CE's Weekly Digest: Your essential read for the last week of March

In the last week of March, Tamil cinema lost the multi-hyphenate Manoj Bharathiraja, the son of actor-director Bharathiraja. Meanwhile, the week saw the release of the highly-anticipated second instalment in the Lucifer franchise, L2: Empuraan, and the Salman Khan-AR Murugadoss film Sikandar. Both films courted controversy—one bigger than the other. Amidst all this, the uncertainty around the release of Vikram's Veera Dheera Sooran caused plenty of confusion among fans. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologised for its lack of support to the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land's director Hamdan Ballal after the latter was assaulted and arrested. Moreover, Vijay's final film Jana Nayagan got a release date, Ram Charan’s next film got a title, and the next instalment in the Avengers franchise added to its cast.

Did you miss out on any major news from Indian or international cinema in the week gone by? If so, here is our weekly roundup copy, including news, features, interviews, and reviews, to keep you up to date with all things cinema.

Salman Khan drew flak when he defended his decision to work with Rashmika Mandanna on Sikandar. Read on to learn more about this:

On his birthday, Emraan Hashmi announced a sequel to his cult classic film Awarapan and the release date of Ground Zero. Here are more details on the stories:

After working with Mammootty, Bramayugam filmmaker Rahul Sadasivan is collaborating with Pranav Mohanlal on his next. Check out our story for more information:

Writer Murali Gopy talked exclusively to about the Lucifer franchise, the many writing choices in it, his rapport with director Prithviraj Sukumaran, thoughts on Stephen Nedumpally's aura and more. Here is how the conversation panned out:

Here is what KGF star Yash spoke at the Manada Kadalu trailer launch:

MAD Square stars Sangeeth Shobhan, Narne Nithiin and Ram Nitin, had an exclusive chat with CE about the film, humour, writing, director Kalyan Shankar and more:

Here is our review of Hur Jin-ho’s A Normal Familyi, which calls it "an apt companion piece to the British crime drama" Adolescence: 

Parmish Verma, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Jasmin Bajwa discussed with CE their series Kanneda, what sets Punjabi rap apart, and more:

Actor Kishore talked to CE about his Bollywood debut, Sikandar, the AR Murugadoss directorial starring Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna, in which he plays a role with a negative shade. Here is how the conversation transpired:

Kuberaa filmmaker Sekhar Kammula talked to us about why he thinks filmmakers should be more responsible, storytelling in current political climate, and why more people need to see his debut Dollar Dreams. Check out the full interview here:

Bhavana talked to CE about her film The Door, working with her director brother in the horror film, her learnings from working in different industries, how she brings authenticity to her characters, and more:

Abhilasham writer Jenith Kachappilly talked to CE about the film's conception, his close-to-heart protagonist, love for Yash Raj films and releasing amidst the Empuraan wave.

Actors Shanthnu Bhagyaraj, Srikanth, Karunakaran, and Thambi Ramaiah as well as director RV Udhayakumar remembered the late Manoj Bharathiraja in conversations with CE. Here is what they had to say about the multitalented Manoj:

Salman Khan sat for a media interaction where he got candid about various and varied topics, including possibility of a Bajrangi Bhaijaan sequel, Hindi film industry’s dismal phase, and his 'rustic-actioner' with Sanjay Dutt:

Kaansya director Aditya Watts talked to CE about his adaptation of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, making it fit the Indian culture, the universality and complexity of the Bard's work, the struggles with independent filmmaking, and more:

Here is a feature on the Netflix series Adolescence and how its themes resonate with the Indian audience: