There is something heartbreaking about seeing Gangai Amaren sitting next to #Bharathiraja. Looking at Ilaiyaraaja standing next to him was just crushing... In the glam and glitz of cinema, we often look past the friendships that were forged way before success became the middle name of many celebrities... Old-school friendships aren't easy to maintain in today's world, but these past few years, seeing such names just crestfallen about the people who were with them even before they became these 'names' is a reminder that come what may... earn friendships that stand by you even when you are not there. They say cinema is cut-throat, and it is... but this is also there, and it's good to look at the brighter side in gloomy times.

As a teenager, I watched 16vayadinile with wide-eyed wonder; Alaigal Oiyvadillai made me a hopeless young romantic; Mann Vasanai made me fall in love with Revati and Muthal Mariyathai made me cry. I was stunned by Sivaji’s acting in Muthal Mariyathai. 16Vayadinile made me hate “parattai” Rajini, and Alaigal Oiyadillai made me develop a soft corner for “Elissy” Silk Smita. I was angered that Radha was never recognised on the national stage. To the greatest story teller of my generation, Bharatiraja, thank you sir.

You probably have no idea who Salim Kumar is, but every Indian should read all about him today. Salim Kumar was a Malayalam actor who passed away on Saturday night in Kochi at the age of 56. If you don't watch Malayalam cinema, strap in because his story is one of the most remarkable careers Indian cinema has produced, and it deserves to travel beyond Kerala. He came from nothing. Born in North Paravur, a small town in Ernakulam, into a family that struggled with money. Government school. Graduated from Maharajas College. So, no film connections, no family wealth, no shortcuts. He started as a mimicry artist with Kalabhavan, a performance troupe in Kochi that has been the launchpad for dozens of Malayalam actors. Stage shows, comedy routines, television spots. He was funny in a way that was impossible to ignore, the kind of performer who could make a room laugh in an instant. His first film was Ishtamanu Nooru Vattam in 1997, a small role nobody remembers. For years he played supporting parts & background comedy. Then the 2000s happened. His role as Mattancherry Mammathu in Satyameva Jayathe gave him his first real recognition, and after that the comedy roles started coming fast. Pulival Kalyanam. Thuruppugulan. Kunjikkoonan. Marykkundoru Kunjaadu. If you grew up in Kerala in the 2000s, his face was in half the films you watched. He became the comedian audiences showed up for, the one whose scenes people replayed and quoted at family gatherings. What separated him from most comedians was precision. He did not rely on volume or slapstick. He used his face, his body, his pauses. He could get a laugh from the way he blinked. Directors started writing characters specifically for him, because they knew he would take whatever was on the page and make it three times funnier than they imagined. For over a decade, he was the biggest comic face in Malayalam cinema. Then came 2010 and a film called Adaminte Makan Abu. A quiet, small-budget film directed by Salim Ahamed. The story follows an aging Muslim couple in a Kerala village whose only dream in life is to go on Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. They save every rupee. Things keep falling apart. The film is about their dignity, their patience, and their faith through one disappointment after another. Salim Kumar played Abu. The man who owns nothing except his wife and his belief, and holds onto both with everything he has. There is no comedy in the role. No punchlines, no funny faces, no playing to the gallery. It is the complete opposite of everything audiences had ever seen him do. The entire performance is built on stillness, restraint, and pain carried quietly behind the eyes. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for it. That is the highest acting honour in Indian cinema. The film was also selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards (Oscars) that year. In one role, Salim Kumar went from "the funny guy from Malayalam films" to one of the most respected actors in Indian cinema. He simply disappeared so completely into a character that you forgot you were watching a comedian at all. He followed it with more serious work. Achanurangatha Veedu, which won him the Kerala State Award. Traffic, still considered one of the finest ensemble films in Malayalam cinema. Perumazhakkalam. Each time, he proved the National Award was not a fluke. The man had range that most actors who only do drama cannot match. Unfortunately, Salim Kumar suffered from liver cirrhosis, a condition he said was hereditary in his family and not related to alcohol. His brother had the same illness. He underwent a liver transplant a few years ago. He tried naturopathy. He talked about all of it openly, without shame, without self-pity. He kept working between treatments. He kept being funny. He kept showing up, even when his body was failing him. He was also fearlessly outspoken about politics and social issues, which in any film industry can cost you work. He did not care. He said what he believed and lived with the consequences. He passed away Saturday night at a hospital in Kochi. He was 56. The Kerala government bore the funeral expenses and gave him police honours. The Chief Minister paid homage personally. Mammootty, one of the biggest names in Indian cinema, mourned him publicly. Thousands of people lined up at the North Paravur Town Hall on Sunday to say goodbye. 350 films in three decades. A National Award for Best Actor. An Oscar entry. A career that started from mimicry stages and ended at the very top of Indian cinema. The reason most of India does not know his name is because Malayalam cinema, despite being one of the best film industries in the country, still does not get the national attention it deserves. Actors like Salim Kumar live and work in a language bubble, and their stories rarely cross over the way a Bollywood career would. This is a loss for everyone who never got to watch him. A man who came from poverty, made millions laugh, then proved he could make them cry just as hard, and fought his own hardest battle with utmost dignity. If you watch one film after reading this, make it Adaminte Makan Abu. It is a masterpiece.

Monty Python would be cancelled today Society has lost its collective mind

What do you do when friends or known people for long invite you by WhatsApp for weddings or important events in their family saying “please treat it as a personal invite & attend”? I feel it’s disrespectful and reply by WhatsApp itself thanking for the invite and inform them to “treat the message as my personal wish to them” and move on. If you don’t have time to personally invite or do not feel that important to invite in person, just avoid inviting anyone for the sake of it. It unnecessarily puts pressure on those invited on how to decline. I either invite in person or don’t invite ✍️

പ്രമുഖ നടൻ ശ്രീ സലിം കുമാർ ജിയുടെ വിയോഗത്തിൽ അഗാധമായ ദുഃഖം രേഖപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു. വിശിഷ്ടമായ അഭിനയ ജീവിതത്തിൽ വൈവിധ്യമാർന്ന കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളിലൂടെയും അവിസ്മരണീയമായ പ്രകടനങ്ങളിലൂടെയും അദ്ദേഹം തന്റേതായ വ്യക്തിമുദ്ര പതിപ്പിച്ചു.ദുഃഖത്തിന്റെ ഈ വേളയിൽ എന്റെ ചിന്തകൾ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ കുടുംബത്തോടും എണ്ണമറ്റ ആരാധകരോടും ഒപ്പമാണ് . ഓം ശാന്തി.

India’s birth rate has fallen below replacement. Among those most educated, India’s birth rate fell below replacement many years ago.

The car that used to be in my garage is currently in an Earth-Mars elliptical orbit and will be there for at least 10 million years

ராஜா ஒரு பெயரல்ல... ஒரு சகாப்தம்! 👑🎶 #50YearsOfIlaiyaraaja #Ilaiyaraaja #HBDIlaiyaraaja #HappyBirthdayIlaiyaraaja

Annamalai Quits BJP, Singham Goes Solo. Ex-TN BJP chief K. Annamalai has officially submitted his resignation to national president Nitin Nabin in Delhi today. The ex-IPS officer who built the party in tough Dravidian turf with his fiery style and yatras sees no future or space left after BJP's poor 2026 show, just one seat. He turned down Rajya Sabha offer, met top leaders including possibly Amit Shah. No more alliance compromises or sidelining. He's launching a people's movement first (Rajini-style name hinted), then full party in 6-8 months. Pushed out as president for AIADMK tie-up, unhappy with tickets and strategy. Gave prime years post IPS for Modi wave but watched ground work diluted. Now targeting youth, urban voters with Tamil pride nationalism mix. Politics is brutal, Annamalai poured energy into BJP South, built visibility like crazy. When Delhi chose comfort alliances over his Singham connect, he walked with dignity. Respect! No begging for scraps.

Elon Musk's children don't go to normal school. And the reason why will change how you think about education. He pulled his kids out of one of the most prestigious schools in Los Angeles. Parents were furious. Media called him arrogant. The school had a waitlist of thousands. His response: "They're teaching kids to solve problems that already have answers. I need them to solve problems nobody's thought of yet." So he built a school. Inside SpaceX. Called it Ad Astra. No grades. No tests. No subjects in the traditional sense. A nine year old could take apart a rocket engine and present their findings to actual SpaceX engineers. Students didn't study history. They debated whether they'd make different decisions than historical leaders using the same information available at the time. The school had no grade levels. A seven year old could work alongside a thirteen year old if they were interested in the same problem. When asked why he structured it this way, Elon said something that stuck with me: "I don't care if they know the answer. I care if they know which questions are worth asking." Most people spend their entire education learning how to be right. Elon teaches his children how to be curious. The system rewards answers. Life rewards questions.

Last year Raaja was trolled for composing music for a seemingly obscure film. There were people who said he was washed out, and had to resort to cash-rich filmmakers' vanity projects... And yet... The 83-year-old, in his 51st year as a composer, is working with the likes of #KarthikSubbaraj, #ThiagarajaKumararaja, and #MariSelvaraj... Three important filmmakers who were born after he made his debut with Annakili... There is enough elevation in all of this, and we can celebrate our Raaja without having to put down anybody else... Raajaadhi Rajan indha #Ilaiyaraaja dhaan... #Manjanathi

No tengo ningún problema con el islam. Simplemente estoy en contra de la decapitación, la lapidación, el matrimonio con niñas pequeñas, la esclavitud sexual, la taqiyya, la trata de esclavos, la violación, las conversiones forzadas, la yihad, el burka, los ataques a otras religiones, el abuso infantil, el abuso contra las mujeres, el maltrato animal, la poligamia, el asesinato, la sharia, el terrorismo, el lavado de cerebro, la intolerancia, la avaricia, el anticientificismo, la tortura, el analfabetismo, la glotonería, la mutilación genital y la endogamia. ¿Acaso eso me convierte en islamófobo?

We will miss you, Sathyendra sir... My obit on the late actor and film critic, a man of many parts, in today's DT Next. Longer version online: dtnext.in/entertainment/in-m… #Sathyendra #Actor #Obituary #TamilCinema #DTNext @dt_next

It was on an odd afternoon at Chennai International Film Festival where I was a part of the organising team, it was a Q&A session after the screening with the director of a foreign film, everyone were gathered at Woodlands and many were praising the director don't know how many likes it but many didn't want to hurt a foreigner who has flew all the way down, suddenly there was a voice who directly said to the face of the director that the film was bad and it was none other than Sathyendran. I have known him for many years before, i used to see him in almost all screenings, h used to give his card that had the list of languages he knew and number of short films he has made. He had no strings attached to his criticism was straight. Almost 90% crowd who see him will always think he is mad. Very few knew he was genius. A man who literally breathed Cinema has gone. Farewell sir...

Benefits of living as a Hindu - Joy Mathew, Kerala movie actor _No need to go to learn religion from childhood. _No strict rules on what to do, what not to do, or how to live... _No need to wear a cap... No need for circumcision... No need to get baptized... _No need to wake up early and go to the temple... Only those with faith need to go. _When you feel like going, you can go to any temple without checking caste, language, or worship rituals. _Even if you go or don’t go, the temple priest or committee members won’t glare at you... _Won’t be branded as someone without fear of God... Won’t be excommunicated... Won’t be condemned to a “rogue’s grave” when dead... _No need for a good conduct certificate from religious heads to get married... No need for recommendation letters... _No one goes to the temple to inquire “what kind of guy he is”... The bride’s family won’t check if he’s a religious believer... _No one checks if the girl is a religious believer, a “916 Hindu”, or lives by Hindu customs... _You can live peacefully with one or two children as you wish. _Since there’s no ban on drinking alcohol, no need to go crazy using ganja or drugs. _You can watch movies, dance, sing — with no restrictions. _You can lend money at interest, or borrow it. _You can vote for anyone, live however you want... no rules... _No scaring about the afterlife. _No need to waste a lifetime dreaming of rivers of wine and hooris. No need to fear being made firewood in hell... _From creation to the structure of the universe — nothing here is against modern science. _If you have time and study the Vedas, you can answer any atheist’s question. _No separate laws for women... No special prohibitions for women... _If a woman dances, no crowd will gather to abuse her... They’ll clap and encourage her... _From childhood, send her for dance... send her for music... send her for sports... _No need to cover the face or head. Can wear clothes of choice... _No separate dining area for her... No bans in crowds... no rules... no prohibitions... _You can pray to the God of any religion. Can hang a star, set up a crib, celebrate any festival, _Even if you don’t get them in return, you can send Christmas, Easter, Eid, Nabi Day wishes to friends. No one will question you; _And you don’t have to fear anyone to share this! Pleasant, beautiful, peaceful, free... Life as you like!! _If asked “Do you have a religion?” — Yes... If asked “Don’t you have a religion?” — No. Missed one thing... No need to fight for a spot in the cemetery for the funeral... Just need some firewood.

Police sources have confirmed that actor Sathiyendra passed away today at Royapettah Government Hospital while his health was deteriorating. As his blood relatives in Bengaluru could not be contacted, his body remains in the hospital mortuary. If anyone of blood relatives see this kindly claim his body remains 🙏 He has also reviewed films in the past few years

Congratulations and best wishes @DirBharathiBala

Once up a time in Yennai Arindhaal

Anonyme : J’ai42 ans et je viens de passer les vingts dernières années de ma vie à me mentir. J’ai été la féministe typique : celle qui hurlait que tous les hommes étaient des toxiques en puissance, que le mariage était une prison, que les enfants c’étaient du fardeau et que je n’avais besoin de personne. J’ai craché sur les mecs bien, j’ai traité de faibles les femmes qui voulaient juste être aimées et protégées. J’ai défilé, j’ai liké, j’ai partagé, j’ai insulté. J’étais fière. Tellement fière. Et aujourd’hui ? Je suis seule. J’ai vu mes copines qui ont suivi le même chemin : à 36-38 ans, elles sont épuisées, amères, et elles pleurent le soir parce qu’aucun homme ne veut plus d’elles. On leur a vendu que leur valeur augmentait avec l’âge et la carrière. On leur a menti. La vérité, c’est que plus on devient exigeante, indépendante et agressive, moins les hommes ont envie de nous. Point. J’ai passé des années à humilier mon ex parce qu’il voulait payer l’addition ou m’ouvrir la porte. Je l’ai traité de macho alors qu’il voulait juste bien faire. Aujourd’hui il est marié avec une fille douce qui le regarde avec admiration. Moi je suis sur les applis, à swiper des mecs qui ne veulent plus que du sexe parce qu’on leur a répété pendant dix ans qu’on était “fortes et indépendantes”. Le féminisme m’a volé ma féminité. Il m’a rendue dure, soupçonneuse, en colère en permanence. Il m’a appris à voir l’homme comme un ennemi plutôt que comme un partenaire. Et le pire ? Je vois plein de jeunes filles de 20 ans qui sont en train de tomber dans le même piège. Elles sont persuadées qu’être aimée = être soumise. Alors elles préfèrent être “reines célibataires” avec leur chat et leur prêt immobilier. Les hommes, vous n’êtes pas tous innocents non plus. Beaucoup se sont réfugiés dans la facilité, la pornographie et l’irresponsabilité. Mais on ne peut pas nier que notre discours les a poussés à ça. Je regrette. Profondément. J’aurais aimé qu’on me dise plus tôt que vouloir être chérie, protégée et aimée par un homme n’était pas une honte. Que ma force, ce n’était pas de ressembler à un homme, mais d’assumer ce que je suis vraiment. Si t’es une femme et que tu te reconnais… réveille-toi avant qu’il soit trop tard. Et si t’es un homme qui lit ça… sache qu’il y en a de plus en plus qui regrettent. On est juste trop fières pour le dire à voix haute. Voilà. J’ai tout perdu à cause d’une idéologie qui m’a promis la lune et qui m’a laissée vide. »