Entertainment

A green landscape, a peaceful sea, a paddy field stretching to the horizon - that is the canvas on which characters are painted in some of the finest recent regional cinema films. These places blend into the lives of the heroes, something few Indian films do now, replete with histrionic camera angles courtesy of 'action gurus' flown in from overseas, choreographed dance routines in some distant foreign locale and, honestly, inhabited largely by bogus characters.

Naturally, the big-budget ones have hundred crore business within a week of the release of the film. In fact, the people wolf it down too, as if they dream about such worlds where they would love to walk around them, or escape into for a while, which is also understandable because they need to tread the twisted alleys of everyday life.

And what about those villagers who work and earn their living, plough the soil, get stranded during monsoon rains, go through the struggles awakened by man and nature? Seeing a couple of films in regional languages made by such iconic directors is like a breath of fresh air, a smell of the earth itself.

Consider, for instance, Village Rockstars 2, the sequel directed by Assamese filmmaker Rima Das to her original film of the same name. Bedridden again by poverty, the teenage protagonist Dhunu still fantasizes about her dream of becoming a rock star as she strums a tune on her guitar in the very improbable setting of a poor village.

She and her friends even have a band that attempts to play at 'town functions' but get driven off routinely. Her father is deceased; her obstinate mother somehow manages to provide two meals. Dhunu assists her mother as much as possible; their relationship is a pleasure to watch. Her older brother gets entangled in bad companions, yet her mother persists in defying her son by refusing to sell her land to a developer. "This is all we have; I don't want to be uprooted," she says.

But life is also sweet for Dhunu, playing in fields among friends, picking at her guitar beneath a tree, fishing. There are the annual floods with the resulting temporary displacement. But then the waters come back and the fertile soil is green and later golden brown with paddy, in a continuous cycle of nature. Her mother dies away, but Dhunu picks up the threads from the low point of grief. Her brother returns to fold because he misses his mother. The twins become close, possibly to face the future side by side.

Will Dhunu turn rock star, then? Guessing is all one can do. Nature appears to become a part of the narrative in this charming tale. The green paddy fields, the distant hills, the beels where villagers go night fishing with fire on bamboo staves, children playing in the fields that have been harvested, provide a glimpse into a world seemingly remote from city lights.

The same countryside backdrop is audible in Sanjeev Sivan's Malayalam film Quiet Flows the Dead (Ozhuki Ozhuki Ozhuki). The film is set against the backwaters of Kerala and talks about Paakaran, a 12-year-old boy belonging to a single mother's family and working as errand boy of the village. He voluntarily waits on everyone and has no time to attend school. His mother is working at a prawn factory. Paakaran gets addicted to his father's vanishing during fishing trips.

When he finds a body floating on water when he goes out fishing, he silently brings it back home at night and cremates it in honor because he fears, as is suggested by the priest, that the agitated ghost of an unclaimed dead body might be wandering around. Maybe his father met the same fate. After all, as the tagline for the movie reminds us, 'Thousands of bodies of the unidentified dead flow in the world's waters, far from home, as their loved ones await their return or at least a chance at a final goodbye'.

But the act gets Paakaran into trouble with the police and even gets him arrested for murder, and only a compassionate cop can rescue him. He is going to bid farewell to his dearly beloved homestead and endearing community to a school in the town, courtesy the cop. Once again, Paakaran's tale is about as much about him as about the community built by Kerala's sparkling backwaters terrain.

Payal Kapadia's Cannes Grand Prix-winning All We Imagine in Lightbegins with strangulation shots, clogged-up Mumbai streets where two Kerala nurses-turned-friends meet in their shared flat; but only when they accompany their co-workers back to the state to escort an ill elderly woman, a nursing-home cook who is elderly, do they have the privilege of looking inward.

Having dinner at a 'restaurant', a casual word for a shanty on the coast, under the light of the moon on a night like this they reflect upon the weaknesses in relationships and concepts that got squashed while running after a livelihood in the city. Tamil movie Angammal by Vipin Radhakrishnan, based on a short film by Perumal Murugan, revolves around a hot-headed rural lady who does not want to wear a blouse and desire to flaunt the tattoos on her arms. Things go wrong when her city-educated doctor-son gets into wedlock with a city-bred girl.

When his in-laws are to come home for a 'discusión', he is embarrassed that his mother is not wearing a blouse and is afraid that he will lose face in front of his would-be-in-laws. This brings the family under stress, but Angammal holds firm. She has always been her own advisor – she rides a motorcycle to distribute milk and vegetables grown at home to other homes. What strikes the eye, apart from the superb performances, is the countryside background with a hillock, its reddish soil representing Angammal's stubbornness. Man and nature, hitherto so intimate with each other since centuries, are losing out in today's age of high-speed 'development'. The landscape spread out in these films once again showcases how human beings are shaped by the environment too, not just by genes.

Reality television star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian has officially become a law school graduate. That surgical precision of multitasking that she seems to have mastered, got her through six years of law school alongside filming, parenting, and her business empire. Inspired by the ocassion, Kim, ofcourse, did it the Kardashian way.  

Kim hosted a small get together to celebrate her graduation in style, with friends and family.  

Among the passed attendees was her sister Khloe, along with her three younger children (Saint, Chicago, and Psalm) and her friend from years, who advocates for legal reform, Van Jones.  

The guess from the do it yourself part were the study notes, which tailored the woman's legal grind for the party glam.  

The speech she posted bits of on her social media accounts had her stating, “This journey has been so personal.”  

“After a video that I spotted on Twitter and started talking with Van. Everything just took off from there,” is what she told her followers on social media, after explaining her self exploration in the American legal system.

In 2018, instead of enrolling in law school, Kim Kardashian began her legal journey through a rather unconventional path: a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco.

Suriya's magnum opus Retro performed wonderfully at the box office. The film minted Rs 235 crore. Now, the actor has contributed Rs 10 crore from the profit to an organization that promotes students' education. Read the deets inside:

Suriya thanks his fans after Retro's huge success

During the event, the Retro star uttered, "To make this number grow more, we have to raise our contribution towards Agaram. As a beginning in achieving that, I'm delighted to announce that from the affection and support you showered on our movie Retro, I'm donating Rs 10 crore to the Agaram Foundation during this academic year, 2025."

He went on to say, "There is no greater pleasure than sharing. It has always given me great satisfaction to share my success with all of you, who acknowledged my hard work and gave me a name as an actor."

Referring to the love that he got for Retro, Suriya has said, "The superlative support you've accorded the movie Retro has turned the movie into a heart-touching success. Whenever I encounter a difficult situation, it is your encouragement and love that stand by me and urge me to move forward."

Retro's production house, 2D Entertainment, shared the news of the film’s huge success on X and wrote, “Dear Audience and #AnbaanaFans, we’re humbled by your immense love and support for #TheOne. Grateful for the glory, it’s all because of you. #RETRO." Check out the post embedded below:

Discussing the movie, it was directed by Karthik Subbaraj and Pooja Hegde was the heroine. It was released on 1st May. It has an amazing star cast. Apart from Suriya and Pooja, the movie also featured Joju George, Jayaram, and Karunakaran. Santhosh Narayanan composed the music and the action choreography was taken care of by Kecha Khamphakdee.

Last year, the Telugu film 35: Chinna Katha Kaaduposed a question to its audience: why zero — apparently without worth — is worth more than nine if placed after a one. The show was a discreet yet effective means of empowering math-challenged students. Director Sunny Sanjay returns this year with Anaganaga, streaming on ETV Win, and offers science lessons — from eclipses to how red and white blood cells work — in short, story-based episodes.

At the center of the movie is Vyas Kumar, a teacher-storyteller portrayed with subdued sincerity by Sumanth, in one of his finest performances. He makes learning come alive for kids who can't catch it the conventional way.

Loosely based on the Marathi movie Eka Kay Zaala, Anaganaga takes a simple approach, employing its plot as a gentle didactic tool. Like Taare Zameen Parand 35, it takes a predictable underdog route, presenting its message with simplicity and in clarity without patronizing its audience.

In the early sections of Anaganaga, Vyas (Sumanth) steps into a strict, high-pressure international school sporting a broad smile, and his first conflict is with the school chairman's (Srinivas Avasarala) strict regulations. After that, the arc of the story is predictable, but it wins the audience over by reaffirming the power of storytelling as a learning device, and presenting a better option than rote learning.

Vyas's domestic life parallels his teaching adventure. His wife, Bhagya (Kajal Choudhary), is the principal of his school, and their child Ram (Viharsh) is just one of the numerous pupils having difficulty keeping up. While Vyas is affable and laidback, Bhagya bears the burden of being the primary breadwinner of the family, and her stress often finds its way into their personal life. Their tensions are played out in a considerate manner, typically in front of a mirror, visually reaffirming their disparate worldviews and emotional states.

Vyas can be dismissed as a "failed story," but Anaganaga is not simply a story of one teacher demonstrating that his way is effective. It silently examines more profound questions: Do teachers or parents ever pause to wonder what really scares a child? What if a struggling student is not confronted with judgement but with reassurance that failing is not the end of the road?

The movie is a harsh critique of the gloomy side of academic rivalry — rewarding toppers with podium places and publicly shaming others who falter, even going to the extent of corporal punishment. It promotes compassion in education and wonders at what is sacrificed when sport and personality are pushed aside by the tyranny of marks. It reminds us of those times when a dreaded science class took the place of a cherished language class, and that familiarity lends the film its subtlety power.

What grounds Anaganaga is emotional truth. Sumanth's performance as Vyas is restrained and reflective, he is not a heroic troublemaker, merely a man attempting to connect with children through compassion. Most of his act is wordless, using gesture and eye, particularly in scenes with his son Ram. Their intimate moment over a Mufasa-Simba anecdote registers heavier by the end. Viharsh (playing Ram) both beams innocence and vulnerability, and Kajal Choudhary rides restraint and frustration effortlessly. Together, the cast injects a kind sincerity into a film that ultimately seeks: what would it mean to really teach with kindness?

On its last leg, Anaganaga walks familiar ground with a subplot involving health that threatens to seem clichéd. But to the film's credit, the storytelling employs this turn with caution — to revisit a previous question put to Vyas: what legacy will he be leaving behind for his son? The response, woven into the film's philosophy, is not material, but emotional.

Anu Hasan's warm cameo provides the critical insight, carefully stripping back the layers of Vyas's own formative influences. Even the narrator, it appears, must cling to his own story. Her fleeting part serves to underscore the film's powerful theme that sometimes power is found in looking within, in discovering again the will to go on.

Visually, nothing feels overdone. Pavan Pappula’s cinematography, Chandu Ravi’s gentle score, and the unobtrusive production design keep the film grounded. A few characters may lack dimension — like the overbearing school chairman — but the film does not stumble because of them.

Anaganaga can take a familiar path, but it makes its point elegantly. It not only celebrates storytelling as a pedagogical tool but as a means of healing, connecting, and remembering what truly matters.

Silent hills surround Basilicata, Italy—no rumble of a tractor or delivery vehicle, but that of a small three-wheeled van packed with wonder. Behind the wheel is Antonio La Cava, a retired educator with a passion for stories and a purpose that transcends age, habit, and even solitude of abandoned villages.

At 42 years of teaching, Antonio did not opt for the convenience of retirement. Rather, he opted for open roads and the imagination. He transformed his small 'Ape' 3-wheeler van into a colorful mobile library—Il Bibliomotocarro. Filled with shelves of children's books, brightly painted murals, and scribbled hand signs beckoning young readers, this small van has become an icon of curiosity and hope for the children in far-flung, usually neglected villages spread over the Italian landscape.

Antonio goes to villages whose populations are usually fewer than a thousand—villages where there are no libraries and bookstores are nothing but dreams. There, he pulls in with his van in the town square, holds court under the open sky, and reads. His words make fairy tales come alive, open up distant lands, and tell stories that linger after his van has driven off.

But Antonio doesn't merely dispense books—he sparks imagination. In every village, he brings exercise books, compelling kids to write the first chapter of a story. He then carries that notebook to the next village, where different kids pick up the story. By doing so, he doesn't only connect tales but connects communities, one imagination at a time.

"I was deeply concerned about aging in a land of non-readers," Antonio whispers. So he decided to be part of the solution. His bibliomotocarro has become a beloved fixture in Basilicata—where education comes on three wheels, driven not by gasoline alone but by empathy and intention.

Antonio La Cava's odyssey serves as a reminder that one small action, performed with love, has the power to change lives. In each village that he stops in, he leaves with more than books—he leaves with the knowledge that stories are important, that children are important, and that even a tiny van can hold the world within it.

Maye Musk, best-selling author and mother of tech billionaire Elon Musk, recently celebrated her 77th birthday. With a career of over 50 years as an author and model, Maye recently launched the Hindi edition of her memoir ‘Jab Aurat Sochti Hai’, a translation of ‘A Woman Makes a Plan’.

Maye began modeling at the age of 15 in Pretoria, South Africa. At the age of 60, she was photographed on four billboards in Times Square and also had her face on magazine covers, including Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle. She modelled in her 70s with Covergirl for four years and then with Dior Beauty Ambassador, which eventually turned her into a 'Supermodel'.

Her book 'A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty, and Success' is published in 31 languages, including Hindi, Spanish, German, Japanese, etc. In the book, she shares her life experiences on career, family, health and adventure for women across the world. The book has been sold in over 100 countries.

She started interning at a hospital at age 34 to gain experience on diets for chronic disease. There, she received a scholarship to work with colostomy patients and obtain a Master of Science degree. To obtain her second master's degree, she returned to Canada at age 41 and obtained a Master of Science degree in Nutritional Science, this time from the University of Toronto. After seeing her determination, she was conferred with a PhD, Doctor of Dietetics, by the University of Free State. 

She wrote the exams thrice, once in Afrikaans language and twice she passed on the first attempt. While the first one was in Metrication, the last two were for specialization in Imperial Measurements.

Maye has spoken about health in different countries, including Melbourne, Kiev, Budapest, Beirut, Cannes and Stockholm. Maye's engagement request and CAA speakers increased since the release of her book. She has been vocal about helping medical professionals with conducting their business. This has also led to her being the first Representative of the Consulting Dietitians of Southern Africa.