Kollywood Hotshots

While Lingusamy launched the website, Gautham Menon launched the trailer, in the presence of chief guest Suriya. The event was one of the rare ones where the heroine of a film is present, with Tamannaah looking resplendent in a sari. The trailer and two songs were screened for the audience.

While one song had Karthi in nine get ups with Santhanam, the other was a love melody shot in Phuket between the lead pair.

The music director Vidyasagar revealed how choosy director S Siva was about the music while Suriya said, "I am waiting to work in a film with Vidyasagar but Karthi has reached there before me. Even now when I run on the treadmill I hear only his music for that extra energy to run."
He added, "We normally keep photos of gods or family members on our mobile phones but Karthi kept Ravi Teja’s pic on his phone for one year, just to get the nuance of his cop role right from the Telugu original of this film. He does comedy effortlessly and this is a big plus in the film. I am sure Siruthai will be ten times more than Singam."

Jeyam Raja praised the Suriya- Karthi brothers team while producer Ravindran described the film as a feast for the public, exhibitors and distributors this Pongal. Director Rajesh said, "This is like a double promotion for Karthi who is doing a dual role."

Karthi added, "This is a dream film for me. While playing the cop however, I tried hard not to look like Suriya in Singam. Director Siva has worked on the script for more than a year to get it right and Vidyasagar’s music will be a hit. I am grateful to the entire team for putting this film together."

Producer Gnanavel Raja came in for much praise from one and all for giving quality films so far. The event was attended by Parthiban, Shanmugam, SP Muthuraman, A Jagannathan, Prabu Solomon, Subhash C Bose, Anbu Chezhiyan, Vijay,  Rajeevan and cameraman of the film, Velraj,  amongst others.

Tamannah’s speech in Tamil was praised by Suriya who lauded her hard work to reach the top.

The director of the film KS Ravikumar and producer Udhayanidhi Stalin were also present to promote the film in Kerala.

At the press meet held, Kamal made it clear that the controversial song will not be deleted from the film.

Manmadhan Ambu is facing the wrath of the Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) for the song "Kannodu Kannai Kalandhal" which speaks much about woman's desire and has also references to Hindu deities like Aranganathar and Sri Varalakshmi.

Kamal has written the lyrics of the song and sung it with Trisha. Earlier HMK had sent a notice to Kamal Hassan, Trisha and the producer Udhayanidhi Stalin asking them to remove the song as it hurts the sentiments of Hindus.

Kamal said at the press meet: "I do not think that the song offends Hindu sentiments. The Censor Board has passed the film with a 'U' certificate. The song will not be deleted ."

“I got up so early at 3:30 am because I am filming at 5 in the morning for Jeeva’s film,” she says and adds: “I am also watching movies back to back at the Chennai International Film Festival.”

On her walking the ramp wearing handloom saris at a recent expo, she says, “Every piece was woven by hand it is so unique. It’s a piece of art. Come let’s support Indian hand loom. I'm glad government is trying to promote traditional Indian craft.”

Urging Chennaiites to watch international films at the CIFF, she says, “All you Chennai people, please go and watch the movies at the festival. It is a great experience. I am excited.”

Sameera Reddy will be Vishal's heroine in this action flick produced under Vishal’s home banner JK Film Corporation.

This issue was sorted out by the parties concerned and when everyone heaved a sigh of relief that Kavalan will hit the screens as planned, the Theatre Owners’ Association threatened not to exhibit the film unless Vijay takes care of their losses suffered for screening his previous films, which were box-office duds.

The latest is a case filed by Gokulam Chit Funds claiming that the producer of Bodyguard, based on which Kavalan has been remade, has given them the remake rights. This case came up for hearing recently and the judge ordered that the film’s release cannot be stayed as sought by the petitioner Gokulam Chit Funds. The case has been posted for further hearing this Friday.

An Indo-UK based production house High Ground Enterprise has released the Hindi version of ‘Endhiran’ ‘Robot’ in the Fiji Islands. The film was released to full houses in four theatres, they said.

The Fiji Islands, situated to the east of New Zealand, have a significant population of Indian origin consisting of ethnic Tamilians and mainly North Indians.

High Ground has stated that the local government authorities were present at the first show of the movie to show their support and appreciation.

Here is yet another land conquered by the phenomenon of Rajinikanth.

Pony's name in the marriage certificate was registered as 'Reshmi Verma'. Pony and Prakash are in the city for the past few days. The couple got married in August this year and hosted a grand reception for their friends from film industry in Mumbai.

Though the reasons for them registering their wedding in Hyderabad are yet to be known, reliable sources confirm that the couple which is shuttling between Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad for work is planning to make Hyderabad their home very soon.

Prakash Raj has produced the phone bills of a house in Madhapur, informed a source close to the actor.

The Kollywood glam girl was in Varanasi (Benaras), shooting for Anurag Kashyap's The Gangs of Wasseypur.

The film is rumoured to be the remake of Sasikumar's Subramaniapuram.

Speaking to sify.com from Varanasi, a relieved Reemma said: "I had got passes to go and pray at the temple at Dashashwamedh Ghat for the famous Tuesday evening 'Aarati', but the car that was supposed to pick me up came late. It's fate, otherwise I would have been at the bomb blast site."

Meanwhile Reemma says: "I play a very spirited Bengali girl and Manoj Bapai's girlfriend in the film. It's tremendous experience to do a Anurag Kashyap film."
The actress made it clear that it is not a remake of Subramaniapuram, but a fresh new subject.

After Sura a disaster at the box office the TN Film Exhibitors Association (TFEA) are not going to screen Vijay’s films until he compensates the losses incurred for his films.

TN Film Exhibitors Association (TFEA) on Wednesday held a conference in Coimbatore which was graced by president M Annamalai and secretary R Panneerselvam has decided not to allot screens for Kaavalan until the actor pays them.

All this seems like Kaavalan slated for Christmas release will not get any screens in Tamilnadu until he pays thirty percent of an expected loss of Rs 9 crores, which will turn up to Rs 3 crores.

Sources say that Rajinikanth will be on tour to Bangalore Raghavendra temple or will be visiting his friends and will be having a good time. No body is going to curse him for having a good time but the fishy part of it is that, why isn't Rajinikanth not celebrating his birthday in Chennai and what might be the reason ?

Rumors are spreading out that Rajinikanth will be celebrating his birthday as his latest flick is a great hit and it also seems that Rajinikanth will be celebrating his birthday with his fans as the movie got a big hit and still running successfully. As per the guess, here are the reasons why Rajinikanth will be celebrating his birthday in Chennai.

Vishal was recently shooting for ‘Avan Ivan’ in Theni, Madurai for two months non-stop. During those two months our macho man was all game for everything except that he was missing his favourite food.

Vishal is a lover of Japanese food and he craved for his beloved sushi. But in place like Theni where to get that food? Even Madurai’s Paruthi Pal and Jil Jil Jigarthanda weren’t enough to cool him.
Seeing Vishal’s growing hunger for the Japanese dish consisting of cooked vinegared rice topped with seafood, the production manager specially flew in the dish for the hero. Vishal was happy. When the hero was happy the entire unit was happy.
After completing ‘Avan Ivan’, Vishal is geared to start the film directed by Prabhu Deva in December. Sameera Reddy romances him in that.

Here is one more proof. Suriya who was shooting a vigorous action scene for ‘7am Arivu’ at Binny Mills decide to do a difficult action himself and got injured. Suriya got his ankle twisted and could not stand on his feet. The doctor was called immediately and after a check up the unit was relieved when the medical team said there is nothing to worry.

However, Suriya was advised a three days rest before resuming the shoot. We wish our Mr. Perfect a speedy recovery.

Anand, whose last film ‘Ayan’ starring Suriya & Tamannaah broke many box-office records, is planning to film a song for the film in which leading actors and actresses of the Tamil film industry might be seen. Sources close to the burly filmmaker say that he has been in touch with the stars he intends to rope in for a song in the film.

In Bollywood movies, songs featuring multiple stars isn’t a rarity. In superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Naseeb’ which released in the mid-eighties, legends like Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Shammi Kapoor featured in a song sequence. The same was the case with contemporary actress Deepika Padukone’s debut film ‘Om Shanti Om’ which released a couple of years back and had a song featuring the 70-plus Dharmendra, Hrithik Roshan, Govinda, Priyanka Chopra and Kajol Devgn.

Efforts were made in the past in Kollywood to bring together leading stars for a single song but in vain. The song that Anand has in mind is likely to feature Suriya, Vijay, Aarya, ‘Jeyam’ Ravi, Bharath, Dhanush and Jiiva, the hero of the film. Talks are reportedly going on between Anand and the concerned heroes and some heroines in Tamannaah, Shriya Saran and Poonam Bajwa.

The actress said that she was always concerned about the welfare of the disabled from her childhood days and that her celebrity status hasn’t brought this attitude in her.  Getting into philosophical mode, she adds, “I’m aware that life is not all about money and fame; what matters is what we do or we can do for the people around us.  I’m planning to open a spa in Mumbai shortly to cater the needs of the blind and the visually challenged.

“When I used to study in Delhi, we used to visit a blind school quite often.  My experiences at the School has left a deep impact on me which might have contributed in a big way in my decision to shortly set up a special spa for visually challenged people in Mumbai,” says Shriya.

“The strongest of their senses is that of touch.  Keeping this min mind, we are planning to offer them at the spa treatments like reflexology and massages that are programmed to give them great comfort,” she added.

Professionally, Shriya is thrilled to bits with the great comeback she made in Telugu with Don Seenu and Puli.  She also looks with great hope and expectation to her Tamil film Chikku Bukku opposite Aarya, to resurrect her Tamil career too.

That is surely some appreciation for the young girl who has still not been able to make her mark in the Bollywood film industry. ‘Engeyum Kaadhal’ is a love story and speaks about the relationship that two people share between themselves. Prabhu Deva says that it is essentially a feel-good cinema. Hansika Motwani is paired opposite Jayam Ravi in the upcoming Prabhu Deva flick which has music scored by Harris Jayaraj. The cast and crew of ‘Engeyum Kaadhal’ are presently in New Zealand for shooting a song sequence. The film, however, has been primarily shot in the fashion capital of the world Paris and ask Prabhu Deva about the experience in France and prompt comes the reply “expensive”!

After her illustrious stint as a child actress, Hansika Motwani has been a very popular face of South Indian cinema, especially in the Kollywood industry. Her association with the upcoming Prabhu Deva film will help her acquire a stronger foothold in the industry, feels the actress.

Just like a man whose exterior overshadows his inherent qualities, nobody knows what the real Arjun Rampal is all about. The Man magazine thus was on a mission with their November issue to find out the man behind this man. The cover shoot was one where the mysterious side this Rampal was discovered as he stares at you, asking you to enter his world.

For all the ladies out there, go grab this issue and find out what makes Arjun tick.

Vijay and Mahesh Babu will play Aamir's role in the Tamil and Telugu versions respectively. Sathyaraj will play the role of the principal and Ileana will enact Kareena’s role in both versions.

The latest buzz is that actor Vinay has refused to play Madhavan's role in the Tamil and Telugu versions. "When I analyzed the role, I realised that it was not quite meaty. So, after a couple of days, I got back to the production team and told them that I could take it up," Vinay said to a leading daily.

Siva takes care of the direction part,  music is being scored by Vidya Sagar and Anthony is handling the editing part. Director Siva who has directed mega hit movies like 'Sangam' and 'Souryam'.

Director Siva says that the story line is based upon a normal youngster's necessity to complete an unexpected difficult task. For the first time Karthi is playing a dual role. An educated youth and a local pickpocket character sums up the two roles of Karthi in Siruthai. As a feather to the cap, the star cast includes the hot favorite comedian Santhanam. Comedy sequences have demanded more takes during the shooting as the dialogues pronounced by Santham were so hilarious, says a source.

The film was planned to release on December, but the latest reports states the movie will be released for Pongal 2011. ‘Siruthai’ is the remake of Telugu blockbuster ‘Vikramakurudu’ directed by SS Rajamouli.

Buzz up!It may be recalled that the actor's previous film Unnaipol Oruvan, remake of Bollywood blockbuster A Wednesday, was firstly christened TI. Later, the movie bosses changed the name due to unknown reasons.

Kamal himself has penned the script and screenplay for this upcoming flick. He feels that the title would suit the storyline. Hence, he has finalized it as Thalaivan Irukkindran. The multi-starrer film features Mohanlal, Ravi Teja, Deepika Padukone, Genelia D'Souza and Trisha.

Buzz up!Sources have claimed that the actor's association and producer Aascar Ravichandran have equally funded the money for this worthy cause. Speaking at the occasion, the actor said that the cows would help their families and hope that it could improve their financial condition.

However, Jayam Ravi's directorial Velayudham features Vijay, Genelia D'souza and Hansika Motwani in the lead roles. The movie has Vijay Anthony's music and Priyan's photography. The movie is expected to release in early 2011.

The film has become a hit largely due to the family audiences, who are loving the feel-good factor and comedy in the film.

The film has netted approximately 58 lakhs in three days from Chennai city and another Rs 67 lakhs from Salem area, which the trade feels is a good opening. 

It is hat trick victory for Dhanush-Mithran combination.

The  producers Mohan Apparao and T Ramesh of Balaji Studios are likely to cover their cost and turn profitable in the first week itself. Says T Ramesh: "Uthamaputhiran is a universal hit and it has taken the best ever opening for a Dhanush film in the overseas market. The film is a hit as it catered to family viewers and the comedy of Dhanush and Vivek is being cheered".

Abirami Ramanathan, who is distributing the film in Chennai city and Salem area said:  "Uthamaputhiran has taken the best opening among all Diwali releases. It is working as it is a typical festival film and bringing in the family audiences. The Dhanush-Vivek Comedy is the highlight of the film".

M G R Nambi while speaking to the media said,” Poruthiru is a beautiful romantic village film. I have donned the role of milk man. This is the first film actress that Malavika is acting after her marriage. She is doing a cameo role. She comes to the village to inaugurate the tea shop. Since I am one of the big wig in the village I welcome her. My aunt’s daughter has a dream linking me and Malavika. This is where the remake song comes. The late S S Chandran after the gap of 18 years has acted in this film. This is his last film.’

Gautami with daughter subbulakshmi and Kamal Hassan