Kollywood Hotshots

The buzz says that the makers of the forthcoming film directed by Siva have approached Devi Sri Prasad and they are likely to seal the deal soon. Yuvan Shankar Raja and Anirudh Ravichander were also in the race but the movie bosses preferred Devi Sri Prasad. This will be DSP's first film with Ajith Kumar.

It may be recalled that after Anirudh Ravichander met Ajith Kumar in Mumbai last month, it was said that the young musician was roped in to score the music for the upcoming film. However, with this development, all the speculations related to the music director of Thala's next film have ended.

Meanwhile, Ajith Kumar and Anushka Shetty's movie name have been finalised. The title of the film, which was earlier said as Vetri Kondaan, is yet to be finalised. Other details about the project are yet to be revealed.

Billa 2 trailer has created a big buzz among Ajith fans and there is unanimous opinion that it is one of the best cut trailers in recent times. Already, in less than 24 hours it has crossed 1.5 views on you tube, which is fantastic by any yardstick.

Billa 2 being marketed in Tamil Nadu by Aascar Films is scheduled to release on July 13. The theatrical trailer of the film will be shown in all theatres in TN with Qube from Wednesday.

Ajith is working on his fitness for nearly five and a half hours per day, adds a source. For this Ajith has changed his caravan to a mini gym where he could work out in every bit of time off the shoot. Hats off to the commitment of the star who had undergone 16 surgeries which have taken a toll on his health to a worrying extent.

With Ajith tuning up his body and Anu Vardhan (vishnuvardhan's wife) as the costume designer onboard, we could expect to see a dashing Ultimate star to on screen. The film has a rich casting of Ajith, Arya, Nayanthara and Tapasee Pannu appearing in important roles.

All of a sudden mouth watering hot Biryani was served to the 150 people. Only later on the crew came to know that only Ajith has cooked this tasty Biryani.

One of the crew member who tasted this Biryani said, ” Ajith apart from being a good actor is also a good chef. He prepared mutton and chicken Biryani in the sets erected for the shooting of Billa 2.

He never took the assistance of anyone to prepare the Biryani. After completing each shot, he checked the quality of Biryani.”

The crew members say that they are very eager to savour the Biryani prepared by Ajith.

Ajith’s next will be for Vishnuvardhan. After completing this project, he is expected to team up with RS Infotainment. The director and other cast and crew will be finalized only after the star completes Billa 2 and Vishnuvardhan’s project.

Actor Ajith came with his wife and daughter. Like father, little Anoushka is a complete charmer. She was seen having a good time with the other guests present there.

He is keen on getting Nayan to play the lead role along with Ajith as it is now clear that she is looking to make a comeback. It may be mentioned here that there is news that Nayan’s relationship with Prabhu Deva has fizzled out and the actress wants to get back to her career.

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.

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 film is being produced Wide Angle Creations Suresh Balaji and George Pious, while the presenter of the film will be Sunir Khetrapal of IN Entertainment.

Chakri Toleti has clearly said in an earlier interview that Billa 2 would be a prequel. Says Chakri : "Billa 2 would focus on how David, an ordinary man from coastal Thoothukudi in South Tamil Nadu, becomes Billa, a dreaded underworld don".

A debutant Mumbai based theatre actor and model Huma Qureshi will play the female lead. From the previous film, the producers had made it clear that apart from Ajith, Prabhu and Rahman, most of the other characters would not be retained.

Television actor KK who starred in sympathetic roles in Kaavalan and Deiva Thirumagal,is playing a 'dirty cop' in the film. Sudhanshu Pandey and Vimala Raman will do cameo special appearances. Y

Yuvan Shankar Raja, a part of the original Billa is the music director. Rest of the technical crew being finalized in the following weeks.

Leading Bollywood cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi, was originally chosen as the cinematographer but due to shoot getting postponed, he opted out.

Now the latest we hear is that RD Rajasekhar is the cameraman for the film. The crew also announced the film would become the first Indian production to be filmed with an RED EPIC Camera, being shot at 5K resolution.

Dhayanidhi Azhagiri mentioned that Yuvan has contributed a lot of time and hardwork in making the soundtrack a mega success. He said that he had always wanted to work with Venkat Prabhu after having watched his earlier releases like Chennai 28, Saroja and Goa. He thanked the entire team for having worked hard to deliver Mankatha which will be one of the most important movies in Tamil cinema. He said Mankatha is his dream project and shall be a blockbuster for sure entertaining the fans of Ajith.

Cloud Nine Movies has produced this action thriller which is rumoured to narrate the story of  match-fixing sagas in international cricket matches. Arjun will play the role of an investigative officer who takes up the task of exposing the bookies. The film, directed by Venkat Prabhu, has a huge star cast which includes Trisha, Arjun, Lakshmi Rai, Anjali, Premji, Ashwin, Vaibhav, Mahant and others.

The latest we hear is that Cloud Nine Movies is planning an audio launch and movie release in the month of June. With both the audio launch and movie release scheduled in the same month, Ajith fans are bound for a treat.

Mankatha is directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by Dayanidhi Alagiri of Cloud Nine Movies. The film also stars Arjun, Trisha, Lakshmi Rai, Anjali and others.

About Huma, she reported to be a young theatre actor from Delhi now living in Mumbai. A popular face of commercials, the model has shared screens with Aamir Khan (Samsung Guru Mobile) and Shah Rukh Khan (Nerolac Paints) and done ads for many leading brands. Huma is also debuting in Hindi films with Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur, which is currently under production.

Sunir Kheterpal, CEO – IN Entertainment, says, “Having spent almost two months looking at options for the Lead Actress for the Film along with the Director and Wide Angle Films, we have formalized Huma Qureshi as the Lead Actress for the Film. The lead girl in BILLA 2 has a strong, pivotal role. We are extremely confident that Huma has the requisite talent, temperament and the screen presence to carry the same with élan.”

Confirming her association with the film, Huma Qureshi comments, “I am delighted to be a part of the legendary Billa Franchise and feel fortunate to debut in the Tamil film industry and get to play a character like this so early in my career. I was bowled over by the role narrated to me for Billa 2 and cannot wait to start work on the Film.”

While Director Chakri Toleti added, “The part of our leading girl is a highly demanding role and it was a challenge to find an actress with just the right mix of talent, looks and attitude.  We searched the industry nationwide, looking at newcomers as well as established stars. Huma is a tremendous actor with tremendous range and charisma and we are happy to have her on board.”

Amongst other key crew members, Yuvan Shankar Raja is confirmed as the Music Director and Hemant Chaturvedi (who has earlier worked on Company, Maqbool and Kurbaan) as the Director of Photography. Other members of cast and crew shall be announced towards the end of April 2011. The Film is being readied to start principal photography in the second fortnight of May 2011.

‘Billa 2’ is backed up by IN Entertainment (India) Limited (INE) along with Wide Angle Creations.

The Mankatha team is currently busy with its final schedule in Mumbai which will go on till April 16. However, the talkie portion and two songs are yet to be shot. Apart from all these, we have the exciting IPL and Tamil Nadu elections in May. So considering all these factors, the producers have decided to postpone the release to June.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that the film will be a complete action-thriller that will narrate the match-fixing sagas in international cricket matches.

The producer of many hit movies, Jayaprakash will play Trisha’s father in ‘Mankatha’. In the meantime, he is happy with the feedback he received for his performance in Mysskin’s ‘Yudham Sei’.

In the film produced by AGS Entertainment, he brilliantly played an alcoholic pathologist alongside Cheran. Interestingly, it was Cheran who introduced Jayaprakash as an actor in ‘Mayakannadi’.

For those who want to know more about the origin of the rapport between Cheran and Jayaprakash, it dates back to the late 1990s, when the latter produced ‘Porkaalam’, a movie directed by the former.

Meanwhile, music director Yuvan Shankar Raja has recently completed Mankatha tracks. "Six songs composed!!! Three songs recorded!! There will be a promo song!!! One club mix and a Mankatha theme music!! 9 tracks!! U1 rocks," director Venkat Prabhu tweeted. According to sources, Mankatha will have nine songs, of which three tracks will be used for promotional purpose.