Nearly two decades into his career as a stand-up comedian, Abish Mathew, is releasing his second one-hour special, Finish, following Whoop!, which has been streaming on Amazon Prime since 2018. However, Abish considers Finish to be a product of personal and comedic reinvention. “Whoop! is from someone in his 20s trying to impress an audience….
Sudha Ragunathan. | Photo Credit: K. Pichumani Known for her resonant voice, intricate brigas and melodious sangatis, Sudha Ragunathan reaffirmed her seasoned stagecraft at The Music Academy. Battling a recalcitrant throat, she nevertheless delivered a thoughtfully-curated concert that offered moments of quiet rapture, even if vocal strain occasionally intruded. She began with Muthiah Bhagavatar’s ‘Mathe…
Legendary Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr, whose radical rethinking of cinematic time reshaped international arthouse practice, has died at 70 after a prolonged illness, his family confirmed through Hungary’s national news agency. Across nine feature films made between 1979 and 2011, Tarr constructed one of the most formally consistent bodies of work in postwar European cinema,…
Sandeep Narayanan. | Photo Credit: K. Pichumani Sandeep Narayan’s concert for The Music Academy had a surfeit of high musical moments. Sandeep’s high-voltage concert with a full arc of emotions enabled by a multi-tonal voice appealed to both the connoisseurs and the lay audience. The Khamas kriti by Muthuswami Dikshitar, ‘Santana gopalakrishnam’ gave a bright…
Ranjani and Gayathri. | Photo Credit: M. SRINATH Ranjani and Gayatri’s concert for Krishna Gana Sabha had measured tones of artistry and liveliness. Importantly, they also sought to reach out to diverse audiences. ‘Ongi ulagalanda’ in Arabhi (Andal pasuram) was a breezy opener that moved into a more reflective mood with a pleasant rendition of…
Poster of ‘Jana Nayagan’ | Photo Credit: X/@actorvijay The suspense over the much-anticipated worldwide theatrical release of actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s supposedly last movie ‘Jana Nayagan’ on January 9, 2026 would now rest upon the decision to be taken by the Madras High Court on Wednesday (January 7) in a case filed by the production…
Charulatha Chandrashekar. | Photo Credit: K. Pichumani Young Charulatha Chandrasekar’s concert at The Music Academy reaffirmed the promise she has shown over the years. Granddaughter and disciple of veena vidushi and scholar R.S. Jayalakshmi, she has an impressive command over the veena. Charulatha was accompanied by Sarvesh Karthick on the mridangam and Murali Varadharajan on…
Nirmala Rajasekar accompanied by Trivandrum Sampath on the violin, Thanjavur Murugaboopathy on the mridangam and N. Guruprasad on the ghatam. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement There was never a dull moment at senior vainika Nirmala Rajasekar’s concert for Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha. Performing alongside senior accompanists — Trivandrum Sampath on the violin, Thanjavur Murugaboopathy on the mridangam…
“For the fans who gave up everything for me, I’m giving up cinema itself.” These words of Tamil superstar Vijay – fondly known as ‘Thalapathy’ to his fans – rang through Malaysia’s packed Bukit Jalil Stadium a week ago, during the recent audio launch of Jana Nayagan. The release of any Vijay film is special…
Last Updated:January 06, 2026, 12:48 IST Jana Nayagan will hit theatres on January 9, 2026, followed by Parasakthi on January 10. Vijay’s Last Movie Takes On Stalin Family’s Debut in Pongal Political Showdown As the Pongal festival approaches, Tamil cinema is heading towards one of its most intense clashes in recent years. Two major films,…
