Page 2 - South India

Teja Sajja's Mirai storms past ₹100 cr at global box office in just 5 days

Teja Sajja & Manchu Manoj's 'Mirai' collected ₹5.75 cr on its day 5 and brought a total of ₹56.75 cr at Indian box office. The film has crossed ₹100 cr gross worldwide since its release

SC stays proceedings against TN minister in disproportionate assets case

The Supreme Court has stayed the proceedings before a special court against DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister I Periyasamy and his family members in a Rs 2.1 crore disproportionate assets case. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih on August 19 also issued notice in the matter. "There shall be stay of proceedings in..pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate cum Special Judge for Prevention of Corruption Act Cases, Dindigul," the bench said. The top court passed the order on Periyasamy's appeal challenging the Madras High Court verdict of April, 28, which directed the special court to frame charges against him and his family members. The high court passed the order on pleas filed by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), challenging an order discharging Periyasamy and his family members from the case. The high court, however, rejected that order and directed the special court to conduct a day-to-day trial and complete it within six months. Periyasamy

South India pulls clear in online FMCG adoption, says Nielsen report

Nielsen report states southern metros led with an 18.4% share

SC refuses to hear plea challenging gag order in Dharamsthala case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear a petition challenging a sweeping gag order that restrained media houses from reporting on matters related to the brother of Dharamadhikari D Veerendra Heggade of Dharamsthala in Karnataka. The gag order pertained to reports on alleged murder of women in Dharmasthala in the state's Dakshina Kannada district. The plea, filed against an ex parte interim order of a local court, questioned the legality of the directive which directed as many as 390 media houses to remove nearly 9,000 links and stories related to the Dharamsthala burial case. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioner as to why the high court had not been approached. You go the high court first, the CJI said. The gag order was reportedly passed in a defamation suit filed by Harshendra Kumar, Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple institutions, who highlighted the spread of allegedly false and defamato

Legendary South Indian actor B Saroja Devi passes away at 87 in Bengaluru

Veteran South Indian Actor B Saroja Devi died here on Monday, film industry sources said. She was 87 years old. She died due to age-related ailments at her residence in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, according to sources. She was fondly called 'Kannadathu Paingili' (Kannada's parrot) in Tamil. The actor, who got her first break when she was 17 years old in Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955)', is also known as the first female superstar of Kannada cinema. The actor went on to win a National Award for her performance in her debut film. Her Tamil film with another legendary actor and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M G Ramachandran, Nadodi Mannan (1958)' made her one of the top actresses of Tamil cinema. Although she married in 1967, Saroja Devi continued to be in demand, especially in the Tamil film industry. She was also called Abhinaya Saraswathi'.

Matter Motor plans to launch one electric bike annually over next 3 years

Electric motorcycle maker Matter Motor Works plans to launch one new model every year in the next three years as it looks to accelerate volume growth, its Co-founder and Group COO Arun Pratap Singh said on Thursday. The Ahmedabad-based company, which on Thursday launched its geared electric bike AERA in the Delhi market, plans to open up to 60 dealerships across the country this fiscal, with the majority of them in South India, Singh told PTI here. "There are products planned, at least a new launch every year. So that's what we can see for the next three years," he said when asked about the company's product pipeline. He said the company is focusing on electric motorcycles only at present and is not looking at electric scooters "as of now". On the company's first model AERA, he said, "We took almost six years to develop the vehicle. We started deliveries in October last year." The company had confined sales in the Ahmedabad market for the first six months to study consumer feedbac

Datanomics: South fears delimitation punishment for population control

At stake is fears by southern states that they will lose Lok Sabha seats if delimitation is based on the new census

Vijay Devarakonda booked under SC/ST Act for remarks on tribal people

A case was registered against actor Vijay devarakonda under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, for his alleged remarks about tribal people during a movie pre-release event here, police said on Sunday. According to police, the actor allegedly compared the recent terror attack in Pahalgam to tribal wars from 500 years ago while speaking at the event in April this year. The actor made comments in April. However, based on a complaint a case underSC/ST Act was booked against him on June 17, a police official told PTI. The complaint filed by Nenavath Ashok Kumar Naik Alias Ashok Rathod, State President, Joint Action Committee of Tribal Communities alleged that the movie actor who participated in the pre-release event of the movie titled 'Retro', starring hero Surya, made comments that hurt the sentiments of the tribals and seriously insulted them Rathod alleged that Devarakonda compared tribes with Pakistani terrorists and his comments are perceived as racially offensive. On May 3, t

Akhil Akkineni weds Zainab Ravdjee: Yash, Ram Charan, Mahesh attend bash

Akhil Akkineni, actor and son of Nagarjuna, married Zainab Ravdjee in an intimate ceremony in Hyderabad on Friday. The reception saw a star-studded guest list, including South film industry

G Square Group announces Rs 1,000 crore mega township project in Coimbatore

G Square Group acquired the 714- acre Kovai Hills project from Rakindo

'Census delay no accident, delimitation not a coincidence', says Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin warned that if delimitation is carried out using the 2027 Census, the democratic influence of southern states would be severely weakened and would unfair to them

5 lush escapes to explore in South India this monsoon and Bakrid weekend

Explore the scenic beauty of Southern India this monsoon, or on the long weekend due to Bakrid 2025, with these magnificent places that offer lush greenery and peace with friends, family or even solo

The magic of South Indian cinema: Movies, masti, and mass appeal

Of the total screens in India (9,927), multiplexes account for only 40 per cent, though their share of collection is higher

Western, southern states dominate in key metrics: Careedge Ratings

States in Western and Southern India "dominate" in the key metrics, an annual survey released by a domestic rating agency said on Tuesday. The agency assessed states on the basis of economic strengths, fiscal situations, financial development, infrastructure, social situations, governance, and environment. "Western and Southern states dominate the top five rankings," Careedge Ratings said. Fiscal, economic and financial development pillars are strong points for Western states, while the Southern states performed well across the economic, financial development, environment, and governance pillars, the study said. Maharashtra has emerged as the best in overall composite rankings, followed by Gujarat and Karnataka in an annual analysis carried out by the rating agency. The state topped in the financial development pillar and performed strongly across the economic, fiscal and social pillars, it added. Gujarat, its neighbour to the north-west, scored on its leading economic rank, ...

Actress Ranya booked under COFEPOSA Act in ₹12 crore gold smuggling case

Kannada film actress Ranya Rao has been charged under the stringent Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974, in connection with a gold smuggling case.With the invocation of this Act, she will not be eligible for bail for at least a year. Authorities stated that the move was necessary to prevent her from resuming illicit activities, citing her lack of cooperation during the investigation. Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of senior police officer K Ramchandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kilograms of gold valued at over Rs 12.56 crore. She is currently lodged at the Bengaluru central prison along with two others Tarun Raju and Sahil Sakaria Jain who have also been booked under the COFEPOSA Act. The case is being investigated jointly by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the CBI. According to officials, the stringent charges were applied after multiple ...

Chennai launches South India's first AC EMU train on suburban route

South India's first AC EMU chugged along the Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu corridor on Saturday, marking yet another significant episode in the suburban rail network that is often hailed by many as the transport lifeline of the city and its neighbourhoods. This is the first such service in southern India, an official said. The Chennai division of Southern Railway operates the service. The train is equipped with more features than the regular EMU rakes, such as automatic doors and passenger information system. The maiden service was flagged off from Chennai Beach to Chengalpattu at 7 am and saw eager passengers enjoying the ride. Many regular train commuters recalled the days of the iconic metre gauge that was phased out in 2004 to accommodate broad gauge rakes with more capacity, and expressed joy over the air conditioned Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) being introduced just during the peak summer. According to Southern Railway, the initiative was aimed at providing hassle-free, pleasa

Lead role changes in cinema business: Bollywood makes way for South India

Hindi cinema has lost steam with its share in nationwide film revenue dropping from 44% in 2023 to 40% in 2024

Nainar Nagendran set to be next TN BJP prez, Annamalai for national role

BJP legislator from Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli constituency, Nainar Nagendran is all set to become the next state chief of the BJP, succeeding K Annamalai, who is now all set for a national role that seems to be an apparent reward for his work in the Dravidian heartland. BJP senior and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in the city to review the party's functioning and also discuss alliance related matters ahead of 2026 state polls, said Annamalai had made "commendable accomplishments." "The Tamil Nadu BJP has received a nomination for the post of state president only from Shri @NainarBJP Ji. As the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Shri @annamalai_k Ji has made commendable accomplishments. Whether it is carrying the policies of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to people or the programs of the party from village to village, Annamalai Ji's contribution has been unprecedented." "The BJP will leverage Annamalai Ji's organizational skills in the party's national framework," Shah said in a social

ED summons 'Empuraan' producer Gokulam Gopalan for questioning on Apr 22

This comes after a six-hour questioning session on Monday, where Gopalan's statements and the documents provided by him and his statements are being examined

Southern states reject population formula, seek GDP-based representation

Southern states reject population-based formula, demand GDP-based representation and legal safeguards against unfair redistribution. Archis Mohan writes