Kollywood Hotshots

The show which is extremely popular in India,  thanks to Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan now comes down south with top actor Suriya playing host. Suriya, who is known for his friendly approach and interactive nature, is super excited about his first appearance on a reality game show on small screen.

Neengalum Velalam Oru Kodi will go on air from February 2012

The leading man, Vijay is getting a lot of praise from director Murugadoss and cinematographer, Santhosh Sivan who have been bowled over by how good he is at his job. Mubina Rattonsey, who is known to Santhosh Sivan threw a party for the team at her residence. She added that though Vijay and Murugadoss may be giants in their field they are very humble and grounded.

Sources say this film will narrate the story of a good fisherman who unwittingly falls in the trap of a mafia gang. As usual, this Vettrimaran flick will be set in the bylanes of Chennai with a realistic touch. The technical team comprises of Velraj (camera), G.V. Prakash (music) and Kishore (editing).

Vada Chennai will be produced by Dhayanidhi Alagiri of Cloud Nine Movies.

The cult song has been premiered in almost all Bollywood music channels like MTV, Channel V, Zoom, Sony Mix etc. Probably this is the first time Hindi channels are going crazy over a Tamil song, not even our Superstar could create this kind of magic so far. Now his son-in-law Dhanush has done it!

But the film is believed to be progressing at a snail's pace thanks to Ameer's other commitments and his acting stints. Ravi recently revealed during an interview that the film's shooting is progressing at a very slow pace. He also expressed that if he's given a chance he'd opt out of this project!

All Jayam Ravi now wants is to complete 'Aadhi Bhagavan' and get along with his other projects that has lined up for him. Ravi will next join the 'Boologam' team. This film sees the actor in a rough and tough role as that of a boxer. He also has a film with actor Jiiva and one more yet-to-be titled project that he has to devote his time and energy too.

Rajapattai’s Telugu version will be released a week later – on December 30th. The film stars Vikram who has huge fan base both in Tamil Nadu as well as Andhra Pradesh. Deeksha Seth plays his heroine. Yuvan Shankar Raja has scored the music for this film, which has been directed by Suseenthiran.

Sneha is on board the 'Kochadaiyaan' team and so is Rajiv Menon as the cinematographer of the film. The music and the background score for this film will be done by Oscar Award winner AR Rahman. Stunts will be by Peter Hein.

We had already informed you a week back that the producers of the film were in talks with top heroines in Bollywood to star as the heroine for this 3D film. Now there are rumors churning in the Tamil film circles that Vidya Balan and Asin Thottumkal are being considered to play the heroine's role.

There is also a rumor regarding the narration style of 'Kochadaiyan.' Some say, in 'Kochadaiyaan' the superstar might appear in a king's garb and begin to narrate incidents that took place in the past. And the camera will move from real life narration to animation now and then, through which the past is narrated. As of now only Superstar and Sneha have been officially confirmed.

The top guns associated with the film have revealed that an official confirmation happen once the cast is all set and ready to shoot.

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Trisha, Kushboo, Shriya, and others have also lauded the song for bringing in the mass appeal.

The Superstar has large number of fans in Japan and they are eager to know about him. With his biography being translated into their language, the Japanese fans are delighted that they can get to know him better.

Rajini is a popular star in Japan and most of his films, including Muthu, Chandramuki and Endhiran, have done good business in that country.

Kochadayan is India’s first 3D film with performance capturing technology. AR Rahman is composing music for the film.

Buzz is that Sneha plays Rajnikanth’s sister who falls in love with Prithviraj. Initially it was rumoured that Anushka will play Rajnikanth’s lover. But now the team is searching for a Mumbai girl.

Shooting of this action thriller is being held in Chennai, after a brief schedule in Moscow, Russia making it one of the very few Indian movies to shoot there. Produced by AGS Entertainments in a grand manner, the movie will be completed soon.

When queried about the movie, Surya denied rumours that he is doing the role of conjoined twins in the film.

Basking in the glory of the success of 7am Arivu, Surya says, ‘ it is too early to talk about Maatran. We are shooting the film and KV Anand has come out with an excellent film with twists and turns. As usual there are enough commercial elements in the film.

After completing Maatran, Surya will venture to do a sequel to his previous hit Singam, to be directed by Hari again.

Apparently, Aishwarya and Dhanush requested Rajnikanth to do a special appearance in the film. When Rajni first heard the song he burst out laughing. Then he gladly accepted to be a part of ‘Kolaveri Di’. Dhanush has confirmed the rumors saying, “We’d only love it if he’s part of everything we do.”

The movie ‘3’ is already getting accolades and will hit the theatres in January.

Now the latest buzz is that attempts are on to remake Rajini-starrer 'Thalapathi', a Mani Ratnam directed film, in Hindi. Bollywood producer Bharat Shah, who is a close associate to Mani Ratnam, has acquired the remake rights.

"Bharat Shah shares a close rapport with Mani Ratnam professionally as well personally. He believes that the storyline of Thalapathi has got all ingredients to make it big in Bollywood. Hence he had acquired the remake rights of the movie from Mani Ratnam," sources say.

It is said that Puja Jatineder Bedi will direct the film and two top stars of Bollywood will play the roles that were made memorable by Rajini and Mammootty. "The script is being rewritten to suit to the taste of present day audience," sources add.

"I had a lot of respect for Sneha since she was senior to me in the industry and so popular. It was with that respect I started moving with her during the initial days of the shoot of Achamundu Achamundu. But slowly we realised that we are made for each other," he says.

"At one point of time we realised that we are so serious about each other and that we should join hands in life. We have expressed ourselves to our family members and the ball is now in their court to take this relationship to the next step," says the 'Muran' actor.

Giving credits to Sneha for his image makeover, Prasanna says, "She is the one behind the changes in me. Sneha took utmost care in my image makeover and gave me a lot of tips. I am so happy to have her in my life and I wholeheartedly accept that life is beautiful after Sneha's entry."

Soon after these songs are shot, the post production work will begin so that the film can hit the screens in December.

Vettai is directed by Lingusamy and stars Arya, Madhavan, Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul in the lead roles.

The actress, who was in Doha when the announcement was made, says, "Though we are in love with each other, Prasanna and I wanted to make an official announcement together. But our media manager spread the matter to all unable to control his happiness."

Sneha adds: "Elders in our families are currently holding talks. They will decide things soon. Once that is over, I will sure meet the press and will answer all queries. There will be no secrets in my marriage and I am particular about it."

Meanwhile, sources have it that there was initially some difference of opinion over Sneha-Prasanna relationship in their respective families. "However, since both actors are serious about their affair, the elders have given consent to the marriage," sources add.

Kajal is slowly climbing her way up in the top heroines chart and is currently shooting for Suriya - K V Anand's Maatraan. Besides, her recent Hindi film with Ajay Devgn Singham also grossed average revenues providing her with some publicity in Bollywood. Kajal also has two Telugu movies in hand.

According to Boopathi, the legendary actress' son, "The surgery is over successfully and doctors said the blood pressure and sugar levels of Amma are well under control. She is under observation and we hope that she will be discharged soon."

A popular actress known for her character and comedy roles, Manorama, fondly called as Aachi by everyone in the industry, slipped and fell down at the washroom of her house recently, resulting in an injury on her head. She was immediately rushed to hospital, where doctors hadd to perform a surgery.

Successful in the industry for nearly five decades, Manorama shared a great rapport with three top politicians of Tamil Nadu- M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa. She is also close with Superstar Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

Endhiran was a record smasher at the box office when it was released last year and did good business world over. The film had Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai playing the lead pair with Shankar directing it. Sun Pictures produced the film.

While rest of the films have made a bigger opening that include Shahrukh Khan’s Ra One and Surya-Shruti Hassan starrer 7am Arivu, the reason is still unknown.

Velayudham directed by Jayam Raja is released with 500 prints with more than 100 theatres in Kerala and Karnataka. But again, not finding a single theatre in its own territory literally dashes down everyone’s hopes.

According to trade reports, 7th Sense was released in 400 screens. In Nizam region alone, it hit with 150 plus screens that comprises 55 prints in Hyderabad. It is said that the actor and director AR Murgadoss' brand worked big time. The multilingual movie had 70-80 percent occupancy in most of the screens in metros. Especially, multiplexes were running into packed houses during weekends.

Trade analysts claim that as there were no big releases during Diwali, 7th Sense was able to encash on the long weekend. Though, Mahesh Babu's Dookudu and Junior NTR's Ooseravalli are still doing good business at the Box Office, Surya and Shruti Hassan starrer movie did not face any competition, as the above mentioned straight Telugu movies were released several weeks ago and most of the audience have already seen it, traders conclude.

Nayan's sms was: “You looked really good in the JFW photo shoot and in one of the pics, you looked so much like Priyanka Chopra. The way you have made this fast make-over is quite appreciable”

And Amala Paul screamed in joy and happiness. She was quick to reply back to Nayan: “Nayan you made my day. It was so sweet and kind of you to tell me this, and these words coming from you, means a lot . No other heroine of your stature would tell me this”

Amala said: “I was always proud about Nayanthara who is from Kerala and made it big in south Indian cinema. She created a place for herself in this male-dominated industry and more than being glamorous, she is also an amazing performer. She has struggled to reach this position and be it her make-over, attitude and bold moves, I really look up to her”.

Talking to journalists, a furious Nikitha said, "The KFPA need not ban me. Let it give me proof about an affair with Darshan." I will voluntarily walk out of the Kannada film industry. The actress said the decision has spoiled her image.
"I think this has been the most hurting decision. What mistake have I committed to undergo such harsh punishments?" she said and added: "I just returned from Mumbai only this morning after completing a modeling assignment. I was shocked."
Leading Kannada actor Darshan was arrested by the Police in the early hours of Friday for allegedly beating up his wife Vijayalakshmi and threatening her with a revolver. Vijayalakshmi had named Nikitha in her police complaint against her husband, which she later withdrew in front of the metropolitan magistrate.

Reacting to a query by fans on Twitter, the Kandireega actress wrote: “Guys for al those who are asking me, that m I doing The Businessman... the answer to the question is no. Im not doing The Businessman:)”

The Businessman, directed by Puri Jagannath with Kajal Aggarwal as the heroine, has started its first schedule recently.

Produced by Soundarya Ashwin's Ocher Studios which is also produced by Warner Bros, the film is getting Ready at a rapid speed and as suggested earlier the film has gone for a tittle change.

The confusion of title occurred earlier when Sultan was mistaken to be Rana and the confusion were cleared stating its two different movies. Now Sultan which was recently reported to have a Tamil title for its multi lingual live action animated movie, now becomes 'Dheera'.

The title Dheera which means the Brave one has been chosen as its Tamil title for the film. A source informs media, “Soundarya Rajinikanth was keen the film should have a Tamil title. Three titles were shortlisted and Dheera in all probability will be the final and fitting one.”

We also hear that Rajini who plays two different roles in the movie, will have Sultan and Dheera as his character names. Seems like this film is competing with SRK's Ra.One!

Multi Dimension Films has bought the dubbing rights of Mankatha, Ajith’s 50th film produced by Dhayanidhi Alagiri under the banner of Cloud Nine Movies. It’s not clear whether the Telugu version will be released simultaneously with the Tamil edition, which is slated for August 31 release.

The film stars Arjun in a special role, which was earlier meant for Nagarjuna. But he could not sign the film due to date problems. Others in the cast are Andrea Jeremiah, Premgi, Mahat and Vaibhav.

In Aishwarya's debut venture, Dhanush plays the male lead. Debutant Anirudh is the music director. Anirudh has earlier won the 'best instrumentalist' title at a reality music show judged by A.R. Rahman. He is also a part of a band Zinx. Reportedly the film will have seven songs: melodies, romance and fast-paced peppy numbers. Velraj is the cinematographer and Kola Baskar is the editor. The rest of the cast will be decided in a week's time.

Contrary to what was believed, it now dawns that it won’t be Boopathy Pandian who would be directing the debut film of Shanmugapandian.  Vijayakanth, his wife Premalatha and brother-in-law and producer Sudeesh have been listening to various scripts from many directors to select the appropriate script to be the launch pad of Shanmugapandian.

It is said that though Vijayakanth loved the script, a mix of riveting action and comedy, narrated to him by Boopathy, he is said to be apprehensive about whom to be cast in the comedy section of the film.  His family members are also said to be hesitant in introducing Pandian in an action film.

In order to doubly ensure that the launch-paid of his son turns out to be the best, Vijayakanth has reportedly put on hold the script narrated to him by Boopathy Pandian.  In the coming days, he would be listening to some more scripts before arriving at a decision

Nadia has decided to leave the show gracefully as it is eating into her personal life and time with her family which she values. The buzz is that Simran will be roped in as the new host of the show. The makers are hoping that Jackpot will return to its former glory with Simran at the helm.

Mankatha is an action thriller which is rumoured to narrate the story of match-fixing sagas in international cricket matches. There are also reports that Trisha will play the role of a don's sister in the film. The film is likely to hit screens on August 19.

The actor while he signs a film always has a clause that he will not attend any promotional events of his films. In a recent interview, the actor has made it clear: "I would like my films to speak for itself." 

To be fair to Ajith, he never attends any functions and during the previous regimes time he was forced to come to a 'Paratuvizha of the then chief minister Karunanidhi organised by Tamil film industry.'

At that function he bitterly complained to the CM on how he was forced to come for the function. In fact after his speech superstar Rajinikanth got up from his seat and gave Ajith a standing ovation.

As we had reported earlier the Mankatha audio is being quietly launched to the stores on August 10.

A press meet and a trailer and song release function is being arranged at a preview theatre in Saligramam.

Ajith will not be taking part in the audio launch as he is busy shooting for Billa 2 in Hyderabad.

The shooting is almost complete and the post production works are now in progress. The film is expected to hit screens across Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh simultaneously in the last week of August.

The film is produced by Gemini Film Circuit. Harris Jayaraj is scoring the music. Others in the cast are Sathyaraj, S.J. Suryah, Sathyan, Kishore, Anuya Bhagvath, Lawrence Raghavendra, Manobala and Uma Padmanabhan.

But the actress in question has quashed all the buzz about her upcoming engagement and marriage as mere rumours. Trisha has also stated that she does not have any plans to get settled in matrimony in the near future.
"I am not getting engaged nor am I getting married to anyone in the near future. If this crazy rumour was true I would first share it with my fans as I have nothing to hide, I haven't met my Mr. Right yet", says Trisha speaking on the issue.
As of now Trisha seems to be concentrating only on one thing - films; the actress is looking forward for her movies to hit theatres. In Tamil she is looking forward to the release of 'Mankatha' where she shares screen space with Ajith. Trisha also has a couple of films in Telugu..

The latest buzz is that due to going over budget, producer Aascar Ravichandaran is finding it difficult to distribute the film. So Aascar films has decided to distribute the film under their own banner. There is widespread speculation that Velayudham is the remake of Nagarjuna's Telugu film Azad. Sony Music has bagged the music rights of Velayudham, composed by Vijay Anthony, for a whopping price. Vijay is said to be doing a typical Rajinikanth's Annamalai type milkman role, who bashes baddies with the help of an investigative television reporter (Genelia).The buzz is that there will be a lot of punch dialogues in the film, in a bid to hit out at Vijay's detractors. There are 15 villains and 30 comedians in the film, which will have five songs and six choreographed action scenes.