Culture & Community

Culture & Community

Latest news from and about the homeland

Following his recent hit, 2023’s ‘Mark Antony,’ Adhik Ravichandran returns to the screen having teamed up with his idol Ajith Kumar for ‘Good Bad Ugly.’ Fanboy cinema has yielded interesting results for the industry recently: Karthik Subbaraj collaborated with Rajinikanth for 2019’s ‘Petta’ and Lokesh Kanagaraj worked with his idol Kamal Haasan for 2022’s ‘Vikram.’ These films are primarily…

Modern Love Chennai - A cut above

For this anthology, Amazon Prime made the intelligent decision of passing the mantle of Creative Producer to one of Kollywood’s best: Thiagarajan Kumararaja. The result of this is a collection of short films at least a few leagues above the standard witnessed in previous attempts.

Farhana - A blessing in disguise

Nelson Venkatesan’s previous outing was a well-made family entertainer called ‘Monster,’ starring a typically cartoonish SJ Suryah as a man haunted by a mouse. The film is innocent fun, which are two words I would not use to describe his most recent work ‘Farhana.’ Venkatesan completely shifts gears, to deliver a solidly thought-out thriller. It impressively weaves through themes of masks, desires and self-control. 

Custody - Arrested development

Venkat Prabhu’s latest cinematic offering arrives not too soon after his best work with 2021’s ‘Maanaadu’ and last year’s middlingly received ‘Manmadha Leelai.’ ‘Custody’ is a bilingual venture, featuring names from both the Tamil and Telugu film industry, including lead Naga Chaitanya. Despite a cult following for his films, Prabhu’s filmography has been spotty at best - ‘Mankatha’ seemed like a fluke until ‘Maanaadu.’ With ‘Custody,’ Prabhu has slipped back into cruise control. 

Ponniyin Selvan Part II - An unworthy successor

Seven months after the release of the first instalment of ‘Ponniyin Selvan,’ the conclusion of the two-part film hits screens worldwide.

Karaithuraipattu Divisional Secretariat organises Iftar

The Divisional Secretariat of Karaithuraipattu organised an Iftar event on 18th April for the Muslim community of the area to break their fast. Muslim residents and others locals participated in the event.

Puthandu celebrated in Tamil homeland

Despite the second year of the economic crisis, Tamils in the North-East celebrated the first day of the Tamil Puthandu, the New Year, on the first day of the Tamil calendar, which falls on 14th April.

Puthandu being the equivalent of the Spring equinox is celebrated by many cultures in South Asia and South-East Asia and by the diaspora communities from these cultures.

University students participate in first TSOC Olympics

On 2nd April 2023, the inaugural inter-university Tamil society athletics competition was set up and held by Queen Mary’s Tamil society, Bart’s Tamil Society and ES sports. Universities from across the UK competed to be crowned the TSOC Olympic Champions by participating in multiple field, track and mixed events.

Soppana Sundari - Engine trouble

 

 

 

Note: there are some cuts made to the theatrical release of 'Soppana Sundari' in the UK to suit the family audience.

Youths in Mullaitivu hold boat race and festivities to celebrate Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday, Tamil youths in Mullaitivu organized a boat race and other festivities to celebrate the occasion.

The boat race was divided into two categories, with 25 horsepower boats and 40 horsepower boats competing.

The festivities continued into the evening of 9th April and were open to participants of all ages, from children to the elderly.

Midnight mass held to celebrate Easter at St. Sebastian Cathedral in Mannar

A grand midnight mass was held at the St. Sebastian Cathedral in Mannar to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. The service was a joint service that combined the congregations of many parishes in Mannar and was led by Right Reverend Dr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando and other priests from neighbouring churches. Security for the service was provided by the Police and the Army, following the Easter Bombings, in 2019.