Allu Arjun Congratulates Atlee As He Receives Honorary Doctorate: ‘Really Happy To See…'
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IANS
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Allu Arjun and director Atlee are teaming up for a highly anticipated project, tentatively titled 'AA22 X A6', which also stars Deepika Padukone.
One of the most bankable directors in the South, Atlee has added another feature to his cap as he has been awarded an honorary doctorate.
Allu Arjun took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) timeline and posted a picture of Atlee receiving his doctorate. The 'Bigil' maker is all smiles as he is awarded the degree.
Congratulating Atlee on his latest achievement, the 'Pushpa' maker wrote on the micro-blogging site, 'Big congratulations to @Atlee_dir garu on receiving the honorary doctorate. Really happy to see your passion and craft being celebrated at this level. Wishing you many more heights ahead."
AA has collaborated with Atlee for a much-hyped project, named 'AA22 X A6" for now.
Big congratulations to @Atlee_dir garu on receiving the honorary doctorate. Really happy to see your passion and craft being celebrated at this level. Wishing you many more heights ahead pic.twitter.com/1vPsSd0LOu — Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) June 14, 2025
To prepare for the role, Allu Arjun is undergoing a massive physical transformation. The Stylish Star is taking the help of celebrity fitness trainer Lloyd Stevens to get his desired physique for this character.
Recently, Bollywood diva, Deepika Padukone has joined the cast as the leading lady.
Welcoming Deepika onboard, makers Sun Pictures, penned on their X handle, 'The Queen marches to conquer! Welcome onboard @deepikapadukone #TheFacesOfAA22xA6. #AA22xA6 – A Magnum Opus from Sun Pictures. @alluarjun @Atlee_dir #SunPictures #AA22 #A6"
Announcing 'AA22 X A6", Sun Pictures dropped a captivating video on social media including the world-class technicians who are working on the film.
Acclaimed VFX supervisor James Madigan was heard saying in the clip, 'I just got done reading the script and I got to say, my head is still spinning."
The president of Spectral Motion, Mike Elizalde added, 'The script is seriously unlike anything I've ever read. It is the best of the best of what I would ever want to create."
Academy Award winner and Fractured FX artistic director and CEO Justin Raleigh stated, 'Reading through it (the script), very excited about all the creature potential.All the different character potential."
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Indian Express
an hour ago
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Kesari 2 isn't an ‘untold story', it's historical fiction that minimises Sankaran Nair's real-life contributions to the freedom struggle
Kesari Chapter 2, the film starring Akshay Kumar, directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, which released in theatres just a couple of months ago, centered its promotions on this being the 'untold story' of Jallianwala Bagh that had stayed hidden for over 100 years. The makers declared that the film was based on the events that happened after the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, where thousands of innocent Indians died after Hitler-like General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire at them without any warning. The events at Jallianwala Bagh were undeniably brutal and over 100 years later, Britain is yet to apologise for them. Kesari Chapter 2 reminds the audience that this apology is due but it does something else as well, it tries to rewrite the story of Sankaran Nair and in the process, it diminishes his actual contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. Nair was a hero, and he did fight against the British but there was never a case against General Dyer in any court in Amritsar. Kesari Chapter 2 claims to be the 'untold story of Jallianwala Bagh' but the fact is, that this courtroom battle never took place. Kesari Chapter 2 claims to be based on the book written by Sankaran Nair's third generation, Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, titled 'The Case That Shook the Empire' but upon examining this book, and the autobiography of Nair, it is evident that the acclaimed barrister was never in a trial against General Dyer but Kesari Chapter 2 tries to rewrite history as its actors and director go around claiming that history books aren't doing a good enough job. The disclaimer that Kesari 2 is essentially a work of fiction doesn't go far enough given the publicity material has tagged the film as 'the untold story'. Sankaran Nair was a member of the Viceroy's Council, and saw himself as an ally to the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford. But soon after the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, which was not appropriately reported by the press because of the severe press censorship implemented in Amritsar, Nair was shocked to find out the barbaric acts carried out by Dyer and his men. 'If to govern the country, it is necessary that innocent persons should be slaughtered at Jallianwala Bagh and that any Civilian Officer may, at any time, call in the military and the two together may butcher the people as at Jallianwala Bagh, the country is not worth living in,' he wrote in his autobiography. ALSO READ | Kesari Chapter 2: Akshay Kumar's courtroom drama accidentally exposes Bollywood's handling of sexual misconduct Nair expected Lord Chelmsford to criticise this episode but when he saw that no one in the British administration was willing to speak against the brutal massacre, he resigned from his position in the Viceroy's Council. His resignation shocked the British administration as prior to this, they saw Nair as a loyal ally. After his resignation, Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer, immediately revoked orders for press censorship in the state and martial law was called off. It was Nair's resignation that led to the formation of the Hunter Commission, which looked into the barbaric acts at the Jallianwala Bagh. The Hunter Commission was a seven-member committee composed of four British and three Indians that conducted interviews all over India, met with eyewitnesses of the massacre and also interviewed General Dyer. As per The Case That Shook the Empire, Dyer accepted that he 'planned the shooting at Jallianwala Bagh in advance' and he had no intentions of scattering the crowd because they were violating the curfew. 'More damning was his admission that he would have used machine guns and armoured cars if it had been possible,' it read. Dyer also confessed that he made the conscious choice to leave the wounded to die. This was the only time when Dyer was made to appear in front of a body that was investigating the massacre, and here, he shamelessly admitted his dastardly acts. Kesari Chapter 2 would have you believe that Dyer was made to stand in court while a former ally to the crown, Nair, badgered him with questions, but this never happened. Hunter Commission submitted its findings and declared that Dyer's actions were a 'grave error.' The crown did not wish to punish Dyer as it was seen that he had 'averted another mutiny' and so, he wasn't court-martialled or dismissed. But, they could not have him in India due to the growing resistance against him, and so, he was shipped off to England in April 1920. ALSO READ | Even as Akshay Kumar's Kesari Chapter 2 shows an imagined past, it ends up confronting the present While Reginald Dyer was the man on ground in Jallianwala Bagh, his superior was Michael O'Dwyer, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab at the time. It was O'Dwyer who gave Dyer enough power that he could implement whatever laws he saw fit. At one point, Dyer ordered people to crawl through the streets of Amritsar, and he was empowered to do so by O'Dwyer. The events at Jallianwala Bagh shocked those Indians who, until then, enjoyed British aristocracy and had received knighthood from them. Rabindranth Tagore gave up his knighthood and Nair left his job with the crown and started working as the Diwan of Indore, which was a princely state then. It was here, in 1922, that he wrote a book titled Gandhi and Anarchy. Nair 'did not believe that non-violence, non-cooperation and civil disobedience was the way for India to achieve Home Rule' and he expressed the same in his book. Here, Nair also implied that Michael O'Dwyer was just as responsible as Reginald Dyer for the massacre in Punjab. 'Nair implied the Punjab atrocities were committed with O'Dwyer's full knowledge and approval,' the book read. When O'Dwyer got his hands on this book in England, he decided to sue Nair for defamation, as he had claimed innocence for the atrocities in Punjab. Sardar Udham Singh eventually assassinated Michael O'Dwyer in 1940. But in Kesari Chapter 2, O'Dwyer is reduced to a supporting character who can be seen making backroom deals but is nowhere on Nair's radar. ALSO READ | FIR lodged against film Kesari Chapter 2 for 'distorting historical facts' after police complaint in Bengal The real-life case was no less than a movie, even though the filmmakers chose not to make a movie on this. O'Dwyer claimed innocence and was 'offended' with Nair's accusations. He demanded that Nair withdraw his book, offer him an apology and damages worth £1,000. Nair, obviously, refused to bow down and was ready to go to trial. He weighed his pros and cons before making this decision. The biggest pro here was that the trial would be held in London, and the press would be covering it. With this, Nair had the opportunity of talking about the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in front of the English press, and this was the only way the higher-ups in the British government and the locals of the country would get to know how Britain was treating its subjects in India. But, there were some major cons as well. The trial would be presided by an English judge and the judgment would be made by an English jury, and chances were, that they would support O'Dwyer because he was one of them. Nair also did not have the opportunity of presenting his witnesses in person, and would only get a chance to read out their testimony, that could be misinterpreted by foreigners. All of his disadvantages would be advantageous for O'Dwyer but he decided to fight this battle anyway. Even though the trial was was held in England, Dyer did not attend a day in court on account of his ill health so Nair never really confronted him in any court, which is the base of Kesari Chapter 2. 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