[For the Date between 17th Jan'05 - 22nd' Jan'05]
Rajini becomes even more devout
Rajini is well known for his religious inclinations. But, ever since he started working in 'Chandramukhi', his devotion has only increased.
While working in 'Baba', Rajini announced that he would like to quit the film industry if the film became a box office hit. The film nose-dived at the box office. This time, while working in 'Chandramukhi', he hasn't made any such announcements. But, Rajini has become even more serious with his religious rituals.
Soon after launching the film, he had asked the director, P Vasu, to offer his prayers at some of the important temples in Kerala. The Superstar himself makes it a point to go to temples and offer special prayers whenever he finds time.
Unfortunately, the prayers seem to have a negative effect because the film is getting into a lot of trouble in Kerala. There is even a case against the film in a Kerala Court.
Pongal feast awaits fans
Apart from the traditional Pongal, a real feast of sorts awaits fans on the Pongal day.
About eight movies made at a total budget of Rs 30 crore are getting ready to test the waters on the Pongal day.
Besides Sarath Kumar's Ayya directed by Hari and Vijay's Thirupachi directed by Perarasu, about half-a-dozen are expected to try their luck at the box-office on Pongal day.
The movies include Dhanush starrer "Devadhaiyay Kandein", Sathyaraj's "Iyer IPS", Prashanth starrer "Ayudham", Vignesh and Kutty Radhika starrer "Ulla Kadathal", Murali's "Arivumani", Keyar's "Dancer" and "Jathi" starring new comers.
Interestingly Ajith's "Ji" expected as Pongal release has been postponed for a release on Republic Day.
`Devathayai Kandein' may not save Dhanush
Tamil actor Dhanush's first film release after his marriage to superstar Rajnikanth's daughter Aishwarya, "Devathayai Kandein", may not deliver him the hit he desperately seeks.
The actor's hopes of gifting his new bride with a hit after three consecutive duds are likely to be dashed at the box office.
Following the stupendous success of "Kaadal Kondein", Dhanush went on a signing spree regardless of script or director, and this shows.
In "Devathaiyi Kandein", Dhanush plays a teashop boy whose life changes when he falls in love with college girl Sridevi.
Other than the usual romance and action elements, the film has Dhanush trying his hand at comedy. He has also rendered a song for this film.
A debut film by director and scriptwriter Bhoopathi Pandyan and produced by Kaja Moideen of Roja Combines, the film also stars Nassar, Paravai Muniamma, Karunas, Rajeev, T.P. Gajendran, Ilavarasu and Ponnambalam.
Mumtaz and Rahasiya (of "Vasool Raja" fame) furnish the item numbers.
Sandhya lands a blow
Just two months ago if Sandhya had knocked on the doors of directors and producers and asked for roles, most probably she would have been shown the door with a polite 'no'.
But in two months time, her life has been turned upside down. Now she is the heroine of the most successful film in town Kadhal. And success need not speak anything, it just goes without saying.
So Sandhya is finding offers that were meant for somebody else landing in her lap.
She has been cast as the heroine in a film titled Dhishum.
With a title like Dhishum, there has to be a knock on some one. The one to take a knock here is Pooja, the heroine of films like Jay Jay and Attagasam.
Pooja has been cast aside to make way for Sandhya.
The film is being directed by Sasi, who came up with movies like Sollamale and Roja Kootam. The director is now back to direction after a brief gap. Oscar Films Ravichandran is producing Dhishum.
Sandhya is also playing heroine in a Malayalam movie.
Hero change, name change, but...
Some things are always destined to be problematic.
Like Director Murugadoss' film Mirattal.
The film, was launched with lot of fanfare, and Ajith was said to play the hero. While lots of words were expended on the film, it was still a non-starter. Finally, after talking big, Ajith pulled out.
And stepping into the breach was Surya. The young hero's entry offered a fresh lease of life to the beleaguered Murugadoss.
But while re-launching the film, he changed the title from Mirattal to Gazini.
That he thought would mark a fresh start.
Alas, that is not the case. Two persons have moved that Film Chamber saying that Gazini was a title that they had registered long time ago.
They said they would not allow the title Gazini for any other movie. 'If they did, we will move the courts," they have warned.
Murugadoss' problems have just started.
Super good's most expensive film
Super good Films is soon going to release its most expensive film, at a budget of Rs 4 Crores!
Super good Films have produced more than 30 movies until now. The production company is known for its low-budget films with strong stories. This year, they are coming out with their most expensive film ever. The film, 'Thirupachi' stars Vijay and Trisha in the lead.
The film has four huge fight scenes. Many of the scenes were shot with more than a thousand junior artistes. Romantic song sequences involving Vijay and Trisha were shot in New Zealand. And, Chaaya Singh is performing a very expensive 'item number' in the film.
The film is going to be released on the 14th of this month.
I now have healthy respect for 'love'- Sandhya
If the song, 'Mayangure... Kirangure..' should make the youngsters to feel dizzy, what would happen to Sandhya who had acted for the song? Yes, there is a telling difference in her, which shows.
When she was acting in the film 'Kadhal' she was telling that she could not act any more, But now she is committing herself with new enthusiasm to new films. For the song 'Mayangure.. Kirangure.. they had got her on top of a tree. She was very much upset about the fact that, in Tamil films, heroines were only running around trees, not sitting up the top of it. She had cried over this very much, but her mother consoled her.
But, now Sandhya is ready not only to go up on top of trees, but also to scale the Everest. 'Sollamale' Sasi is directing a new film 'Dishyume'. Sandhya is the heroine in this film. The actress, who had delivered a loving blow (Dishyume) on the hearts of the youngsters would she fell in love, in real life? Though she is studying in 10th standard only, she answered this question in a flash.
"My father Ajithkumar and mother Maya loved each other first and then got married. After I had acted in the film 'Kadhal', I have developed a healthy respect for love". So who ever is ready to became mad because of his lover, may send applications to Sandhya-
All the best!
Kamal and S.J.Surya, Threatened
"If I am to challenge, can you shoot the film? Or can you release the film?
Does this sound like a challenge of a Rowdy element? But the person who had delivered this threat is none other than Thol. Thirumavalavan. A man who is known for his matured way of thinking, planning and execution of all things he takes up. He was the one who had delivered this threat to Kamal's 'Mumbai Express' and S.J.Surya's 'Best Friend'.
In Tamilnadu, there are very many Magazines and Dailies with English names. There are thousands of English medium schools are functioning. One cannot see a name board without English. You can just count the number of Tamilians using you fingers alone. who are not using words like 'Bed coffee' in the morning and 'Good night' before going to bed.
But the only target of 'Tamil Padhukappu Iyakkam' is Cinema. That even, against the personalities like Kamal and S.J.Surya. The reason is that, only if they oppose famous persons, the media would take notice of it. The reason they claim for this kind of selective opposition is just funny. "The cinema people fleece the hard earned money of Tamilans through the theatres. So, why not they name their film in Tamil only? The tone and tenor of S.J.Surya's speech is arrogant, that is insulting the Tamil language and Tamilians".
It is surprising that Thirumavalavan does not know the fact that Kamal and S.J.Surya are Tamilans by birth. Whether the speech of S.J.Surya insults Tamilans or not, is to be decided by Tamilians individually. But, who gave these people the authority and right to represent the whole Tamilans and Tamil language and put forth his own opinion as theirs' in any issue?
From the time of Bharathi to the yesterday's writer Gopikrishna, Tamil writers were living in pathetic condition and died in the same way. The people, who raise their voice to 'save' Tamil, should try and find the suffering Tamil writers and help them. If they do it, Tamil will live longer and healthier.
Whatever the case, their act of intervening in individual freedom is highly condemnable.
Sarath does father-son act in 'Ayya'
Kavithalaya banner's latest release "Ayya", which stars Sarath Kumar in the double role of an estranged father and his son, is hoping for a good box-office response from the Pongal audience.
The last big hit from Balachander's production house was 2003's "Saami", which was also directed by Hari. It is worth remembering that the director's two post-"Saami" films, "Arul" and "Kovil" flopped at the box office.
"Ayya" was originally written for superstar Rajnikant. When he decided to do "Chandramukhi", Sarath Kumar stepped into the roles.
Sarath, who excels in double roles (remember his other hits - "Nattamai" and "Suryavamsam"), plays an honest politician, fondly called "Ayya" by his electorate. A misunderstanding over a family matter leads to the estrangement between the MLA from Tirunelveli and his son.
The rest of the plot relates how the misunderstandings are resolved and the family reunited.
Veteran actress Lakshmi returns to the silver screen after five years as the senior Sarath's wife, while the delightful 20-year-old Nayanthara plays the younger Sarath's love interest.
"Ayya" is Nayanthara's first Tamil film, although she is better known as Rajnikant's heroine in "Chandramukhi". The audience will be eager to appraise her performance.
Bharadwaj, who had a big hit in 2004's "Vasool Raja", has composed the music for "Ayya". Incidentally, Bharadwaj's daughter Janani makes her debut as a playback singer in this film.
"Ayya", which also stars Napolean, Prakashraj and Vadivelu, was produced by Balachander's daughter Pushpa Kandasamy and shot entirely in Tirunelveli and Nagercoil. V.T. Vijayan and Priyan were in charge of editing and camera work.
Like "Thirupachi", "Ayya" was released for Pongal.
Plumpy actress gets plum role
Actress Saritha, a familiar name in Kollywood and Tollywood was last seen in Balu Mahendra's Julie Ganapathy.
Now after almost a year she is back in Chennai playing a lead role in Radhika Sarathkumar's mega-serial Selvi.
Asked about entering small screen, Saritha says, "ever since I made a comeback in Kollywood with Julie Ganapathy, I had offers coming from small screen, I was however choosy, I waited for a good banner and good artistes to work with. Thank Almighty it happened with Radhika Sarath Kumar and director Sundar K Vijayan."
So what's her role in the serial? Was it so special?
"I am playing a typical south Indian house wife in it. Radhika is a versatile actress and Sundar K Vijayan is a director to reckon with in Small screen. Hence I gave the go ahead to work in the serial.
The film deals with the life and times of a Lankan Tamil family that settles down in Tamil Nadu.
Wanted: Some good titles
Tamil filmdom is witnessing a scarcity for titles.
Some of the movies which are under production in Kollywood include 2005, ABCD, Onum Onum Onnu, A/C, BF, 6'2".
According to industry pundits, "it cannot be called as scarcity for titles. It's the trick of the trade. Catchy titles like these are sure to evoke the attention of the film-buffs even before its release. Lengthy titles in Tamil film industry have become a thing of the past".
But for a casual observer, this looks more a problem of creativity.
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