Shriya is scaling new heights

Shriya Gallery

Sivaji was the movie that moved Shriya to new levels. Since then she has been scaling one peak after another. The year 2008 has so far been a tremendous one for the actress for she has seen her career take an upward swing.

Shriya has completed shooting for 'Kanthaswamy' opposite Vikram. It is a magnum opus directed by Susi Ganesan. She is almost wounding up the shoot for Sarathy Kumar starrer 'Jaggubhai' and Deepa Mehta's film 'Who's Cooking, Stella?' What more, she has been signed up for Deepa Mehta's next film too, titled 'Komagata Maru'.

She has also been roped in to act in a movie with Dhanush later next year. Besides, She's also in 'Thoranai' with Vishal.

She is pinning lots of hopes on Kanthaswamy. She says, ' I have given my cent percent dedication for the movie. The whole unit has worked hard. Especially, I was impressed with Vikram's dedication to excel in his role and it was cool working with him'.

Returns of the Jodi in town

The entire town is entranced to watch the magniloquent Jodi Shah Rukh-Adhitya Chopra spelling their best flick. Yup! It's all about few hours for film's release and 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' happens to be sensational talk of the town. It has been eight years that Shah Rukh Khan and Aditya Chopra had worked together churning out evergreen romantic tales with DDLJ and Mohabattein.

Yash Chopra is all filled with more hopes and excitements about his magnum opus of this year as none of his recent films shored him with elatedness. Fine! When King Khan says, 'Main Hoon Naa', there are no worries for producers as their cheerful lips sparkles 'Yes Boss'….

Making of music videos for 'Haule Haule' and 'Dance Pe Chance' have raised everyone's expectations with two-dimensioned Shah Rukh Khan. Alluring 'n' bubbly – Anushka Sharma is worthy getting ennobled so and she is on her seventh heaven pairing up with best team of Bollywood. Bangalore Model Sharma bagged the role after an extensive talent search to find a fresh face.

Avtar Panesar, Vice President of International Operations at Yash Raj Films, says, "Fans can expect a good film and SRK with a difference.". On the effect this might have on the opening of RNBDJ, Panesar said, "There will be some impact, which is understandable."

"Nothing is more precious than human lives – certainly not the Friday box office" utters YRF spearhead Yash Chopra who continues adding, "We try and make a good film. Success is in the hands of the audiences and God."

Is Amala keen to direct?

A mighty heartthrob of the late 1980s Amala, who carved a niche for herself acting with all biggies, eventually bid adieu to tinsel town after her wedding with Nagarjuna.

After retiring from films her passion to preserve wild life ensured that she carried a crusade against those inflicting cruelty on animals.

The yesteryear actress was in Chennai to be part of an exhibition organized to promote awareness on preserving wild life. Speaking on the sidelines, the actress said, 'every child should be educated to show love and warmth towards animals'.

On rumors that she is planning to direct a movie on wild life, she said, ' certainly not. When so many movies are made inflicting cruelty on animals by directors in various languages, I don't want to join the list. There are ways and means to promote awareness'.

She also urged politicians and law-makers to ensure that enough action is taken to preserve our environment and keep our environment green and clean', she said.

'Maruthanayagam': Is Kamal's dream coming true?

Kamal Haasan has a dream. In fact he has had this dream for many years now. After being inspired by the life and times of Maruthanayagam (an ancient Indian legend), the ace Indian filmmaker wanted to make a film about this legendary character and even wrote a script. But then his dream of making this script into a film has been plagued by a number of reasons for many many years.

Many years ago when Queen Elizabeth II was in Chennai, the film did manage to kick off and certain shots were canned in the presence of the English monarch. The very thought of exorbitant amounts of money which would be needed for the project to finish drove many a producer into hard baked shells.

Kamal Haasan was forced to shelve the project but then the dream lingered on. And now after all these years the dream might just be realized.

The United Kingdom has entered into a 20/80 bi-lateral agreement with all countries where most valuable projects would be financed. India seems to be lucky as the British Film Corporation has spotted the respective personalities of the film industry swaying with their trenchant pieces across the globe.

A seminar was held recently in Chennai where officials of the British Film Corporation and Kamal Haasan were present. Speaking on the occasion Kamal Haasan said that this collaboration will provide platforms for a dream-like 'Maruthanayagam' turning reality.

Dina Dattani a consultant added that this agreement will bring western awareness to the best Indian Films thereby helping them to get sold internationally.

This association might just pave the way for making Kamal Haasan's dream come true.

Dostana earns Rs 100 Crores in four weeks

Was it the hottest hunks John Abraham- Abhishek Bacchan and alluring Priyanka? Or was it an redolent words 'Hum Dono Gay hai… Hey Mera Boy Friend Hai'? Well, we felt both these factors; macho chaps, alluring missy and the rigid theme of homosexuality heaped more popularities for the film 'Dostana'. The film witnessed grand openings at one extent while in some regions it raised controversies. Finally, 'Dostana' has leaped with laurels grossing Rs. 100 Crore in 4 weeks at World Wide Box office.

Dostana was released with 920 prints with over 200 prints for the overseas market. The film is the highest grossing Bollywood film ever in UAE and is holds third position in UK Box Office. Well, In North American Cinemas, its holds 16^th position.

The film released all across the globe on 14 November while a day prior in Dubai. The other countries of overseas market include UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, France, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Nigeria, Myanmar, Pakistan and Nepal.

Directed by debutant Tarun Mansukhani and produced by Karan Johar, the film witnessed mixed reviews while fetched high-profits in box offices. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra.

Malayalam film's unique record

Mohanlal, the Malayalam Superstar is respected all over India for his prolific talent and the variety of roles that he has given life to in an acting career that started in 1982.

So many evergreen movies having this actor in the lead role have been remade in other film industries in India including Bollywood meeting with great success.

'Bhool Bhulaiya' is the latest flick of Mohanlal to be remade in B-Town.

Now the actor can take the credit for being the protagonist of a feature film that has set a record by completing its whole production work in just 12 hours.

In this Malayalam movie titled as 'Bhagavan', Mohanlal is playing the role of a doctor.

The story revolves around a commando operation in the hospital where the lead character works.

The action film started the shooting at 7 am and wrapped it up at 7 pm.

Prashant is making his debut as a director with 'Bhagavan' in which to achieve the difficult task to complete the shooting within the stipulated time six cameras were used simultaneously.

The film will hit the big screens on January 23

After Ghajini, is it Ghilli?

It's an era of remaking South Indian films in Bollywood and looks like they're endless. With Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini' is all set for release on Christmas Day, Salman Khan's 'Wanted Live or Dead' remake of Telugu movie 'Pokkiri' is close on heels of completion.

And here goes another talk in town. 'Ghilli' – a tremendous blockbuster in Telugu and Tamil is being remade in Malayalam now. Buzzes are that the film would be soon remade in Hindi and if it is believed to be true, discussions are going about finalizing casts and crew.

The Tamil version had Vijay and Trisha donning lead roles with the song 'Appadi Podu' turning to be its limelight. If you are still guessing what's this song all about? Well, Abhishek Bachchan danced for this song in commercial advertisement of 'Motorola'. The fame soon spread across towns and cities as it was repeatedly aired in music channels, reality dance shows and more.

Buzzes have also stated that Deepika Padukone would play the female lead role enacted by Trisha in both Telugu and Tamil version. Since, her characterization is about being bubbly all throughout the show, Deepika seems to be watching the film's DVD repeatedly.

Jagathy as a Swamy

In the recent times when a lot of swamis in Kerala are being bashed by the media for various reasons, ace comedy actor of Malayalam Jagathy Sreekumar is going to appear as a swamy in the new film.

He will be in the role of ‘Swamy Himaval Chaithanya' in the movie 'Makanate Achan' directed by V M Vinu. ''This swamy is quite different from the ones that I had presented earlier, because of its strong social criticisms'' says Jagathy.

The shooting of the movie which features Sreenivasan, Vinneth Sreenivasan and Suhasini in important roles is almost complete

Produced by G P Vijayakumar in the banner of Seven Arts International, the movie is scripted by Samjad Narayanan. The movie will grace the theatres by the end of January.

Mani is a 'gunda'

After being in a variety of roles this year, Kalabahavan Mani will appear in and as ‘‘Gunda’’ in the new film.

The movie will be directed by character actor Salim Baba. The movie will also feature Sajith Raj in an important role.

Salim Baba who has played notable roles in films like Aadharam, has earlier directed films like rapid action force and Mohitham , which were average earners in the box office

Hassan Kutty award in IFFK

World famous director Mira Nair has instituted a special award from this year at IFFK, in memory of her assistant director Hassan Kutty. The award which constitutes of Rs 50,000 and a citation will be presented to the best debut director.

Meanwhile, the IFFK is surprising every other festivals of the circuit with the immense participation of people from every corner of life. When reports last came in, the number of delegates who have already registered for the 13th edition has already crossed 6,500.

And for the first time in the history of the festival, the delegates will be allowed to book the balcony seats in advance online, for the screening of films. A delegate will be allowed to book a seat for three films in a day, which will be left unoccupied till five minutes before the screening.

IFFK to feature 182 films

The 13th edition of International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will kick off on the 12th of December. The year's edition will screen 182 films from 53 countries, in various sections.

The festival will be inaugurated by state chief Minister V S Achuthanandhan on Friday evening. Argentinean film maker Fernando Birri and South Indian actor K.R. Vijaya will be the chief guests at the inaugural ceremony. Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran will release the festival book at the function. Laila's Birthday, a Palestinian film by director Rashid Masharawi will be the opening film.

14 films including two from Malayalam will be screened in the competition section of the festival. The award-winning film from this 14, will bag Rs.10 lakh and The Golden Crow Pheasant Award.

Around 145 artists, including 41 directors from 23 countries are expected to attend the festival this year

In a surprising result, Malayalam multistarrer 'Twenty: 20’ has made it to the top 5 list in Kollywood.

According to most Box office ratings in Kollywood, the movie occupied the fourth slot just below the running super hits of the Tamil industry.

The magnum opus from AMMA featuring all the important stars of Mollywood, earlier opened in maximum centers in Tamilnadu, which has helped the movie to make revenue of around half a crore in the week one.

The movie also opened in other markets like Mumbai and Bangalore where it is running successfully.

Five malayalam movies for January

Five Malayalam movies are getting ready in the studios to grace the theatres for this January. The biggest among the January releases will be Mammootty's Rafi Mecartin movie 'Love in Singapore'. The movie will have Navaneet Kaur as the heroine.

The first movie to make a release in the New Year will be 'Colors' directed by Raj Babu. The movie will feature Dileep and Vinoo Mohan in important roles.

Dream Team Productions will present their Jayaram movie 'Samasatha Keralam P O' by the 23rd of January. Also in the list of January movies are Suresh Gopi's comedy flick 'Hailesaa' and V M Vinu Sreenivasan’s movie 'Achante Makan'

"My film with Akshay Kumar is not called Action Replay" - Vipul Shah

"My film with Akshay Kumar is not called Action Replay because there's absolutely no action in it," announces Vipul Shah about his third joint production with Akshay which he wants to start in March.

Apparently, some write up mentioned Action Replay as the name of Vipul's new film with Akshay. "I said it was not. But the title stuck."

"Akshay and I have co-produced Namastey London and Singh Is Kinng. He'll be producing this third film which is again about human relationships. He's welcome to co-produce all the films with me, even the ones that don't star him."

Probe a bit more about the new Akshay-Vipul collaboration and Vipul says, "I've just wrapped up the script and I'm at a loss as to how to categorize it. It's something neither Akshay nor I have done before. When I directed my first film Aankhen, I had defined it, somewhat wrongly, as a fantasy thriller. I'm not getting into classification for my new film until I'm sure. Many films fail not because they're bad but because they don't tell the audience what to expect," says the director who will wrap up his latest film London Dreams by January 2009.

And finally what does Vipul have to say about the film business too having taken a beating because of the recent Mumbai terror attacks? "Yes it has, but I think the horror of what happened at the Taj hotel on 26/11 was intensified by the non-stop 90-hour telecast. It just made us feel like a city under siege. Don't you think what happened when the Parliament was attempted to be stormed was just as terrible? The entertainment business, I feel, will recover with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Not every week do we get a film where Shah Rukh Khan and Aditya Chopra come together."

Mamootty's movie waiting for the Prime Minister

Aruvadai promises to be a different Tamil film. Starring Mamootty, Sneha, Arjun and Shratha, it deals with some pertinent national and environmental issues in a serious way. Sneha plays a pilot in Aruvadai. Mamooty is the intelligence chief in Delhi, and Shratha plays an ornithologist.
Aruvadai will take care to show the Sneha working of each department that it features here. Also, it looks at how these characters are involved in replenishing agricultural work in India. The movie also features another important character – that of the Prime Minister. Currently the Aruvadai team is searching for an actor to play this part. It is said that they may even cast a real politician in the role!

Nayan takes a cut in salary

Nayan takes a cut in salary Nayanthara has been in the news a lot lately. More recently for having dropped out of Payya, because theproducer asked her to take less than the 1 crore discussed earlier with her. In an interview, Nanyan said the industry seems to have thought the last few films she has been in have not done well, and so they thought she would take less. But she made Nayanthara it very clear that what is important to her is the pride she takes in her work, and she won't undersell herself.However, in a surprise move, she has agreed to take less for the Malayalam film, Bodyguard, starring Dileep Kumar and directed by Sidiqque. The reason? Because she liked the script a lot. Nayan felt it was worth taking a cut in her salary to support a good movie such as Bodyguard

'Lollipop' is ready

With the completion of the shoot of its final song at Bangkok, director Shafi's Christmas Offering 'Lolipop' will get ready to grace the audience, in a matter of a couple of weeks.

The movie which is planned to be on theatres by the 19th of this month will have Prithviraj, Jayasuriya, Roma and Bhavana in important roles. The other highlight of the movie is that young star Kunchakko Boban , who has been keeping away from Malayalam films for quite some time, will make a comeback to Mollywood through this movie.

Apart from Shafi regulars like Suraj Venjaaramoodu, Salimkumar and Rajan P Dev, Jagathy, P Sreekumar, Keerikkadan Jose, Baburaj, and Lakshmi Priya will also appear as important characters in ‘Lolipop’.

The movie which is also the first venture of A B S productions, the banner created by Benny P Nayarambalam, Anto Joseph and director Shafi as producers, will be brought to theatres by Mulakupadom release.

Namitha files a complaint

Namitha has suddenly filed a complaint at the Nadigar Sangam. Thee, directed and produced by Kitcha, is all set to release. Namitha has now alleged that her full salary has not been paid for the movie. She strongly feels that her salary will not be paid once the movie is released. And has urged the Nadigar Sangam to act on her behalf before the movie
Namitha
hits the theatres. Secretary Radha Ravi is looking into the complaint and has already passed on the matter to the Producer's Council.

"Some of my bad films became successful" - Neha Dhupia

Director Shivam Nair didn't quite have a good start to his career as a Bollywood director; his debut flick Ahista Ahista which starred Abhay Deol disappeared from the screens in quick time despite having one of the best scores created by Himesh Reshammiya. Now after a two year break, the film maker is back with Maharathi. Though in terms of genre, the film sees a marked difference for Shivam who moves from being at the helm of an emotional love story to a thriller; wasn't Neha Dhupia worried that Shivam's first film wasn't quite a success? "Regardless of its box office performance, I honestly thought that Ahista Ahista was a really nice movie. In the end, commercial success is always not the right parameter to judge a film. Sometimes big movies are bad and they turn out to be such successes while vice versa may not always be true", Neha defends her director here.

"Shivam is very talented and the other day when I was having a conversation with him, he candidly confessed that he had a different feeling this time around when compared to Ahista Ahista. Here he could feel a certain positive energy around the film as it came closer to release. He said that the buzz was just missing from Ahista Ahista but in case of Maharathi that was not the case", Neha talks about the movie in a positive tone.

How about the kind of vibes that she herself is getting? "I am a getting a real great vibe and truly believe that Maharathi would be acclaimed both critically and commercially", is Neha's quick response. However, she goes on to add, "But then honestly, after working on a film for so many months, you tend to loose perspective about it. Moreover, you can't always rely upon people around you who give you feedback because they may not give the true picture. You don't know whether they are honest or not. The way a mother would never find fault in her own child, the same happens in case of an actor talking about his/her own film. It has happened to me too."

Really? Laughs Neha, "Yeah, you know some of my films have been really-really good and I was very positive about them but they failed. On the other hand one or two were so bad and I didn't expect them to run but they became successful! So you know, it is very difficult to judge and it's best to leave it to the audience to decide."

‘Body Guard' to start next week

After much delay in pre- production stages, ace director Siddhique will start his first film with Dileep by the end of next week. The pooja and shoot of the movie titled 'Body Guard’, will be held on the 12th of December at Kochi.

The director who has also written the scripts is yet to finalize on the heroine of the movie.

The movie which will be based on a plot with plenty of comedy and action will have music by Ouseppachan.

Jackie Shroff: New hero in Tamil cinema

In what can be termed a second foray to Southern filmdom, actor Jackie Shroff will be seen in a Tamil film as hero. It can be recalled that the actor had been part of a Malayalam film 'Athisayan' – a children's film with loads of special effects.

Popular advertisement filmmaker Thyagarajan Kumararaja is coming up with a film titled 'Aaranya Kaandam' and Jackie Shroff will mesmerize audiences with his stylish demeanor. The film would be produced by S P B Charan.

When queried as to how he managed to convince Jackie, Kumararaja says, 'the role required a senior person. I got to meet Shroff through a friend. He liked the story and immediately agreed to be a part of it'.

The cast also includes Ravi Krishna, Sampath and Somasundaram of Kooththu-p-pattarai.

Rajini's fans disappointed

The superstar's fans were gearing up to celebrate their star's birthday which falls on the 12th of December. But Rajinikanth had requested them not to celebrate his birthday as the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka continues.

Rajini had left Chennai on December 10th to Hyderabad where he will
Rajini
participate in the shooting of Sultan – The Warrior. The film is directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth. The shooting is on at the Ramoji Film City. The star is expected back in the city on December 15th. It is worth mentioning here that Rajini never stays in the city for his birthdays and prefers to spend time on his own or with his family.

I V Sasi, back with 'Vellathooval'

I V Sasi, one of the biggest names of Mollywood in the eighties will make a comeback with the new movie titled ‘Vellathooval’. Featuring a lot of fresh faces in the cast lines, the movie will be scripted by veteran John Paul.

Presented by V B K Menon in the banner of Anugraha Arts, the movie will have ‘Goal' fame Rajith Menon as the hero. Also in the cast are Lalu Alex, Jagathy, Ganesh, Revathy, Seema and Shwetha Menon.

The movie will feature songs by Gireesh Puthencherry - Johnson team while Anandhakuttan will handle the cinematography. Planned to start its shoot by the third week of December, 'Vellathooval' will be shot at Moonaar, Wagamon, Thodupuzha and Kochy.

Nayantara is back to Mollywood

Nayantara skipped several offers in Tamil and Telugu, during her wait for Lingusamy's 'Paiya' to kick off, but eventually pulled out of the project following demands to cut her remuneration. Quick to fit in her show was Tamanna.

Now according to reliable sources, Nayantara is back to Kerala. She has agreed to do a movie titled 'Bodyguard', which begins on 15th January, the day Paiya goes to floors. A coincidence!

Nayantara began her journey in Malayalam movies and then made her debut in Tamil with Ayya. She has been set to act with Dileep in a movie, in Siddique's direction. It may be recalled that Nayanthara had appeared for a song sequence in the recent release T20 starring Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Jayaram, Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indrajith, Boban Kunchakko, directed by Joshy.

Asin replaces Gul as Aamir's better half in Tata Sky commercial

Looks like the perfectionist Khan is taking his film Ghajini sky high. You heard! With the films first big full length promo hitting the television screens yesterday, the actor is going all out to promote his commercial action flick with his beautiful co-star Asin.

Bollywood Hungama confirmed the latest development with Asin where she revealed that she was signed by Tata Sky for an exclusive with Aamir Khan for their newest commercial. Gullible? Not really. The South Indian seductress said, "Yes, you're right. I have signed a deal with Tata Sky for their next television commercial opposite Aamir Khan which goes on air on the 25th December. I haven't shot for the advert. It should be anytime soon". Our sources have also confirmed that the advert will be shot keeping in mind the Ghajini theme and story. The question to be asked now is where does Gul fit in the picture? We sent an sms to Gul to figure out what's the story and got a reply back from her busy dubbing schedule.

She said, "I know nothing about it. I endorse Tata Sky Plus and have shot three films with Aamir, two of which have already been aired. My commitment with them is for one year. Anything beyond that, Tata Sky knows best". One things sure though, Gul who plays Aamir's better half in the same commercial won't be too happy to see her onscreen hubby finding a new bride. It's Tata time for Gul come December 25.

Akshay Kumar's Jumbo is actually a Thai film

Apart from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini, if there is one film which is trying to grab attention, it is Akshay Kumar's Jumbo where the superstar has not just lent his voice for the central character of an elephant but also shot for an exclusive music video - 'Everything Is Gonna Be Alright'. While Percept Picture Company has proudly flashed their association with Akshay Kumar for the film and there have been (reported) talks about him being paid Rs. 9 crores to come behind the mike, the production house has chosen to keep the film's origin as a closely held secret.

Well, the secret which has been unveiled now throws quite some surprise as it is revealed that the animation film Jumbo is neither an Indian product nor has it been made in collaboration with an International animation house. Instead, Percept Picture Company has claimed the rights of a Thai film that goes by the name of Khan Kluay.

Khan Kluay, which was released in 2006, is a Thai computer-animated feature film and is about a baby elephant named Khan Kluay who wanders away from his mother and eventually becomes the war elephant (for whom Akshay Kumar has given the voiceover).

The film has been directed by Kompin Kemgumnird, an animator who has worked on the Disney features such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire & Tarzan and also Blue Sky Studios' Ice Age. The film was in the making for three years and cost 150 million baht (about $3.9 million USD). When released in 2006, the film was the highest grossing Thai film in 2006 with an approximate box-office receipt of 91 million baht. The film has already been released on DVD in the United States with its title as The Blue Elephant. The movie has won numerous awards ever since its release and now looks at making an impression at Indian theaters with Akshay Kumar endorsing its case.

Premji c/o Venkat Prabhu?

His antics in Vallavan were not striking enough to get the stamp of a comedian, leave alone a face that could pass off in the crowd as another typical Chennai guy. It was this aspect, “the typical” next door image that was well extrapolated by his brother, Venkat Prabhu, eventually giving birth to the “college buddy feel” comedian – Premji Amaren. “Enna kodumai Sir Ithu” (What a pain Sir!) – the serious dialogue from the movie “Chandramukhi” – was twisted, complete with facial expressions of Premji and sprinkled all over Chennai 28 – quite a hit and signaled the arrival of a fresh face for humor into Kollywood!

The very same trend was repeated in Saroja, again directed by Venkat – the image was much similar to Chennai – 28. The good for nothing, loser image, with real audacious out of point thinking dialogues – was an instant hit amongst all youngsters alike.

Premji

Apart from the above two movies, his other efforts, were received with lukewarm feelings by audience. Be it Sathum Podaathay (more or less a cameo role), Thozha, Santosh Subramaniam or for that matter even the damp squib – Sathyam.

What sold well for Premji in both Chennai -28 and Saroja that was not found in other movies?

Premji’s image of a next door/street buddy comedy positioning largely depends on “humorous criticism” and situation based antics. While the ace-up comedians such as Vadivelu or Vivek have mastered the art of “self-based” comedy or creating separate comedy tracks on concepts and improvising dialogues, Premji is still on baby steps.

His ability to improvise dialogues or carry on situations seems to be limited by his experience nevertheless if he is focused, he could establish his space – that is currently limited to “ a gang based comedian” and not individualistic!. This fact was very apparent in his role in Sathyam – where he had to largely depend on Nayanthara to invoke laughter but miserably failed.

His closest peer (or rather rival!) will be Santhanam – who has established himself for synchronizing body language, especially facial expressions with “typical” Chennai guy dialogues!.

Given his background on standup comedy, very pointed to improvising dialogues or rather crude satires – puts him at ease when he carries comedy tracks!

The Tamil movie industry has enough space to have another orbit – Premji - hence the need to create a unique identity is necessary!

Ajith's Asal – will it or wont?

While the media went crazy writing about Ajith's next movie with director Charan, the actor and the director remain tightlipped about the issue. The movie is said to be produced by Sivaji pictures since the company has officially acquired Ajith's call sheets recently.
Ajith

While numerous news sources state that the movie is named Asal and Sameera Reddy has been roped in to play the lead, no official confirmation in this regard has been released by Ajith, Sivaji Pictures or Charan so far that does not completely rule out a possibility of such a project. Grapevine also has it that the movie is scored by Harris' music.

Shriya, Vishal and Paravai Muniamma

It is known news that Vishal's next has been titled Thoranai. This film is produced by GK Productions on behalf of Vishal's brother Vikram Krishna and his wife Shreya Reddy. The good news for all Vishal's fans is that, for the first time, he is paired opposite Shriya Saran. Others in the star cast include Prakashraj, Kishore, Pandirajan, M S Baskar, Sreeman,Santhanam, Livingston, Pyramid Natarajan, Shanmugarajan, T P Gajendran, Mayilsamy, Geetha, Aryan, Suman Shetty, and Paravai Muniamma.

This action-packed entertainer hit the floors recently with an introductory song that was shot in Karaikudi. Mani Sharma scored the music for this song and it is sung by Ranjith. A huge set was erected for this purpose, which includes a 60-feet statue of Goddess Durga and over 500 shops. Meenakshi of Karuppasamy Kuthagaitharar fame features in the introductory song along with Vishal.

Priyan will wield the camera for this venture. Editing will be done by V T Vijayan, art by Velu Prakash, stunt is by Stunt Siva, and the lyrics are penned by Snehan and Viveka.

Olympics preparations forced Nikhil Advani to shoot CC2C in Bangkok

Click above for more movie stills

Nikhil Advani's dream of making the first Bollywood film in China could only be partially realized. After a major part of the shooting, the director and his entire crew had to hastily leave China and look for an alternative place to shoot the rest of the film. If New York is being shot in Philadelphia. Chandni Chowk To China has been shot in Bangkok. And with good reason.

Says Nikhil, "It was the year of the Olympics in China and it became impossible beyond a point to shoot in the country where our film is based. Maybe a quieter less flamboyant film…but not the kind of action that Akshay has shot."

Apparently, the Olympics authorities found Akshay Kumar's athletic exertions to be a bit of an intrusion in the preparations for the grand international event. Says Nikhil, "Bangkok's topography is quite similar to China. Also, it's a very Bollywood-friendly country. So we just had to let go of the real country. Because the action scenes required Olympian skills and infrastructure."

Akshay Kumar had to battle it out with globally-known actors like Gordon Lieu who was in The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin and Roger Yuan, the main baddie in the Jackie Chan starrer Shanghai Noon.

Says Nikhil, "Gordon Lieu is a well-known name in Hollywood and Roger Yuan is the only Asian actor who works out of Bollywood. They both play arch-villains. Then I've a cast of actors who are stalwarts in China. They held on their own against Akshay, even when they were taken out of their home ground and put into Bangkok masquerading as China."

Incidentally, apart from Akshay, Mithun Chakraborty who was also quite an action star during his heydays has been given to do stunts in Chandni Chowk To China. Says Nikhil, "Mithunda will kick some ass too. Action is the backbone of my film. While other films have item songs Chandni Chowk To China has item-action. It's the action scenes that move the plot forward. The songs are extremely situational. I'm very lucky. I got Bappi Lahiri to re-do his 'Bambai Se Aaya Mera Dost'. I think the music is a decent follow-up to my Salaam-e-Ishq."

As for the expectations from the film, "Ya. I'm getting nervous as the release approaches." Next, Nikhil produces a film adapted from The Wedding Crashers. "Our production company has got together to co-produce a Hindi version of The Wedding Crashers with Warner Brothers. We've bought the rights and David Dhawan will be directing the film for us."

'Mallanum Mathevanum' is the next

Shafi and Benny P Nayaramabalam have always been instrumental in naming their films with funny names that even interests the children. Much of their movie names were those of funny characters that which the child folk easily identified.

After being with such interesting names as ‘Annan Thampi’, ‘Thommanum Makkalaum’, ‘Mayavi’ and ‘Chocolate’, Shiaf has named his next with Megastar Mammootty as 'Mallanum Mathevanum'.

Produced by newly formed A B S combines, the discussions on the storylines of the movie are presently progressing at Kochi.

Meanwhile, A B S combines which was formed by director Shafi, script writer Benny P Nayarambalam and production controller Anto Joseph has already completed shooting for their maiden venture 'Lolipop', with the young stars. The movie is scheduled to be on theatres by this Christmas.

"SRK is a terrific producer" - Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan is extremely selective when it comes to films. "The script has to excite me. I should feel elated as I leave for the shoot every morning. In the past, I've accepted films that didn't excite me, but I took them up because they're vital for your career. Of course, I wouldn't like to name those films," Irrfan admits.

So what was it about DIL KABADDI that got him charged? "My role. It's an extension of what I did in METRO. When I heard the script, I knew I had to do this role. It mirrors the life of a man living in a metropolis," pat comes the reply.

Not many are aware that director Anil Senior had offered Irrfan the role that Rahul is now portraying in the film. "Rahul and I decided to swap roles," he smiles. But will the pairing with Soha Ali Khan work? "That's the beauty of this film. It's so unconventional. In fact, I'd go to the extent of saying that the chemistry is one of the USPs of this film," Irrfan says.

Irrfan now looks forward to Priyadarshan's BILLOO BARBER and Jennifer Lynch's HISSS. How was it working with SRK in BILLOO BARBER? "Tremendous! I feel enriched. I always knew of him as a super-star, but he's an equally terrific producer. As an actor, he's just not insecure. I've started respecting him all the more," Irrfan's eyes glow as he talks of SRK.

He's enjoying working with Jennifer Lynch too. "I've seen her films and was keen to work with her some day. HISSS is a different kind of a movie. Sure, it's about a snake woman [ichhadhaari nagin], but I bet, you haven't seen something like HISSS on the Indian screen before," he states confidently. Incidentally, Mallika Sherawat, who plays the role of a snake woman, has no dialogues in the film. All she does in the film is hiss!

Nayantara is another Sridevi: Lingusamy

Nayantara Gallery

Director Lingusamy will commence his movie Paiya starring Nayantara and Karthi in the lead roles. Interestingly for the movie, Nayanthara has been paid a whopping sum of Rs. one crore as remuneration.

Says Lingusamy, 'I am a great fan of Nayantara. She has the right blend of beauty and glamour just like Sridevi had a couple of decades ago. In Paiya, the role is tailor made for her and she fits perfect. She is another Sridevi and lets relish her presence here'.

Interestingly, Mumbai model Milind Soman, who acted in 'Pachaiklili Muthucharam', has been urged to play the negative role in Paiya. 'After Sandai Kozhi, I am joining hands with Yuvan Shankar Raja for the movie', he adds.

The movie unfolds in a car which sets out from Bangalore to Mumbai, adds Lingusamy.

Will Ajith team up with his hat-trick director?

Ajith is on a search for the right director and the latest rumor abuzz is, his once hat-trick hit maker Saran might be the one. Sivaji Productions has signed in the hero for the next movie which is still in the stable. Gautam Menon was earlier said to direct but after he lapsed out of the project, the search began.

Ajith was not content with the script narrated by few other directors and the consideration was on Vishnuvardhan, the maker of 'Billa'. The director who is busy with Sarvam couldn't take up the project before its completion. Later, it was Dharani, KS Ravikumar and Prabhudeva but the efforts were futile due to tight schedules of the filmmakers.

Now, Ajith and the production house seem to be contemplating on Saran to direct his movie. The director who gave the hits 'Kadhal Mannan', 'Amarkalam' and 'Attakasam' might re-conjure the magic for the actor. After an average run with 'Aegan', Ajith is ardent to bring out a hit and director Saran could be the right choice.

Narain shoots for 'Pookada Ravi'

It is a matter of little doubt that among the new Malayalee heroes who made it big in Tamil, Narain has been the luckiest. After starting with a big hit like 'Chithiram Pesuthadi', Narain has been always exceptional with his selection of films. He preferred to wait for the right script rather than to jump into every offer that came his way.

Narain became successful again with Mysskin's 'Anjathey' which went on to become a big time hit.

After keeping himself idle for some time, Narain has again started working for his next in Tamil, a film titled 'Pookada Ravi'. Directed and scripted by Sivakumar, an assistant to Selvaragahavan, the movie is being shot in Madurai and Chennai.

Sun Pictures who are producing the film will release it through Radaan Pictures by next March.