Hindi
Fox Star enters Tamil film market, signs Murugadoss
MUMBAI: Fox Star Studios is stepping into the rapidly growing Tamil film industry, the second most popular genre after Bollywood.
The joint venture company between Twentieth Century Fox and Asian broadcaster Star has signed AR Murugadoss, director of Ghajini, for development and production of two films.
“Tamil films constitute India‘s most popular genre after Bollywood. We are delighted to be accessing this growing segment by associating with one of the most successful writer-directors in Tamil and Hindi cinema. Murugadoss has an impeccable track record, and has demonstrated great understanding of the Tamil and Hindi audiences,” says Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh.
The Tamil Film Industry is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent, luring the News Corp. company to be part of that growth wave.
Says Fox International Productions president Sanford Panitch, “We‘ve been looking at the Tamil market for quite some time and from the moment we met Murugadoss, we knew we have found a like-minded partner to lead us there.”
Murugadoss will be the creative producer and will select the scripts and the star cast for the two projects.
Says Murugadoss, “I am excited to work with Fox Star Studios India. It gives me a chance to use my deep association with the Tamil film industry to tell exciting new stories with our established stars and also to promote new talent. This partnership will also bring to Tamil cinema learning from the best technical and creative people from around the world.”
Earlier, Fox Star Studios had entered into a similar deal with Vipul Shah’s production house Blockbuster Films for a romantic comedy and a fantasy action thriller film.
The company also released the Oscar winning Danny Boyle film Slumdog Millionaire a few months back.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
