The Film Fanatic Lot Podcast

In the first part of our discussion on 'Lover', host Adithya Muthukumar sits down with Yuvaraj Ganesan, the producer of 'Lover' and 'Good Night', to delve deep into the intricacies of the production process, the importance of small films reaching the right audiences, what aspiring filmmakers should do while pitching their films, the complexities of dealing with the Tamil film market, the impact of streaming and OTT, the reception surrounding 'Lover' and many more things cinema in this insightful conversation. Enjoy! Lover Written and Directed by Prabhuram Vyas Produced by Yuvaraj Ganesan, Magesh Raj Pasilian, Nazerath Pasilian Music by Sean Roldan Cinematography by Shreyaas Krishna Editing by Bharath Vikraman Starring Manikandan, Sri Gouri Priya, Kanna Ravi, Harish Kumar, Geetha Kailasam, Harini, Saravanan and others Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Music used in this episode: Thaensudare and Ezhutha Kadhaiyo [From 'Lover (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'] - Composed by Sean Roldan - Think Music India © The FFL Podcast Network, 2024

In this spoiler-filled, almost three-hour session, host Adithya Muthukumar dives deep into Lokesh Kanagaraj's fifth film 'Leo' with co-host Sabarish Sankaran, film journalist Harshini S V, Kollywood assistant directors Eric Pavel and Deepak Rhaj, and cinephiles Dathatreya Mahesh, Abishek, Arjun and Vidhush. Listen to them talk about dramatic writing, dialogue framing, the issues in the second half, Thalapathy Vijay's astounding performance, ways to fix the movie, Kollywood's long-standing second-half problem, the concept of star vehicles as 'Scream Generating Machines', the correct way to do technical gimmicks in a film, the prospect of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, and more in this jam-packed conversation. Enjoy! Leo Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj Produced by Seven Screen Studio Music by Anirudh Ravichander Cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa Editing by Philomin Raj Starring Thalapathy Vijay, Sanjay Dutt, Trisha, George Maryan, Arjun, Gautam Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Madonna Sebastian, Mathew Thomas and others Running in theatres around you Music used in this episode: Ordinary Person (From 'Leo') and Badass - Leo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Composed by Anirudh Ravichander for Leo - Sony Music India Image used in cover art: 'Leo' logo conceived by Gopi Prasanna © The FFL Podcast Network, 2023

In this roundtable, current short filmmakers and aspiring directors Muthu, Shriviyas, Eashwar, Deepak, Chella, Ashik, Ganae, and Sai dive deep into the short filmmaking process and their journeys toward becoming filmmakers. We talk in detail about how we come up with ideas, screenwriting, cast and crew hunting, practical difficulties that arise on set, co-writing, the hesitance of sharing our stories with others, how we direct, the post-production process, film distribution and how we deal with criticism in this very in-depth session which should be a must-listen for anyone even remotely interested in movie making and entering Kollywood. Featuring: Adithya Muthukumar - @muthuwu on Instagram and Twitter - Short films: https://www.youtube.com/@filmfanaticlot4216 Shriviyas - @shri_viyas on Instagram - Short films: https://www.youtube.com/@AdoptedSuperhero Eashwar - @eashwar.gopalakrishnan on Instagram - Short films: https://www.youtube.com/@gkentertainment9353/videos; Telefilm: https://www.youtube.com/@VijaySethupathiproductions Deepak - @deepakrhaj on Instagram - Short films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73cDwfpvKXA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEKHw7XMktQ&t=10s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E78-V97w3d4 Chella - @netflix_and_chella on Instagram Ashik - @ashik.dilip on Instagram Ganae - @Ganae_Ramesh on Twitter - Short films: https://www.youtube.com/@ganaeramesh439 Sai - @saiii_17 on Instagram - Short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-F-Hgj64sI © The Film Fanatic Lot Podcast/The FFL Podcast Network, 2023

In this episode, host Adithya Muthukumar discusses the recent Tamil drama film 'Dada' with guests Deepak Rhaj and Vidhush Vaidyanathan. We spoke about what we liked about this film, it's ending, the fresh writing, the importance of casting, the underrated contributions of Jen Martin, and rave over the phenomenal performances of Kavin, Aparna Das, Harish K, and Pradeep Antony. Fuelled by the active discussion on Twitter, we also discussed gender politics, the male gaze, the male savior complex, the overall political correctness of female film characters, the phenomenon of male writers writing female characters, and stuff one needs to be careful about in their debut movie and much more in a somewhat politically charged debate. Enjoy! Dada Written and directed by Ganesh K Babu Music by Jen Martin DOP - Ezhil Arasu Cast: Kavin, Aparna Das, Harish K, K Bhagyaraj, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran, Pradeep Antony, VTV Ganesh and others Playing in theatres near you Also streaming on Amazon Prime Video Email us at kozhiwood@gmail.com Contact us at @muthuwu on Twitter/Instagram and @filmfanaticlot on Instagram. © The FFL Podcast Network, 2023

In this episode, hosts Adithya Muthukumar and Pranaav Dhakshesh, and guests Hari, Deepak Rhaj, Abhi and Shri Dharshan talk about everything good and bad about Tamil cinema in 2022. We speak about our most unexpected theatrical experiences, big surprises, disappointments (watch out for opposing opinions on Vikram and PS1), RRR's role in the eventual global interest in Indian cinema, our favorite films and performances, the various trends (good and bad) that we observed this year and more, in an absolutely seriously-casual chat. Enjoy!

It's been two years since the inception of The Film Fanatic Lot Podcast! Thank you for bringing us here. On this very special day, we bring back our very first episode that we did back in 11th grade that has been lost on the internet.  In this episode, Adithya Muthukumar, Pranaav Dhakshesh and Jai Kumar talk to Haran Kaveri and Shobaan about their romantic-drama Metro Maalai. We speak about what it means to grow up part of the Tamil diaspora in Malaysia, their journeys into filmmaking, the influence of Wong Kar Wai, the process behind making the visual poetry in the film, the experience of working with Kaber Vasuki, and more. Enjoy! Metro Maalai Directed by Haran Kaveri and Shobaan Written by Sathish Natarajan Music by Kaber Vasuki Starring Sathish, Punitha Shanmugam, Karishma, Kumanavannan and others Streaming on Amazon Prime Video/Mubi/Astro On Demand

In our very first episode on a TV show, host Adithya Muthukumar, Sabarish Sankaran, Pranaav Dhakshesh and Jai Kumar talk to Roju about his latest eight-episode offering Kaiyum Kalavum (now on SonyLIV). In a far more enlightening conversation than we could've wished for (pun intended), we speak about his journey as a filmmaker, his inspirations, how he came up with the wacky lore for the show, his unconventional writing process, directing himself on set, the guerilla filmmaking tactics they deployed, the intensive location scouting process, the importance of casting (and voice casting) and much, much more. Enjoy! Kaiyum Kalavum Created, written, and directed by: Roju Songs by: Sathish Raghunathan Score by: Sundaramurthy KS DOP: Sandeep K Vijay Starring: Roju, Sanchana Natrajan, Jeeva Subramanian, Madonna Sebastian, Senthil, Ramya Nambeesan, Karu Pazhaniappan, Vivek Prasanna, and others Streaming on SonyLIV

In the first part of our podcast on the recent spy-thriller Sardar, host Adithya Muthukumar and regular Sabarish Sankaran talk to its director and one of five writers: P.S. Mithran. We had a fun and interesting conversation about the origins of this film, his thought process in general, the writing process behind this and his earlier feature films Irumbu Thirai and Hero, the importance of casting, the beauty of the process behind creating mind-blowing action, how he manages to strike a balance between making a film genre-specific and commercial, and more. Enjoy! Sardar Directed by: P.S. Mithran Written by: P.S. Mithran, Roju, Bipin Ragu, Geevee Music by: G.V. Prakash Kumar DOP: George C. Willams Cast: Karthi, Raashii Khanna, Rajisha Vijayan, Chunky Panday, Laila, Rithvik and others Playing in theatres near you

This episode does not contain spoilers for what might await you in Part Two For the first time ever, join host Adithya Muthukumar and regulars Pranaav Dhakshesh and Sabarish Sankaran, as they discuss Mani Ratnam's recent magnum-opus Ponniyin Selvan: Part One with guests Anirudh and Nirmal. A healthy mix of those that have read the novel and those that haven't, the panel discusses their experiences watching the movie, what in the movie stood out to them, the process of adapting a book like PS for the big screen, why the film has worked the way it has, the balance that such a movie must have appealing to both those that have read the source and those that haven't, interesting direction and cinematography decisions they found and finally their expectations for the upcoming sequel (there's also a heavy dose of fanboying over Aishwarya Rai and Trisha). Enjoy! Ponniyin Selvan: Part One Directed by: Mani Ratnam Written by: Mani Ratnam, Elango Kumaravel, Jeyamohan Music conceptualised, composed and produced by: AR Rahman DOP: Ravi Varman Cast: Karthi, Jeyam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Vikram, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sarath Kumar, R Parthiepan, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, Rahman, Lal and others Playing in theatres near you (if you can get tickets, that is)

As Adithya Muthukumar, Pranaav Dhakshesh, and Sabarish Sankaran convene after a very long time, they pit stars Dhanush and STR against each other, by discussing their most recent films Thiruchitrambalam and Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu. We talk about the DnA combo, our favorite Yuvan albums with both the stars, Dhanush's one-commercial-film-followed-by-one-critically-acclaimed-film formula (and how Thiruchitrambalam breaks that norm), Nithya Menen being underused by cinema, AR Rahman's constant reinvention of Tamil cinematic score, the new collaborative Gautham Menon, Simbu's transformation into a star that excites us and more. Enjoy! Thiruchitrambalam Written and directed by: Mithran Jawahar Music by: Anirudh DOP: Om Prakash Cast: Dhanush, Nithya Menen, Bhaarathiraja, Prakash Raj, Raashi Khanna, Priya Bhavani Shankar Playing in theatres near you, streams on Netflix and SunNXT on Sept 23 Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu Directed by: Gautham Vasudev Menon Written by: Gautham Vasudev Menon, Jeyamohan (screenplay); Jeyamohan (story) Music by: AR Rahman Cast: Silambarasan TR, Siddhi Idnani, Neeraj Madhav, Appukutty, Jaafer Saadiq, Radhika Sarathkumar Playing in theatres near you Intro music: Thenmozhi (from 'Thiruchitrambalam) - Anirudh - © 2022 Sun TV Networks Pvt. Ltd. Muthu's Journey (from 'Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu') - AR Rahman - © Think Music Pvt. Ltd.

Aarambikkalaangala? Aandavar is back, in all his glory, and so are Adithya Muthukumar, Pranaav Dhakshesh and Sabarish Sankaran to discuss his return in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram. We talk about why we like this film so much, why this is a big step forward for commercial Tamil cinema, the massive imperfections that become visible when you start poking too much, and finally, theories and predictions about the future of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. This episode, we also try something new and unique by letting you listen to a mostly unadulterated and unedited version of the actual recording (which is just another way of saying I was lazy to edit it together), but I hope you have as much fun listening to it as we had recording it. Enjoy! Vikram Directed by: Lokesh Kanagaraj Written by: Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rathna Kumar (dialogues) Music by: Anirudh DOP: Girish Gangadharan Cast: Kamal Hassan, Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi, Gayathrie, Chemban Vinod Jose, Suriya Playing in theatres near you Intro music: Song Title: Vikram Title Album / Movie : Vikram Lyrics - Vishnu Edavan Vocals - Anirudh Ravichander Arranged & Programmed by Anirudh Ravichander Electric Guitar - Keba Jeremiah Backing Vocals - Ananthakrishnan & Ravi G Keyboard, Synth & Rhythm Programmed by Anirudh Ravichander Orchestals Programmed by IC Additional Rhythm Programmed by Shashank Vijay Additional Keyboard Programmed by Arish & Pradeep PJ Music Advisor - Ananthakrrishnan Creative Consultant - Sajith Satya Recorded at Albuquerque Records, Chennai. Engineered by Srinivasan M, Shivakiran S, Rajesh Kannan Mixed & Mastered by Vinay Sridhar & Srinivasan M at Albuquerque Records, Chennai Music Coordinator - Velavan B © 2022 Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd.

Paambaavathu, pallamaavaathu, puliyaavuthu, podcast-aavudhu... Adithya Muthukumar (@muthuwu), Sabarish Sankaran (@sabarish.sb) and Pranaav Dhakshesh (@_.mutta._.pupps._) are back to discuss Mallu Unc.. ahem, Super Deluxe, Tamil auteur Thiagarajan Kumararaja's second outing. There's talk about the film, why it's brilliant and the best Tamil film to exist till date, what it personally means to all of us, and finally, a discussion about why we are excited about Vikram and our expectations from it. Enjoy! PS: A Vikram podcast is coming soon, stay tuned! Super Deluxe: Directed by: Thiagarajan Kumararaja Written by: Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Nalan Kumaraswamy, Mysskin, Neelan K Sekar Music by: Yuvan Shankar Raja DOP: PS Vinod, Nirav Shah Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Samantha, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhagavathi Perumal, Ashwanth Ashokkumar, Ramya Krishnan, Mysskin, Gayathrie, Naveen, Vijay Ram, Mrinalini Ravi, Jayanth, Abdul Jabbar, Noble K James, Ramana, Kavin Jay Babu, Manushyaputhiran Streaming on Netflix Vikram Directed by: Lokesh Kanagaraj Written by: Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rathna Kumar (dialogues) Music by: Anirudh DOP: Girish Gangadharan Cast: Kamal Hassan, Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi, Gayathrie, Chemban Vinod Jose, Suriya Playing in theatres near you Kaithi (2019), the first film in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (as it is called now), is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

It says "#2" in the title, but it really feels like the first one for us. In this episode, host Adithya Muthukumar (@muthuwu), Pranaav Dhakshesh (@_.mutta._.pupps._) and Sabarish Sankaran (@sb.sabarish.14) discuss the recent phenomenon of pan-Indian films, how a certain Beast may have left it's claw prints forever imprinted on their lives (they say Gold ointments really have an effect, though), the importance of promotions for a film, whether box office performances/reviews affect audiences, the practical scenario of acclaimed directors stepping out of their zones to cater to stars, the rising trend od filmmakers becoming brands and general audience expectations. Oh, and if you saw someone screaming for tickets for Manmadha Leelai at the counter at Inox Marina Mall any day, it definitely was not Sabarish. Enjoy :) We unfortunately missed out on a "Bro, thanthaane thaane, thaane than thaane, thaane thaane no, bro!" impression :(  NOTE: We ended up ditching Discord/Zoom/Google Meet for Spotify's in-house Anchor service in the hopes that it would be better, but my (Muthu's) audio honestly has come out like garbage. So, I sincerely apologize that you're missing out on my heavenly voice (for the most part) this week, and we'll definitely do better next time. Thank you for listening!

In the first episode of our revamped podcast, listen to Jai Kumaar and Samyuktha Kannan talk to poet and filmmaker Leena Manimekalai about her journey and the magical story behing the making of her gut-wrenching feature Maadathy: An Unfairy Tale, in a phenomenally enlightening conversation, while host Adithya Muthukumar and regulars Pranaav and Abhishek discuss the first two episodes of Netflix's new anthology Navarasa, Gautam Menon's upcoming seemingly-rural film with STR and Karthik Raja's contribution to Maadathy, amongst other things. Enjoy :)