Actors and Actresses
ID the actor.
This actor's debut in the lead role was in the 1977, Eranki Sharma directorial- Chilakamma Cheppindi, despite him not being a native Telugu speaker. He later went on to play roles in the films of many other major film industries, including English and Bengali, becoming a household name across the country, although his home industry isn't in his mother tongue as well.
Rajnikanth
ID this Indian movie which featured Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards
Kambakkht Ishq
ID "X"
"X" is a musician whose earliest works includes jingles for various brands such as Allwyn Watches, Titan, and "Y's" iconic tune, which is used till date.
"X" also has a unique distinction of being one of the very few Indians to have composed music for a Mandarin film, which was sent as China's official entry for the best foreign language film award.
"X" - AR Rahman
"Y" - Airtel
This 2011 Tamil film was a remake of a Hollywood film that released 10 years earlier, starring an actor who recently "lent" his Oscar statuette to the Ukrainian president as a symbolic act of support.
The remake was acclaimed for its simple, yet emotion-based story showcasing a tight bond between family.
ID the film that we're talking about
Deiva Thirumagal, a remake of I am Sam, starring Sean Penn
Although primarily known for her works in music, "X" also has played some notable roles alongside Ajith, Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Mohanlal and Mammootty.
She had frequent collaborations with AR Rahman, even debuting in his album for a cult classic.
ID who "X" is
Vasundhara Das
Identify this film, originally made in Tamil, which later went on to be remade with the same title in two other languages, by the same director, who has starred in many critically and financially successful films in the past year
The original film had songs inspired by Michael Jackson's "Why you wanna trip on me" and a Portuguese song used in the movie Primal Fear. It additionally featured a song where the director lent his voice for a part of the vocals.
Kushi
Director- SJ Surya
Identify this song, featuring wordplay around the title of the movie, which was primarily shot in Panjin and the Li River.
One interesting thing to be noted about the film this song was featured in was that it was a part of 3 different scripts that were narrated by the director to a particular actor, who rejected it due to being skeptical of the storyline. The role was later accepted by an experimental actor (by industry standards) who received immense praise for his performance and dedication towards the making of the film despite it getting mixed reception.
Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal from I
"X" is a dance number inspired by a traditional Balinese dance called Kecak. This was included in the movie it featured in due to a significant connection that existed between the central theme of the movie and the island of Bali. Research work for "X" and the album it featured in was reported to have taken around 6 months, which included visits to Bali and Cambodia by the director of the film and the film's composer
ID "X"
"X" is Devaralan Attam from Ponniyin Selvan
ID the actor who in recent times, within a span of 5 years, acted in the remake of 3 highly successful South Indian films, 2 of which are films of actors who are popularly considered to be rivals.
Note: All these 3 films had a moderate to poor reception, with the actor's performances in particular being panned
Chiranjeevi garu
"X", considered universally as a revolutionary blockbuster, was the second collaboration between the director and the lead actor. Interestingly, it was supposed to have been the second collaboration of the director with a contemporary of the lead actor, with an inaugural photoshoot being done. However, this was shelved due to scheduling conflicts.
This film was also notably, the first Indian film to have filming take place in a protected heritage site, which was made possible through a reported direct intervention by the Indian government.
Identify "X"
Enthiran
Azhagan, a K Balachander directorial, starred Mammooty, Bhanupriya and Madhoo in the lead roles. This film was very well received, enjoying a 100 day run in Chennai as well as Coimbatore.
This film is also noted for being the Tamil debut for a certain music composer. The composer returned to Tamil cinema in 2023 after a period of 20 years (not counting multi-lingual films)
Who is the composer in question?
MM Keeravani aka Marakathamani
Identify what the connection between the following films is
Ilayaraja's various debuts. In order:
In 1987, K Sornam directed a political drama with an ensemble cast that included Karthik, Radha Ravi, Kishmu and Pandiyan. The film had the son of the writer, who has risen to regional as well as national prominence in recent years, star in a supporting role. Identify who this person is.
Thalapathy
Stalin
Identify what the connecting point is between the following films
Bonus points if you can identify what's the additional thing that's special about one of these films (with relation to the connecting point).
These are all films that were shot in Saudi Arabia, and Wadjda was the first feature film to be directed by a female Saudi Arabian director
Buster Keaton's 1923 silent comedy- Our Hospitality inspired Mr. X, a well celebrated Indian director, who decided to do a retelling of the film in his own way. He roped in a comedic actor from his native industry to play the lead role, which turned out to become a strongpoint for the film, and the film enjoyed critical and commercial success. This movie was later remade in 5 other languages, including Tamil.
Identify who "X" is, and name the original film.
"X" - SS Rajamouli
The film- Maryada Ramanna starring Sunil (Blast Mohan), remade in Tamil as Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham
Launched by a legendary actor at a time when his career was starting to peak, this production venture had its very first film, Donga Ramudu, attain great critical and commercial acclaim, even being archived in the Film & Television Institute of India.
The actor in question later went on to construct a huge film studio and leveraged his influence to move the Telugu film industry out of Chennai and into Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad.
Name both the studio and the actor in question
Hint: One of his family members was in the news very recently
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and Annapurna Studios