and already has Classic TV and Classic Cinema for Hindi entertainment along with Tata Play Hits for evergreen English shows from the 80’s-90’s era and now will be entertaining the Telugu audience through this current offering.
Telugu Classics will bring a vast spectrum of genres including popular and celebrated movies from the 50’s-90’s era featuring superstars such as Chiranjeevi, NTR, ANR Balakrishna, Savitri, Krishna Kumari, and many more. Viewers will see cult films like Lava Kusa (1963), Challenge (1984), Suvarna Sundari (1957), Khaidi (1983), Vetagadu (1979), etc. spanning from the monochrome to the colour movie era. Along with movies, the service will also showcase handpicked TV shows and songs from the yester era. A special and exclusive segment called, ‘Vendithera Vaelpulu’ has also been designed for the viewers where they will get to see the Biographies on superstars of Telugu Cinema on weekends. The programming will also have short content like best scenes & dialogues from classic movies that will entertain the audiences in between movies. Tata Play Telugu Classics is also the only platform that will showcase back-to-back Telugu classic movies in a day. The platform will serve as the ultimate go to destination for people who want to enjoy a walk down the memory and celebrate these entertainment masterpieces again.
Commenting on the same, Tata Play’s chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “Continuing to cater to our subscribers’ love and appreciation for quality content, we are happy to announce Tata Play Telugu Classics as an addition to the vast library of value-added services on Tata Play. Through this expansion, we aim to revive the charm of legendary Telugu content and provide our viewers with an opportunity to relive the golden era of Telugu cinema. I especially want to thank our partner Shemaroo Entertainment for helping us curate this service and restoring these classics for generations to relish.”
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Tata Play, in its latest value-added service – Telugu Classics, curated to bring exceptional Telugu classic films to audiences across India. This new service is aimed at presenting the best of Telugu cinema from the 1950s to the 1990s. These decades represent the golden era of Telugu cinema and continue to be a popular choice of viewers even today. Given Shemaroo’s focus on quality content and Tata Play’s commitment to providing world class entertainment, the long-standing partnership between the two organisations comes as a natural fit. The teams are eagerly looking forward to unveiling this new service for Tata Play subscribers and exceeding their expectations with exceptional content,” said Shemaroo Entertainment COO of broadcasting Sandeep Gupta.
Subscribers can view Telugu classics on 1441 for Rs 1.5per day and enjoy the content on their Tata Play mobile app on Live TV and VOD.
Telugu Classics is a part of Tata Play’s range of entertainment value-added services like Tata Play South Talkies, Tata Play Videshi Kahaniyan, Tata Play Romance, film-based services like Tata Play Marathi Cinema, Tata Play Kannada Cinema, Tata Play Bollywood Premiere, Tata Play Telugu Cinema, Tata Play Tamil Cinema, and TV show based content on Tata Play Hits for popular English shows from the 80’s and 90’s and many more, thus making Tata Play the hub for best content across all genres in Hindi and English from the yesteryears.
Hollywood
Did the ballet and opera controversy cost Timothée Chalamet his Oscar?
The actor’s ‘dying art forms’ comments may have danced away his Oscar chances.
LOS ANGELES: Last night, the 98th Academy Awards delivered a performance that wasn’t in the script, as Michael B. Jordan clinched the Best Actor statue, leaving Timothée Chalamet’s widely predicted win to pirouette away into the night. While Chalamet was long considered the frontrunner for his starring turn in Marty Supreme, many are whispering that a singular, ill-timed performance, not on screen but on the campaign trail, may have rewritten the finale.
For months, the narrative surrounding the race had a singular star, Chalamet, the critics’ darling and the bookies’ bet. However, the closing numbers saw a dramatic plot twist. Chalamet found himself upstaged not just by his fellow nominees but by the ghost of public opinion, following remarks he made during a Variety and CNN actor-on-actor conversation in February.
What started as a breezy discussion turned distinctly frosty when Chalamet, the conversation’s designated trendsetter, took aim at some classical institutions. “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, where no one is interested anymore,” he said, before branding them “dying art forms.”
The backlash was swift and, unfortunately for Chalamet’s campaign, star-studded. For the film industry, an establishment that often fancies itself as the glamorous custodian of the high arts, the actor’s comments didn’t just strike a bum note. They sounded like a discordant symphony. Academy heavyweights, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg, publicly voiced their disapproval. Spielberg himself countered that the “cinematic experience” and classical performance are bound by a similar dedication to audience engagement, effectively suggesting that Chalamet’s view was perhaps a bit too modern for its own good.
The conversation quickly became a media maelstrom. In a masterstroke of high-culture clapback, renowned ballerina Misty Copeland didn’t just issue a statement. The Academy even choreographed a surprise performance by her for the ceremony itself, a powerful, wordless rebuttal that many saw as a direct riposte to Chalamet’s dismissive claims. Even regional arts institutions joined the choreography. The Seattle Opera offered a cheeky “TIMOTHEE” discount, granting a 14 percent markdown to prove that people do, in fact, care.
Did this cultural counterpoint truly cost Chalamet his win? While some industry insiders argue that Michael B. Jordan’s complex dual performance in Sinners, a performance that also swept the SAG Awards, had simply built up too much momentum, the timing of Chalamet’s comments was undeniably poor. Coming as final Oscar voting began, they arguably soured his narrative and made a vote for him feel, to some, like a vote against artistic unity.
Even the ceremony itself wasn’t finished with the narrative. Host Conan O’Brien, whose sharp tongue is a celebrated feature of these galas, didn’t miss a beat. “Security is extremely tight tonight,” O’Brien jibed during his opening monologue, glancing toward the front row. “I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities. They’re just mad you left out jazz!”
The laughter that followed was pointed, a final public curtain call for a controversy that Chalamet likely wished had closed weeks ago. Whether it was a case of genuine peer disapproval, a sudden surge in support for Jordan’s powerhouse performance, or simply a case of poor footwork on the campaign stage, the ballet and opera debacle has now cemented its place in Oscar history. Chalamet’s experience serves as a clear memo to future contenders. Even when you are the headline act, a solo performance can still fall flat if you forget to play to the entire house.
