My-Tamil Movies: October 2009

Chennai Oct 30 (IANS) Southern actor Sarath Kumar is extremely happy that his performance in the Malayalam film "Pazhassi Raja" has been appreciated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi himself, but is irritated with the delay in the release of "Jaggubai".

Directed by K.S. Ravikumar, "Jaggubai" is said to have been screened 32 times for media, VIPs, distributors, etc. But no distributor has found the film good enough to buy its distribution rights.

According to sources, Sarath blames the tussle between the media and the film industry for the delay in his film. He feels that he had been made to suffer for "no fault of his".

The media is upset with the film fraternity ever since news editor of Tamil daily Dinamalar, B. Lenin was arrested.

He was held on a complaint lodged by South India Film Artistes Association (SIFAA), after Dinamalar Sunday published a news report with the names and photos of several leading lights of the Tamil cinema allegedly involved in prostitution.

Later he was granted bail.

Vanam Partha Seemayile
Friday 30 October 2009

Tamannaah eyes National Award

Chennai, Oct 29 (IANS) Tamannaah, one of the high-paid actresses in Tamil cinema, is right now focusing on her acting career and says she wants to win a National Award.

"I'm not at all in a hurry to get married. I have just managed to stabilise myself in the film industry. I want to sustain the position that I have earned here," the actress, who gave two hits this year - "Ayan" and "Padikkathavan", told reporters here.

"Winning the National Award for best actress is my dream. In fact, I want to win awards in all categories - glamour, acting as well as fighting if there is an award for this," added the actress who is geared up for the release of "Kandein Kaadhalai".

She is ready to compromise on her fee if a director will offer her a script that can fetch her the award.

Tamannaah also feels that actresses shouldn't hide their age.

"I feel that an actress shouldn't be hesitating to reveal her actual age. Age helps in letting the other person be aware of one's experience, maturity and tact," said the 19-year-old.

Soundarya, Bhupathi initiate joint film awards

Chennai, Oct 29 (IANS) Soundarya Rajnikanth has joined hands with Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi's Globosport to start annual film awards to honour South Indian artistes.

"The South Indian film industry is not only an exciting prospect but has amazingly talented artistes and technicians who have been achieving a lot without making much noise. While it is important to retain achievers in their respective fields, it is also of paramount importance to spot and identify new talents in those fields," said Soundarya.

"Keeping this in mind, I have decided to give away awards for excellence every year in various fields in the film industry. I'll do it in association with tennis champion Mahesh Bhupathi. I'm very happy to have aligned with Mahesh," she added.

Soundarya is the younger daughter of superstar Rajnikanth and runs Ocher Studios that produced the animation film "Sultan: The Warrior".

Mathiya Chennai
Thursday 29 October 2009

Sun TV Network to launch new game show
Wednesday 28 October 2009

Chennai, Oct 27 (IANS) Sun TV Network will come out with a game show on its four southern flagship entertainment channels after the weekend movie or serial, the company said here Tuesday.

The one-hour programme, patterned on the international game show "Deal or No Deal" that has been telecast in 73 countries, will run for 26 weeks between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays on Sun TV (Tamil), Surya (Malayalam), Gemini (Telugu) and Udaya (Kannada).

Each participant has a chance to win a maximum of Rs.50 lakh, while a viewer can earn Rs.100,000 per episode by winning a contest.

"The game show will be hosted by actors. Rishi will host in Sun TV while it will be Sai Kiran in Gemini and Udaya. Malayalam actor Mukesh will be the host in Surya," Sun TV vice-president L.V. Navaneenth told IANS.

While the broadcaster will pay a fixed fee and royalty to format owner Endemol, a Netherlands-headquartered entertainment company, it will earn revenue from advertisements and title sponsors.

"The programming cost will be borne by Sun TV Network," Navaneenth added.

Earlier, addressing the media here, Sun's chief operating officer Ajay Vidyasagar said: "We believe the time is right to launch large non-fiction shows on top of our already very strong fiction-based programming content."

According to Endemol India managing director Deepak Dhar, the original "Deal or No Deal" show has given away over Rs.500 crore in cumulative prize money, making it one of the most successful game shows in television history.

The game involves 26 suitcases, each of which contains an unknown amount between Rs.1 and Rs.50 lakh.

To begin with, a contestant chooses any one of the 26 suitcases, not knowing how much money is inside.

The contestant's objective is to walk away from the game with the maximum possible amount of money through a process of opening the other 25 boxes and deciding to deal or not to deal with a mysterious banker who offers to buy the suitcase offering varying amounts of money at different stages of the game.

Kanden Kadhalai

Exhausted Asin spends a quiet birthday
Tuesday 27 October 2009

Mumbai, Oct 27 (IANS) Asin Thottumkal, whose back-to-back promotional campaigns for "London Dreams" left her exhausted, ushered in her birthday quietly with a few friends and family members. She says it was the most "peaceful and happy birthday" of her life.

"Actually I hadn't slept at all. I had been working non-stop for 'London Dreams' for the last one week with just three-four hours of sleep. Anyway I'm making up for the exhausting week with the most peaceful and happy birthday of my life," Asin, who turned 24 Monday, told IANS.

Asin brought in her birthday with a quiet dinner on Sunday night with her close friends. "It was eight of my closest friends at dinner. We had a ball. At midnight they made me cut a cake. I felt 12 years old again."

Earlier during the evening Asin arrived home to a big surprise.

"When I opened the door the entire house was done up with balloons by my parents, just like they used to do for my birthdays when I was a child. I had to burst quite a few balloons because there was no room to even walk. I've never felt happier," she said.

On her birthday the actress gorged on food and has regained all the weight that she had to lose for her role in "London Dreams".

"I had to be much thinner for my character. Now in 24 hours I think I've regained all the weight that I lost for 'London Dreams'. I've been gorging non-stop on chocolates and chocolate cake. And there's still so much left," said Asin, who made it big in Bollywood with "Ghajini".

The second-half of the day was devoted to the kids in her highrise apartment. They all love their Asin didi and wouldn't miss her birthday for the world.

"Fortunately, there was enough cake and chocolates to go around. So it was great fun. This is the best birthday I had. I woke up to god knows how many SMSes and missed calls. I can't believe so many people remembered my birthday and cared about it," she said.

But by far the best part of her birthday was provided by her parents. "When I saw the trouble they had taken over decorating my place, I decided then and there that I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

Ambasamuthiram Ambani

Yen Ippadi Mayakkinai
Monday 26 October 2009

Solla Solla Inikkum
Sunday 25 October 2009

Crisp and short, Kamal Haasan film hits jackpot

Chennai, Oct 25 (IANS) The makers of Tamil films "Aadhavan" and "Peraasnmai", which were released during Diwali, have been forced to cut them short after they were rejected by audiences for being too lengthy. Kamal Haasan starrer "Unnaipol Oruvan", however, has hit the jackpot.

"The viewers were complaining about the length of both - 'Aadhavan' and 'Peraasnmai'. The filmmakers were forced to cut them short," said a source from theatre circles.

K.S. Ravikumar, director of "Aadhavan", edited out 20 minutes of the film and sent his assistant directors to all the centres to make these cuts. Meanwhile, theatre operators themselves cut "Peraasnmai" short.

"After the films were shortened, the footfalls at the theatres have slightly increased," said the source.

Kamal's "Unnaipol Oruvan", an adaptation of the Bollywood film "A Wednesday", was a hit at the box office, thanks to its length. The film is less than two hour long and it proved to be "master stroke" as it has been doing exceptionally well at almost all the centres.

Kamal's close associates inform that he is likely to keep the length of his other movies short too.

Dhanush, Hari join hands

Actor Dhanush has teamed up with director Hari for Vijaya Productions' new untitled venture and industry sources say the combination is quite a sensation as both of them are known for their commercially successful ventures.

Dhanush has been churning out hit after hit while Hari has become one of the most sought after directors after giving box office successes such as "Sami", "Aiyaa" and "Aaru".

The heroine and the other members of the cast are yet to be finalised for this big budget film, which is expected to go on the floors next year.

Producer B. Venkatarama Reddy's Vijaya Productions is one of the oldest production houses. It produced late MGR's magnificent hit film "Enga Veettu Pillai" as well as Rajnikanth's "Uzhaippali", Vishal's "Thamirabharani" and Dhanush's "Padikkadhavan".

Soundarya to direct Udhayanidhi's debut film?

Chennai, Oct 25 (IANS) After lot of dilly dallying, producer-turned-actor Udhayanidhi Stalin has decided to rope in Soundarya Rajnikant to direct his debut film.

According to sources, Udhayanidhi, who produced films like "Kuruvi" and "Aadhavan", wanted K.S. Ravikumar to wield the megaphone for his debut vehicle. But Ravikumar turned down the offer saying: "Only those directors who have succeeded in directing films with newcomers will be appropriate for you. It'd be better if you approach Sasikumar and Myshkin for the job."

But Myshkin and Sasikumar too refused the project saying they are already committed to their present assignments. They said they will be able to consider it after a year.

After considering many names, finally Udhayanidhi, son of Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has approached Soundarya, daughter of superstar Rajnikant, to direct the movie.

Madhan
Friday 23 October 2009

'I proved commercial filmmakers can make realistic cinema too' - Priyadarshan
Thursday 22 October 2009

New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Multilingual filmmaker Priyadarshan, whose
off beat "Kanchivaram" Wednesday was adjudged the best film at the
55th National Film Awards, says he is happy to prove that mainstream
filmmakers can make realistic movie.

"Basically, it was important to break the belief that commercial
filmmakers can't make realistic movies. I broke it," Priyadarshan told
IANS in an interview here.

"Kanchivaram", set in the pre-independence era, is about a father who
sacrifices his ideologies for his daughter.

"The storyline has a political perspective too. It shows that any
ideology fails because those who preache don't practice it," said
Priyadarshan.

The film was premiered at Toronto International Film Festival where it
got an standing ovation.

"The standing ovation by 1000 foreigners in Toronto marked the success
of making the film," said Priyadarshan.

Prakash Raj, who plays the father, has also got National Award for his
performance in the film.

Southern cinema scored big at the 55th National Awards

New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Tamil film "Kanchivaram" won the best feature film award at the 55th National Film Awards 2007, while Adoor Gopalakrishnan got the best director award for Malayalam film "Naalu Pennungal" at a glittering ceremony here Wednesday evening.

Prakash Raj got the best actor for his performance in "Kanchivaram" and Uma Shri was given best actress award for her role in "Gulabi Talkies" in Kannada.

"I am very excited. It's the biggest award of the country which has the second highest population in the world. I am on a high," Shailendra Singh, joint managing director of Perfect Picture Company (PPC) that produced "Kanchivaram", told IANS.

President Pratibha Patil presented the National Film Awards for 2007.

Legendary singer Manna Dey was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2007 at the event.

"It's a really great feeling. Getting an award is no child's play. I have been singing for the last 60 years and with this appreciation, all my work has been paid off," he said.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshi received the best lyricist award for the song "Maa" from "Taare Zameen Par", and Shankar Mahadevan got the award for the best male playback singer for the same number and also performed it.

"It's a very different feeling than other awards... There's no razzmatazz. It was a lovely feeling. I am suddenly feeling very nationalistic after the award," said Prasoon.

Added Mahadevan: "It is amazing... this is, in fact, for the first time that there has been a performance at the National Awards ceremony and I am the first one to do it. It feels too good."

Shimit Amin received the best film in overall entertainment award for Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Chak De! India", about a humiliated national-level hockey player who steers the women's team to international victory.

Yash Chopra, who was here on behalf of his producer son Aditya, said: "We don't expect an award any film, but it feels very nice."

Sabu Cyril walked away with best art director trophy for "Om Shanti Om".

Veteran dance director Saroj Khan won award for choreographing the song "Yeh Ishk Hai" from "Jab We Met".

Shreya Ghoshal received female singer award for "Yeh Ishk Hai" and sang it too at the ceremony.

Anil Kapoor, the producer of "Gandhi My Father", got the special jury award for the film and his actress daughter Sonam Kapoor received it on his behalf.

Feroz Abbas Khan received the best screenplay award and Darshan Zariwala bagged the best supporting actor award for the "Gandhi My Father".

Said an elated Feroze Abbas Khan: "It's a great honour. I wasn't expecting an award but it has given me a boost to make more such films. Now my next is a socio-political thriller."

Shefali Shah received the best supporting actress for her performance in "The Last Lear".

Bhavna Talwar received Nargis Dutt Award for the best film on national integration for her directorial debut "Dharm" that explored religious undercurrents.

Amrit Sagar received the award for best direction in Hindi for "1971".

Sharad Goekar walked away with the best child actor trophy for his role in the Marathi film "Tingya".

The Indira Gandhi Award for the best first film of a director was bagged by Shivajee Chandrabushan for "Frozen", which has also been named for best cinematography.

Rituparno Ghosh bagged best direction award for his English film "The Last Lear"; Jabbar Patel for "Antardhwani", Zubin Garg for "Echoes of Silence"; Santosh Sivan for "Prarambha"; Jayaraj for Malayalam film "Vellapokathil", and Supriyo Sen for the film "Hope Dies Last in War".

The best music award has been bagged by Ouseppachan for his score in the Malayalam movie "Ore Kadal". Pattnam Rasheed gets the best make-up artist award for his work in Malayalam film "Paradesi".

Girish Kasaravalli's "Gulabi Talkies" about a Muslim midwife has been named the best Kannada film.

Sonia Aggarwal's fee hike shocks producer

Chennai, Oct 21 (IANS) Southern actress Sonia Aggarwal shocked a producer by asking for Rs.6 million to work in the remake of Tamil hit film "Manmathaleelai".

Director K. Balachander's "Manmathaleelai" starring Kamal Haasan, Srividhya and Vadivukkarasi was released in the early eighties and became an instant hit with the youth.

"Manmathaleelai" is a female-centric movie and Srividhya's role was pivotal to the film's success, so the producers of the remake zeroed on Sonia for more than one reason.

According to a source close to the project, Sonia has separated from Selvaraghavan and is making an attempt at a comeback. She doesn't have too many films in her kitty so the producers thought it would be easy for them to get bulk dates for the shooting.

Sonia agreed to do the film and said she was aware of the fact that her role will be an ultra-glamorous one. But when Sonia mentioned Rs.600,0000 as her fee, the producer was shocked, added the source.

Last heard, the producer was looking for a suitable actress in Kerala.

Labels: Sonia-Aggarwal

Kalavaani
Tuesday 20 October 2009

I want to be a director's actor: Ajmal

Chennai, Oct 18 (IANS) Tamil film actor Ajmal, who did a full-length comedy role in "Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru" (T4), says he does not want to be typecast as an action or romantic hero.

"I want to be a director's actor. I don't want to typecast myself as an action or romantic hero. Getting a good name by doing varied roles is my desire," he says.

Ajmal was seen in a lead role in "Anjathey" and "TN 07 AL 4777" and is eagerly awaiting the release of "Kadhirvel", in which he is trying to establish himself as a commercial hero.

On his films so far, the actor from Kerala says: "In 'Anjathey', I had to prove my potential. In "TN 07 AL 4777", I had Pasupathi for company. In T4, I played the solo male lead. And this ('Kadhirvel') is a perfect opportunity to establish myself as a bankable actor."

On T4, Ajmal said: "The film was a romantic comedy. This was the first time I did such a film. But I took it up as I found the script interesting and enjoyed every minute of the shoot."

"It is tough doing a comedy. But then enacting such a role is an added feather to an actor's cap. I was very interested in doing the film when director Nandhini explained the gist of the story," he adds.

Ajmal, who started his career in Kollywood with "Anjathey", said: "Even though I'm getting offers from Mollywood and Tollywood, I haven't signed any films there. My only target now is the Tamil film industry."

He claimed that he was satisfied with Kollywood.

The actor dismissed reports that he was in love with his "TN 07 AL 4777" co-star Meenakshi.

"We used to spend time together during the shoot of the movie. But never had we crossed the limit of friendship. I had not even seen her after the completion of '4777'," he says.

"I don't know from where these rumours are originating. Is there anything wrong if someone speaks or chats with a colleague? My sole aim is to establish myself as a talented actor," Ajmal added.

Labels: Sudeep

'Peranmai' - adventure with social message

Film: "Peranmai"; Cast: Jayam Ravi, Ponvannan, Vadivelu, Oorvasi; Director: Jananthan;

Director Jananthan, who impressed everyone with his earlier outings "E" and "Iyarkai", has attempted to make an adventurous venture laced with some social message.

At the outset one must applaud Jananathan for trying out different things without resorting to the routine masala formula. He has tried to provide a clean adventurous experience without bothering about love, duet, and comedy.

Peranmai might remind you some Hollywood flicks like "Predator", "Rambo" and "Apocalypto". But Jananthan tries to present it with a social message focussed on a tribal community. He has also attempted to take on the attitude of upper caste people towards others and the fight between have and have-nots.

The filmmaker talks too much about casteist attitude and insensitive approach of the higher officers and girls belonging to upper classes. Some of the dialogues should are so volatile that they are muted by the censor board members.

Coming to the story (thankfully we have a story to tell after a long time), Dhuruvan (Jayam Ravi) is a first generation graduate from a tribal family. He works as a forest ranger who trains NCC cadets. His superior Ganapathy Ram (Ponvannan) often insults him as he hails from a tribal community. Dhuruvan takes five girls of a college (Dhansika, Maha, Liasri, Saranya and Vasundhara) on a trek to the forest. The girls who hate Dhuruvan hatch a conspiracy to get him punished by his superiors. They are made to feel for their deed, as they come to know of his outstanding personality inside the jungle.

Dhuruvan and his group accidentally come across 16 foreign terrorists who plan to foil Indian Space Research Organisation' bid to launch a rocket, by sneaking through the forest. The terrorists led by Anderson (Roland Kickenger) take on Dhuruvan and the girls.

Meanwhile, Ganapathy Ram, suspecting Dhruvan, starts an operation to find him and 'rescue' the girls. He starts believing that Dhuruvan might have raped and killed a girl, and issues a shoot-at-sight order against him. The rest of the movie deals with how Dhuruvan completes the mission to foil the plan of ultras.

Jeyam Ravi, hitherto considered a romantic young hero, takes a new dimension in "Peranmai". He is at his action-best. He is quite impressive as a masculine hero. However, his dialogue delivery leaves much to be desired.

All the five girls play their part. Special mention should be made of Vasundhara and Dhanishka. Ponvannan fits the bill well while Hollywood actor Roland Kikenger does well too.

Vidyasagar's background score is appealing and Sathish Kumar's cinematography captures the dense jungle at its pristine glory.

Rating: ***

Labels: Peranmai

Inconsistent script mars "Aadhavan"

Film: "Aadhavan"; Cast: Suriya, Nayantara, Ramesh Kanna, Vadivelu; Director: K.S. Ravikumar; Music Director: Harris Jayaraj; Producter: Red Giant Movies; Rating: *** "Aadhavan" starring Suriya and Nayantara is a typical K.S. Ravikumar entertainer. It has action, comedy, sentiment, and romance. But the magic expected from the combination of a leading director and a successful star is clearly missing. The story revolves around Aadhavan (Suriya), a contract killer. His father (Shiyaji Shinde) strikes a big deal with Abdul (Rahul Dev) and Aadhavan is assigned to kill a magistrate (Late actor Murali). But despite being a sharpshooter, Aadhavan misses his target and the magistrate survives. Aadhavan then works out another plan to kill the magistrate in his house, where he is enjoying his holidays with family members. But he fails in his second attempt too.

Amidst his efforts to kill, Aadhavan meets an old lady (Saroja Devi appearing on screen after 12 years) and her beautiful granddaughter Thara (Nayantara). Vadivelu is the domestic worker in their home. How is this family connected to the main plot of the movie? Could Aadhavan complete his mission? Why Aadhavan has adopted this deadly profession? Watch the movie to find the answers.

The movie starts off on a promising note and moves ahead with some thrilling moments and humour. But it gets stuck in the middle and the director loses the grip on the narrative. Some of the flaws in the script are difficult to digest especially connecting points between various streams in the script are unconvincing. The unimaginative climax disappoints as well. Showing Suriya in negative shade till the penultimate scene doesn't auger well for the film. Songs are like speed breakers.

Suriya, however, portrays the typical commercial masala hero with ease. He is amazing in action sequences and delightful in comical roles as well. Nayantara sans glamour looks fresh, but some of the close up shots betrays her vanishing charm. Yesteryears' heroine Saroja Devi is impressive.

Vadivelu proves to be a major asset of the film as he brings cheers whenever he appears on screen. Aadhavan scores in the technical department. Attempt to portray Suriya as a 10 year-old-boy is worth a mention. R. Ganesh's camerawork is impressive and the picturisation of songs such as "Yaeno Panithulli" and "Hasili Fisili" is spectacular.

"Aadhavan" could have been good entertainment, but is marred by inconsistent script.