Latest news with #Kissa47
Hindustan Times
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
DD Next Level ending explained: Will Santhanam's Kissa 47 be able to save his family before the end credits roll?
The Santhanam-starrer DD Next Level made its OTT debut on ZEE5 and OTTplay Premium recently. The fourth part in the Dhilluku Dhuddu franchise, DD Next Level is a standalone film with a quirky premise. Directed by Prem Anand, the film revolves around a film critic, Kissa 47, who gets invited for a special screening along with his family. But a series of events makes him realise that he has gotten pulled into the film, which is directed by a ghost and failed director Hitchcock Iruthyaraj, who warns him that he only has time till the end credits to save himself and his family, who are now characters in the screenplay. Will Kissa 47 be able to save his family and come out of the big screen horror into reality? (Spoilers ahead) Watch DD Next Level and more Tamil horror comedies such as Ghosty, Hostel and all parts of Dhilluku Dhuddu on OTTplay Premium right now In each of the Dhilluku Dhuddu films, the protagonist gets stuck in a space that is haunted, with the rest of the film playing out to be an escape room format. With DD Next Level too, Santhanam's Kissa 47 is stuck, but here it's the screenplay of a film he is pulled into, setting the quirky tone. Further taking it to a meta-level, DD Next Level takes a dig at the film review culture while also questioning the tropes attached to the commercial cinema. When Kissa 47 and a fellow yellow journalist get mysteriously transported to a cruise, he meets his family members who do not seem to recognise him. His father is the cruise's captain, while his mother and sister have adopted a much more glamorous lifestyle and appearance as opposed to their real lives. But when a serial killer is on the loose, Kissa manages to ward him off, only for them to end up on a secluded island haunted by man-eaters. After a series of events and fantasy interventions, Kissa seems to be winning and the director's card also comes up, hinting that all seems to be going towards a happy climax. But it is at this time, the man-eaters come out once again, given Kissa 47 had saved his girlfriend from getting killed, thus overturning the fates of the man-eaters also. Towards the actual climax, with Kissa's family captured by the man-eaters, he must now kill them before the end credits roll, and for that, the only way is to defeat the villains. After a tough physical combat with the man-eaters, Kissa 47 races against time and the end credits to plot several traps to kill the antagonists. But with his smart choices and the typical heroism, Kissa 47 shoots the hero of the sequel, DSP Ragavan (Gautham Vasudev Menon spoofing Kamal Haasan's character from his Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu), thus putting an end to the film and breaking off the possibility of a sequel. He also, on a meta-level, talks to Iruthyaraj, that no matter whether the review is good or bad, it cannot determine a film's outcome and that good films will get celebrated no matter what. This convinces Hitchcock Iruthyaraj that Kissa 47 is the best reviewer to watch cinema and transports him out of the film, where he reunites with his family members who are unaware of what has happened. DD Next Level ends with Kissa 47 and his family coming out of the theatre, where he is surrounded by other reviewers who question him about how he got to watch the film. As he asks them to get to see the film themselves and be the first ones to review, Santhanam walks out of the theatre.
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Stalin condemns Presidential reference on SC's assent of Bills verdict
1. CM condemns Presidential reference on Supreme Court's assent of Bills verdict Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin strongly condemned the Union government's Presidential reference on the Supreme Court's verdict imposing time frame for Governors and the President to grant assent for Bills. Mr. Stalin contended the Centre was 'attempting to subvert the Constitutional position already settled by the Supreme Court in the Tamil Nadu Governor's case. 'This attempt clearly exposes the fact that the Tamil Nadu Governor acted at the BJP's behest to undermine the people's mandate,' he charged. 2. Effluent treatment plant at Cuddalore SIPCOT collapses; 19 hospitalised An effluent treatment plant (ETP) located on the premises of a dyeing unit in Cuddalore SIPCOT, collapsed, scattering debris and flooding nearby houses in Kudikadu Colony with wastewater. As many as 19 persons, mostly residents of Kudikadu Colony, suffered from irritation in the eyes, nausea, and sudden sapping of energy. They were then admitted to the Cuddalore Government General Hospital. 3. Case in Madras HC against 'Kissa 47' song in actor Santhanam's movie The Madras High Court wanted to know whether the producers of actor Santhanam's upcoming movie Devil's Double Next Levelwould be willing to delete or mute an objectionable portion of the lyrics and tune in the film's song titled 'Kissa 47'. A summer vacation Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan directed advocate Vijayan Subramanian to obtain instructions from the producers by Thursday, as the movie was slated to be released in theatres tomorrow (May 16, 2025). 4. CM inaugurates 127th Ooty annual flower show Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated the 127th annual flower show at the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam. The summer festival season's marquee event will take place over 11 days this year, till May 25.
News18
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
DD Next Level Review: Santhanama's Latest Is A Meta Comedy Of Patchy Creative Brilliance
Last Updated: While many meta ideas work, a huge chunk of comedy in DD Next Level doesn't. The creativity is sporadic, making you wish the film could have done better. DD film series has a tested template. It starts with a prologue about a haunted place and moves to a first half that deals with the romance of the lead pair and their arrival at the place of horror and finally, the third act of horror-comedy cocktail. DD Next Level, the costliest of the series, is a bit more interesting despite following the template to a large extent. Adding a meta layer to the template has made a huge difference to the worn-out horror-comedy genre. However, the novelty runs out of steam pretty soon as the filmmakers run out of ideas in the second half, resorting to the usual antics of the genre. The prologue of this genre has a popular real-life YouTube film reviewer going to a film theatre on the outskirts of the city on an invitation for a special show. He is the only one at the cinema, which turns out to be a haunted place. The ghost of Hitchcock Irudhayaraj (Selvaraghavan) kills the reviewer as an act of revenge for all the bad reviews. The story of DD Next Level is what you get when Balki's Chup meets Arnold Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero. Yet, S Prem Anand refuses to elevate the movie to such great heights as he is stuck in the condescension of pandering to the assumed lowest common denominator of public taste. The pedestrian prologue is self-evident to it. Why not cut the chase and start with the protagonist getting the invite? But lack of such finesse is not the biggest problem of DD Next Level. The sporadic creativity and the progressively regressing humour are the overarching problems of the film. Kissa 47 (Santhanam) and Veen Pechu Babu (Rajendran) are funny when they indulge in meta-humour that takes a dig at the cliches and tropes of the film genre. Kissa reading out the subtitles of foreign language, predicting a flashback with the transition shot, and accessing imminent danger with the haunting background scores are some nice touches, though they don't bring about laughs. At one instance, Kissa 47 asks his friend to relax, 'It is a safe scene as there's no re-recording." But the makers don't go beyond scratching such surfaces. The meta humour is the only good thing going for the film as whenever it switches to Tamil cinema's usual slapstick comedy, the film slumps. Rajendran's Veena Pechu Babu gets painted in silver for an extremely silly reason. The excuse that it all happens within a film wouldn't fly as the humour is puerile even for a cartoon. That's the irony of DD Next Level: A film that's quick to mock cliches and stupidity, and resorts to the same when it has nothing else going on for it. The adult humour tries to indulge with the characters of Kasthuti and Yashika, who play mother and daughter and need more dexterity and awareness. Instead, it becomes borderline crass. Here, too, the film barely scratches the surface. Thus, watching DD Next Level turns out to be like eating a pack of boring biscuits with bits of good chocolates in them. But as you work through the packet, there are more boring biscuits and no chocolate. First Published:
India Today
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
DD Next Level makers remove song lines after legal controversy
Filmmaker and actor Santhanam's upcoming movie 'DD Next Level' has edited out controversial lines from the song 'Kissa 47' after they sparked legal trouble. The lyrics 'Govinda hari Govinda. Parking Kas'u Govinda, Popcorn Tax'u Govinda, Heroine Nadippu Govinda, and Fans Oda Nelama Govinda' drew backlash from the government, prompting the makers to make the necessary notice mentioned that the song deeply hurts religious sentiments. The film has also obtained a certificate after censoring, clearing its way for the film got into legal trouble after Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board member and BJP leader Bhanuprakash Reddy served a defamation notice to Santhanam and Telugu production house Niharika Entertainments. He demanded Rs100 crore in compensation if the controversial lines weren't removed from the song. Jana Sena Party in-charge Kiran Royal met Tamil Nadu leader of opposition Edappadi Palaniswami, urging him to talk about the issue. It's worth noting that Santhanam shares a long-standing friendship with Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, having collaborated on films like 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi', 'Nanbenda', and 'Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal'.'DD Next Level' is a horror comedy film scheduled for its release on May 16 starring Santhanam, Gautam Vasudev Menon, Geethika Tiwary, and SelvaraghavanMust Watch
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Case in Madras High Court against song in actor Santhanam's movie DD Next Level
The Madras High Court on Thursday (May 15, 2025) wanted to know whether the producers of actor Santhanam's upcoming movie Devil's Double Next Levelwould be willing to delete or mute an objectionable portion of the lyrics and tune in the film's song titled 'Kissa 47'. A summer vacation Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan directed advocate Vijayan Subramanian to obtain instructions from the producers by Thursday, as the movie was slated to be released in theatres on Friday (May 16, 2025). To get today's top stories from the State in your inbox, subscribe to our Tamil Nadu Today newsletter The time was granted during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, which sought a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to revoke the censor certificate until the producers delete the song 'Kissa 47', which reportedly had objectionable references to the phrase 'Govinda, Govinda.' Later in the day, Mr. Subramanian returned to state that the producers had decided to mute the objectionable tune and delete certain lyrics. After recording his submissions, the judge adjourned the hearing to Friday for senior counsel Sricharan Rangarajan, representing the PIL petitioner, to verify the statement. What did the PIL plea say? In his affidavit, the petitioner, M.G.D. Balaji, 49, an advocate from Old Washermanpet in Chennai, stated that he is a devout Hindu and a follower of the Vaishnava tradition. He said he recently came across a YouTube video of a press meet for actor Santhanam's upcoming movie, popularly known as DD Next Level, which is scheduled to be released in theatres on Friday. Subsequently, he heard one of the songs of the movie and found that the lyrics had been borrowed from a popular devotional hymn titled 'Srinivasa Govinda, Srivenkatesa Govinda', sung in praise of Lord Venkateswara, the presiding deity of the Tirumala Tirupati Temple. He complained that the tune of the hymn had been used in a 'very strange and inappropriate context' in the song. Stating it had hurt his religious feelings, the petitioner said, the word 'Govinda' too had been used in a demeaning manner in the song. He also expressed surprise over the CBFC having issued a U/A certificate for the movie without insisting on deleting the song with such objectionable references.
