Trisha in Priyadarshan's film

With Asin ready to make her debut in Hindi, Trisha too is earnestly looking for offers.

Director Priyadarshan is one of the popular directors in Bollywood with back-to-back hits. He is busy with three big films in Hindi. Priyadarshan who gave Trisha her big break as heroine in Kollywood. There are talks that he has now offered her the lead role in his new Hindi film.

Trisha is already a popular heroine in Tamil and Telugu. Will she cast her magic in Bollywood.

Wait and watch.

Vijay, Gowtham to team up

After completing his Azhagiya Tamil Magan, Vijay would team up with Dharani.

The two had earlier teamed up for a blockbuster Gilli, a remake of a Telugu hit. But this time, it would be direct Tamil film and Dharani has completed penning the story and screenplay. Trisha is touted to play the heroine. Upon completing Azhagiya Tamil Magan, Vijay would commence shooting for the movie.

Also by the year-end, Vijay has accepted to work with director Gowtham Menon. If Dharani's venture is a racy entertainer, Vijay's film for Gowtham Vasudeva Menon is expected to be a thriller, quite expected of Gowtham Menon. The movie would be produced by London Karunas.

Vijay has also accepted to work for AVM Balasubramaniam's film by next year.

‘Naan M.G.Ramachandran’- Sivaji: The Boss

The wait is agonizing for any Rajni fan. We have been counting days right from April and we are still counting not knowing when Shankar actually plans to get Sivaji-The Boss in theaters. Shankar does have a strong mind of his own, how else can we explain this delay in Sivaji’s release, AVM is never known to have a late release and all previous Rajni films have hit theaters on the announced date without fail, even when he had suffered a dislocated shoulder on the sets of Baba.



Another thing, there is always an uncanny way in which different versions of the story of a Shankar movie find their way into the press. There were umpteen versions of Anniyan’s story doing the rounds until the movie released and proved nearly all of them wrong. In this context, it is hard to believe anything that you hear about Sivaji’s story.

But then, it is a Superstar movie and who wouldn’t want to know even the smallest detail about it. The style, the action, the punch dialogues and the Superstar phenomenon unleashing itself on the screen frame after frame. Three hours of unabated thrill, excitement, cheers and a two year long wait attaining fulfillment. For the Rajni fan this is nothing short of Nirvana; salvation. So, for those of you who are dying to know what your idol (sorry, our idol) will be doing on screen this time round we have something. It is not exactly a rumor as Sivaji has already been screened to a select audience but it is not straight from the horse’s mouth either. This is what you may see on screen from June 15th (if Shankar does not get any further ideas of improvisation). So read and imagine how Superstar will parade his majesty on the big screen, deliver the dialogues with peerless style and enthrall us all. Please don’t bridle your imagination if you want to enjoy this.

Sivaji is this rich man to begin with, trying to take education beyond just the rich people into the poor but deserving population. He opposes bribery, corruption and all the vices that plague the system (please keep imagining the Superstar doing these things). He makes enemies, as will anyone who tries to do any good to the society. The enemies hatch a plot and decide to get Superstar out of their way. The plan nearly succeeds but Sivaji survives and escapes to the United States (living to fight another day) where he gathers his forces and plans his comeback; in style. When he comes back he is not the same man who left India, his head is shaved and he now has a deadly killer look about him, after all he is out to destroy those who conspired against him. At a certain point in the film one of his adversaries (possibly unable to identify him in his new get up) asks him (now imagine clearly the Superstar on the big screen) ‘Who are you’?---------- ‘ Naan M.G.Ramachandran’ comes the reply.

Take our word; this scene will make fans go crazy, three generations will break into frenzy in unison as Superstar introduces himself. Sivaji-The Boss, please release soon, this wait is getting too much for us.

Ajith becomes the happiest man in the world

Ajith must certainly be the happiest man on earth at this moment and why not, every man who knows that he is going to be father for the first time will be. Everyone get ready to wish Thala and his sweetheart Shalini the very best as they prepare to bring their first child into their lives. News has just come in that Shalini is expecting and we take utmost pleasure in being able to break this news to all the fans of Ajith.

Ajithkumar-Shalini

This is undoubtedly the best moment in the happy married life of one of the most celebrated star couples in Kollywood. Their relationship is said to be made of the stuff that fairy tales are usually made of. We hope that the birth of their child will add more happiness into their lives.

The entire family is reportedly just short of jumping for joy ever since they received this news. Shalini has been asked by her doctor to take care of herself and not to carry on with her badminton, quite normal. We, along with all well wishers of Ajith whole heartedly congratulate the couple. As for Ajith, well becoming a dad is just great, it also brings with new responsibilities including more time to be spent with family. We are sure that Ajith is already planning out all this. All the best, Junior Thala is set to arrive.

Behindwoods

Sarath's Nam Nadu

Sarath Kumar's Nam Nadu, a remake of Malayalam hit Lion, hit the floors on Wednesday.

A movie which is all about a youth entering politics and establishing him successfully is directed by Suresh and produced by Kanakarathna Movies. The production house has churned out blockbusters like Paramasivan and Pokkiri before.

Suresh has wielded the megaphone for movies like Arasu, Gambheeram and Sabari before.

Nam Nadu was initially titled Azhagiri. Sarath plays the role enacted by Dileep in the Malayalam original. The title Nam Nadu should ring a bell, a landmark movie of matinee idol M G R with a slew of political messages.

`Kireedam` on June 29!

The film which is affected most by Sivaji postponement is Kireedam, which was supposed to release for May 1 (Ajit�s birthday). Now Kollywood is abuzz with rumours that Kireedam release is preponed to May end after Sivaji dates were pushed to June 15!

When Moviebuzz contacted Suresh Balaji the producer of the film he said: �We are sticking to the scheduled date of June 29. In fact, the film is ready and final mixing has been temporarily stopped as there is no point in getting a product ready a month before the release date. We would have loved to come out with the film early, but the theatres and distributors are not willing to release another biggie 15 dates before or after the release of Sivaji.�

In fact, Kireedom is a brilliantly packaged emotional family entertainer with action in the right mix. The film is sure to give Ajit a new image and the songs and its picturisation are a major highlight. Now Suresh Balaji who was busy getting the film ready is planning to take a break and go for a holiday with his family and come back by mid-June.

கார்த்தியின் 'தில்லுமுல்லு'

ரீமேக் என்ற பெயரில் ரஜினி படங்களை லவட்டும் லேட்டஸ்ட் டிரெண்ட்டில் லேட்டஸ்டாக சேர்ந்துள்ளது தில்லுமுல்லு.


தமிழ் சினிமாக்காரர்கள், தங்கள் மண்டைக்குள் இருக்கும் மூளைக்கு கோடை விடுமுறை கொடுத்து கொடைக்கானலுக்கு அனுப்பி வைத்து விட்டார்கள் போல. சுயமாக சிந்திப்பதை தூரப்போட்டு விட்டு, பழைய படங்களை ரீமேக் செய்ய ஆரம்பித்துள்ளனர்.

இப்படி ரீமேக் ஆகி வந்த முதல் படம் நான் அவனில்லை. இப்போது பில்லா, ஜானி, முள்ளும் மலரும், மன்மத லீலை என பல சூப்பர் ஹிட் படங்கள் ரீமேக் ஆக காத்திருக்கின்றன அல்லது ஆகி வருகின்றன. பெரும்பாலும் ரஜினி படங்களையே ரீமேக் ஆக்கி வருகின்றனர் கோலிவுட் கற்பனாவாதிகள்.

ரஜினியைக் குறி வைத்து கொத்தி எடுப்பதற்கு முக்கியக் காரணம், சூப்பர் கதை, நிச்சய வெற்றி, இன்ஸ்டன்ட் மார்க்கெட் ஹைக் ஆகியவைதான் முக்கிய காரணம். இதனால்தான் ரஜினி படத்தை ரீமேக் செய்யத் துடிக்கிறார்கள் அல்லது குறைந்தபட்சம் அவரது படத்தின் தலைப்பையாவது தங்களது படங்களுக்கு வைக்க தவிக்கின்றனர்.

மிஸ்டர் பாரத் படத்தை லேசு பாசாக கதையை மாற்றி திருவிளையாடல் ஆரம்பம் என்ற பெயரில் எடுத்து ஹிட் ஆக்கினார்கள். இப்போது தனுஷின் அடுத்த படத்துக்கு பொல்லாதவன் என்று பெயர் வைத்துள்ளனர்.

இப்படியாக ரஜினி படங்களும், அவரது பட டைட்டில்களும் சுய சிந்தனை வற்றிப் போன நமது இயக்குநர்களிடமும், தயாரிப்பாளர்களிடமும் படாதபாடு பட்டு வரும் நிலையில் புதிதாக தில்லு முல்லு படம் இந்த ரீமேக் வரிசையில் சேர்ந்துள்ளது.

லிங்குச்சாமி இயக்க, பருத்தி வீரன் கார்த்தி இரட்டை வேடங்களில் நடிக்க தில்லுமுல்லு உருவாகிறது. ஆனால் ரஜினியின் தில்லுமுல்லுவுக்கும், இப்படத்துக்கும் எந்த சம்பந்தமும் இருக்காது என்று இயக்குநர் லிங்குச்சாமி கூறுகிறார்.

முதல் முறையாக கார்த்தி இரட்டை வேடத்தில் நடிக்கும் இப்படம் குறித்து லிங்குச்சாமியிடம் கேட்டபோது, கார்த்தியை வைத்துப் படம் பண்ணப் போகிறேன். படத்துக்காக பல டைட்டில்களைப் பரிசீலித்தோம். அதில், ரஜினி சாரின் தில்லுமுல்லு என்ற தலைப்பும் ஒன்று.

இறுதியில் அந்தத் தலைப்பையே இறுதி செய்து விட்டேன். எனது கதைக்கு இந்த டைட்டில் மிகவும் பொருத்தமானது. ஆக்ஷன், சென்டிமென்ட், காமெடி ஆகியவை கலந்த கலவை இப்படத்தின் கதை. கார்த்திக்கு இந்தப் படம் திருப்புமுனையாக இருக்கும் என்றார் லிங்குச்சாமி.

ரஜினி படங்களை 'சுட' பெரிய 'தள்ளுமுள்ளே' நடக்கும் போலிருக்கே!

தசாவதாரம்-கமலை சந்தித்த விஜய்

தசாவதாரம் படப்பிடிப்பு நடந்த இடத்துக்குச் சென்ற நடிகர் விஜய், கமல்ஹாசன் போடும் பத்து வேடங்கள் குறித்து அவரிடம் ஆர்வத்துடன் கேட்டறிந்தாராம்.


இதுவரை இல்லாத அளவுக்கு 10 வேடங்களில் கமல் தசாவதாரம் படத்தில் நடித்து வருகிறார். எட்டு வேடங்களை படம் பிடித்து முடித்து விட்ட நிலையில் மீதம் உள்ள முக்கியமான இரு வேடங்களுக்கான படப்பிடிப்பு விறுவிறுப்பாக நடந்து வருகிறது.

இந்த வேடங்களைப் போட வெகு நேரம் ஆவதால் தினசரி ஓரிரு காட்சிகளை மட்டுமே படமாக்க முடிகிறதாம். ரஜினியின் சிவாஜி படத்துக்கு ஏற்பட்டுள்ள எதிர்பார்ப்பைப் போல தசாவதாரத்திற்கும் பெரும் எதிர்பார்ப்பு எழுந்துள்ளது.

இந்த நிலையில் கடந்த மாதம் திடீரென ஏவி.எம். ஸ்டுடியோவுக்குச் சென்ற ரஜினி, அங்கு படப்பிடிப்பில் இருந்த கமலை சந்தித்து பத்து அவதாரங்கள் குறித்து கேட்டறிந்தார். அதை விட சுவாரஸ்யமான விஷயம் என்னவென்றால், வித்தியாசமான கெட்டப்பில் இருந்த கமல், ரஜினியை வரவேற்றபோது ரஜினிக்கு சுத்தமாக கமலை அடையாளம் தெரியவில்லையாம்.

இந்த நிலையில் இப்போது விஜய்யும், கமல்ஹாசனின் கெட்டப்புகள் குறித்து கேள்விப்பட்டு ஆச்சரியப்பட்டு நேற்று தசாவதாரம் படப்பிடிப்புத் தளத்திற்குப் போய் கமலைச் சந்தித்தார்.

என்னென்ன வேடம் போட்டு அசத்துகிறார் என்று கமலிடம் ஆர்வமாக கேட்டாராம் விஜய். கமலும் பொறுமையாக விளக்கியுள்ளார். அவர் சொல்லச் சொல்ல விஜய்க்கு வியர்த்துப் போய் விட்டதாம். சத்தியமாக இப்படியெல்லாம் நடிக்க இன்னொரு நடிகர் பிறந்துதான் வர வேண்டும் என்று கூறி விட்டு ஆச்சரியம் மாறாத முகத்துடன் திரும்பினாராம்.

ரஜினியை எல்லா வழியிலும் ஃபாலோ செய்து வரும் விஜய், இப்போது அவரைப் போலவே கமலையும் சந்தித்துப் பேசியதை திரையுலகினர் குசுகுசவென பேசி வருகின்றனர்.

விவேக் 'அறை எண் 304'

வடிவேலுவுடன் இணைந்து இம்சை அரசன் 23ம் புலிகேசியைக் கொடுத்த இயக்குநர் சிம்புதேவன் அடுத்து விவேக்கை நாயகனயாகப் போட்டு 'அறை எண் 304' என்ற கிச்சுகிச்சு படத்தைக் கொடுக்கவுள்ளார்.

ஷங்கரிடம் அசோசியேட்டாக இருந்தவர் சிம்புதேவன். ஷங்கரின் தயாரிப்பில் சிம்புதேவன் இயக்குநராக அவதாரம் எடுத்தார். அவரது முதல் படமான இம்சை அரசன் 23ம் புலிகேசி, தமிழ் சினிமாவில் ஒரு மைல் கல் படமாக அமைந்தது எனலாம்.

பெரும் வெற்றியைப் பெற்ற அந்தப் படத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து அடுத்த படம் குறித்து அமைதி காத்து வந்தார் சிம்புதேவன். தற்போது அடுத்த படத்துக்கு ரெடியாகி விட்டார்.

முதல் படத்தில் வடிவேலுவை வைத்து வேடிக்கை காட்டிய சிம்பு, இப்போது விவேக்கை வைத்து விளாச வருகிறார். இதுவும் காமெடிப் படம்தான். படத்தின் பெயர் அறை எண் 304.

கடந்த ஆண்டு சிம்புதேவனிடமும், இயக்குநர் ஷங்கரிடமும் தன்னை நாயகனாகப் போட்டு ஒரு படம் கொடுக்க வேண்டும் என விவேக் பகிரங்கமாக கோரிக்கை விடுத்தார். அவர் ஹீரோவாக அறிமுகமாகியுள்ள சொல்லி அடிப்பேன் படம் எப்போது வரும் என்று அப்படத்துடன் தொடர்புடைய யாருக்குமே தெரியவில்லை. இந்த நிலையில்தான் ஷங்கர் அண்ட் கோவிடம் இந்த கோரிக்கையை விடுத்தார் விவேக்.

இதையடுத்து சிம்புதேவன், விவேக்குக்காக ஒரு கதையை உருவாக்கி இப்போது இயக்குவற்கும் தயாராகி விட்டார். இம்சை அரசனை விட வயிறு வலிக்கச் செய்யும் அளவுக்கு படு காமெடியாக இருக்குமாம் அறை எண் 304.

விரைவில் படப்பிடிப்பு தொடங்கவுள்ளதாம். இதுகுறித்து சிம்புதேவனிடம் கேட்டபோது, விரைவில் பத்திரிக்கையாளர் சந்திப்புக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்யவுள்ளோம். அப்போது முழு விவரமும் வெளியிடப்படும்.

இதுவரை பார்த்திராத வித்தியாசமான விவேக்கை இப்படத்தில் ரசிகர்கள் பார்க்கலாம் என்றார். இந்தப் படத்தையும் ஷங்கரே தயாரிக்கிறார்.

கடந்த 17ம் தேதிதான் ஷங்கர் தயாரிப்பில் பாலாஜி சக்திவேல் இயக்கும் கல்லூரியின் படப்பிடிப்பு தொடங்கியது. அடுத்து செல்வன், காந்தி கிருஷ்ணனா ஆகியோரின் படங்கள் அடுத்தடுத்து தொடங்கவுள்ளன. இவற்றைத் தொடர்ந்து சிம்புதேவன் படமும் தொடங்குகிறது.

சிவாஜியை முடித்து விட்ட ஷங்கர் ஒரே நேரத்தில் இந்த நான்கு படங்களையும் தயாரிக்கிறார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

CM surprised by Dasavatharam Kamal

Kamal hassan has always kept out of any political tangles. But he has always held our CM Kalaignar Karunanidhi in high esteem. CM Karunanidhi was the one who gave Kamal Hassan his Kalaignani title.

Yesterday Kamal Hassan went to meet the CM to congratulate him on completing 50 years in assembly.

Kamal
CM greeted Kamal Hassan gleefully and enquired about the progress of Dasavatharam, and told him how much he had heard about the ten get ups and the international standard of the make up. Kamal Hassan immediately showed some photos of his avathars in the movie, Karunanidhi went through the album with amazement and was speechless for a while. Our CM then blessed our Ulaga Nayagan and told him that only he can take Tamil cinema to the next level. Such words of encouragement from the Kalaignar surely would have brought so much joy to our Universal Star.

We pray for Kalaignar’s prediction to come true

Behindwoods News Bureau.

Shivaji Delayed again - Release on June 15th

The release of Sivaji - The Boss, the much - hyped movie starring Rajinikanth will be delayed by two weeks. The movie (produced by AVM Productions) was slated for release initially on 31 May. It has now been postponed to 15 June, sources in the AVM said.

The movie directed by Shankar with musical score by A R Rahman is one of the big-budgeted movies in Tamil filmdom. Expectations and hype surrounding the movie has been increasing day after day. Fans of Rajinikanth have to wait for a couple of weeks to see their favorite star on the screen. The exact reasons for the delay are not known.

Sivaji with "U"

With just a couple of weeks left for the release of Sivaji - The Boss, the whole of Kollywood is gearing up for the mega movie.

The mega-budgeted film with big names like Rajinikanth, Shankar, A R Rahman and some of most talented technicians like cameraman K V Anand, editor Anthony, art director Thotta Tharani, writer Sujatha, choreographers Raju Sundaram, Larencce and Brinda, and costume designer Manish Malhotra coming together is settling down fast for release on 31 May.The latest from the Sivaji camp is that the magnum opus film has been censored. As expected, quite like earlier Rajinikanth films, Sivaji has been cleared with a U Certificate.

Sources in the Censor Board say, “It is a perfect entertainer and carries with it a good message”.
Interestingly both AVM (Producers) and Rajinikanth are known for coming out with good, clean entertainers that can be watched with the family.

With the movie getting censored so also the trailer, the wait will now end for the trailer. Very soon, the Sivaji trailer will rock television screens and cinema halls.

Sivaji: the rat race for the rights

The stage is set for the King to arrive, its time for the pretenders to move aside, the royal march is about to begin; make way for Sivaji-The Boss. Come May 31st and cinema halls will choke with crowds, theaters will reverberate with the thunderous applause of the Superstar’s fans; as he sets the screens on fire.

Sivaji
But then, before all this can happen, there are a few issues that need to be sorted out. And when the issues are related to Sivaji’s distribution we all know that it will involve serious negotiations to settle them down.

The Chennai zone issues seem to have been settled with Abhirami Ramanathan and Nag Ravi laying their hands on the rights. Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur and Nilagiri have been bagged by Tiruppur Subramaniam. The competition for Madurai, North Arcot, South Arcot and Chengelpattu are on full swing as the distributorship rights for those areas have not been decided yet; more so with the release date just round the corner. While Anbu and Azhagu are vying for Madurai, some big names including Oscar Ravichandran and Ananda Pictures Suresh are in the fray for the Chengalpattu and Arcot areas.

Meanwhile, few have voiced their opinion that Sivaji be bought only on the MG-FH basis. However, Tiruppur Subramaniam is strongly opposing this demand. He pointed out that Rajini is not a man who would allow people to incur losses due to him. The compensation that he paid for Baba is a fine example. Baba notwithstanding, the huge profits that everyone made due to Chandramukhi should be enough for them to repose faith in Sivaji. He also said that there had been no compulsions for anyone to buy Sivaji at an MG rate. If there were no takers, AVM is more than willing to release the movie all by itself.

It was the Theater Owners Association that had come up with the MG-FH demand. Tiruppur Subramaniam made a point that associations getting involved unnecessarily was undesirable and that they must remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Well, those were the details of the rat race going on to make the maximum out of Sivaji. After all, it is only once in two or three years that the Superstar’s movie is being released. Here we leave you with a statistic that will give you a measure of Sivaji’s magnitude. Sixty prints have been ordered for the Coimbatore area alone. Still not surprised then read on. The previous highest was just 36, and that was for Pokkiri. Maybe now you get our point, this is what we call the SUPERSTAR effect.
By Behindwoods News Bureau.

Spider-Man 3 (2007) review

by Victoria Alexander, FilmsInReview.com

A disappointment. Spidey keeps his mask off and weeps. Everyone cries. I hated the silly monolith sad sack Sandman. Did Dunst's contract stipulate she sing two songs?

My weekly column, "The Devil's Hammer," appears every Monday on www.FromTheBalcony.com. The Devil's Hammer on FTB

I'm going to throw myself on my sword.

I dread, expect and am prepared for the backlash from fans but Spider-Man 3 is a CGI too-heavy, you've seen it all before, dud. I know it is rumored to cost close to $500 million (including marketing and prints) and that might influence some, but not me. There's no story here. The lack of acting shows.

It takes a special skill as a director to get actors who cannot act to show emotion. Having them cry is cop-out. However, director Sam Riami does have the abilities of a general to direct a high action/CGI production.

Spidey (Tobey Maguire) takes the mask off a lot. The mask is in the way of the star. It seems everyone living in Spideyland knows who is behind the mask except dear Aunt May (Rosemary Harris). Our Spidey cries often. Was weeping in everyone's contract? Even the dog cried.



I did like the demonized black Spider-Man (because he did not cry and enjoyed himself). Spider-Man gets possessed and does bad things.

Perhaps he should have gone to the neighborhood exorcist.

Spidey is up against everyone: Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) who is not only Spidey's rival Venom, but Peter Parker's competitor at the Daily Bugle. Then, there's Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) who turns into Sandman for no good reason. He's unhappy and just wants to steal money to help his sick daughter!

Harry Osborn (James Franco) is still struggling with his feelings for Peter (who keeps slipping in the homoerotic touches?) and will not let go of his obsessive Biblical love for his distant, dead father. He's got an altar to him. Osborn becomes the invulnerable flying New Goblin deluding himself that it is Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) he loves while fixated on destroying Spider-Man. Nobody moves on.

Everybody has a good reason.

Peter, when not being idolized by everyone in New York, is still in puppy-love happiness with MJ. But MJ is jealous %u2013 what about her career as a singer on Broadway? Having a relationship with a superhero has a downside. Nobody cares what you do! Especially since MJ, now insecure about her poorly, but rightly, reviewed Broadway opening, has gorgeous flirtatious Gwen (Bryce Dallas Howard) circling Peter and Spidey!

When a strange blob from space hits Earth, it happens upon only one person. Peter begins to transform and his little dark moments turn into full-blown psycho behavior. Ah, I get it! Black Spider-Man represents all our hidden, suppressed violent tendencies society has chained. It takes an extraterrestrial goo (once known as Satan) to unleash the bad boy within! And once Peter gets a dose of Black Spider-Man testosterone he becomes super-confident. Unfortunately, only he can feel the darkness pulsing through him. His disco dance and Tony Manero stroll through Manhattan only makes the ladies cringe.

Maguire has said he wanted more Black Spider-Man but he just can't deliver the evil. In fact, he's rather ridiculous.

Dunst has said that there couldn't be more Spider-Man movies without her, Tobey, or director Sam Raimi. She believes the fans are too loyal to let anyone else play the role she created. Someone has to have a talk with Dunst's agent. Unless MJ turns into a she-devil arch-villainess, what can be done with her character in S-M 4, 5 and 6?

Well, the hoopla and praise doesn't seem to have impressed Maguire who wants to leave the role behind or Raimi, who is interested in the future franchise called "The Hobbit."

If there was new CGI developed specifically for Spider-Man 3, why is there a rehash of Spidey and New Gollum - I mean Goblin - flying down through 900 miles of Manhattan skyscrapers? The technology for Sandman might be impressive and the character may very well be beloved, but Sandman has no personality. How does Marko feel to be a walking sand pit? Where does he go to sleep? Raimi's team wasted money on a gigantic pit of sand.

Spider-Man 3 is critic-proof, so relax and enjoy it %u2013 if you can!

'Periyar' - Review

By P. Sreekumaran
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com


Tamil cinema’s tryst with experimentation continues unabated to the delight of the serious student of cinema. In recent times, a host of new directors have chosen to stray from the trodden path and chart out new courses in filmmaking.

The latest recruit to the ranks of trail-blazing directors is Gnana Rajasekharan. He attracted attention, first, with his cinematic expose of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati. The foray into a new genre of cinema was acclaimed by one and all.

His

latest movie on the life and times of the founding father of Dravidian movement, E. V. Ramaswami Naicker, known popularly as Periyar, is a commendable attempt at creating enduring cinematic moments. It is not easy to make a film on a towering and iconoclastic personality like Periyar. But Rajasekharan succeeds.

Of course, he has had to work under certain constraints imposed by the fact that the film has been financed by the DMK Government and others sympathetic to Periyar. That effectively ruled out a scrupulously honest exercise aimed at dissecting the life and ideas of the great social reformer and friend of the poor. Still, it must be said to the credit of Gnana that his has been a sincere bid to do justice to the subject of the movie.

A variety of factors helped him greatly to do a good job – selection of artistes to do the roles, excellent camera work, delectable dialogue and last but not the least crisp editing. No wonder, Periyar – a period film – is packing the people in.

In a way, ‘Periyar’ was a much misunderstood man. For instance, he was never against Brahmins as such. His fight was against Brahminism – the mindset that discriminated against the have-nots and the downtrodden. Just one fact would prove this. Despite serious political differences, one of his best friends was a famous Brahmin: C. Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji.

Ramaswamy (brilliantly essayed by Sathiaraj) is born into a religious family of Naickers. Ramaswamy grows up witnessing the horrendous acts of discrimination and excesses against the lower castes. His decision to battle the social evils incurs the wrath of his father. Young Ramaswamy is turned out of his house. But he stages a comeback and takes up the family business. In the meantime, he gets married to Nagammai (Jyothirmayi).

Then comes the call of politics. His friend, Rajaji talks him into joining Congress. But Ramaswamy is disillusioned when his attempts to do good to the backward castes run into opposition. He quits Congress and thus begins the fight against the hegemony of Brahmins. The result is the formation of Dravida Kazhagam.

A host of Ramaswamy disciples emerge from the Dravidian movement, prominent among them being CN Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi. But the duo break with Periyar when he marries Maniammai (Khushboo) young enough to be his daughter, after the death of his first wife, Nagammai.

They form a political party named Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – of course based on the ideals of Periyar. The DMK goes on to capturing power in the 1960s.

Gnanasekharan has been able to frame many a tender moment in his film. The intimacy between Rajaji and Periyar despite political antagonism and Mahatma Gandhi’s affection for Periyar have all been portrayed with loving care.

The film marks actor Sathiaraj’s finest hour. An otherwise average actor, Sathiaraj is a man transformed on the screen – assisted ably by the make-up. A periyar disciple himself, Sathiaraj has well and truly got into the skin of the role. The portrayal is marked by a refreshing empathy for the downtrodden, a Periyar hallmark and characteristic.

Others in the cast have also risen to the occasion, redeeming themselves in the process.

Jyothirmayi as Nagammai and Khushboo as Maniammai have acquitted themselves creditably. Special mention must be made of S S Stanley’s Annadurai and Arthikumar’s Rajaji.

Thagar Bachan’s thoughtful camera work, B. Lenin’s excellent editing and composer Vidyasagar’s music transport the audience to the times of Periyar. Vairamuthu’s inspirational lyrics also heighten the period atmosphere of the movie.

A pretty well made period film.

Karuppusamy Kuthagaitharar - Review

Movie :Karuppusamy Kuthagaitharar
Director : Murthy
Music :Dheena
Cast :Karan,Meenakshi,Vadivelu


Karan knows not only how to pick up good roles, but also spot efficient directors. His latest Karupasamy Kuthagatharar proves the point once again. Debutant director Moorthy has done a research on Madurai, and come out with a well etched narrative based on the temple town and its culture and beliefs.


There have been already half a dozen movies this year set in the "wild west "of Tamilnadu according to Kollywood. None of them could strike a chord with the audience as much as Karan-Moorthy venture, because they were all violent love stories with lots of blood and gore. Here the director has made a simple love story work, sans violence due its presentation and the chemistry between the lead actors.

Karupasamy( Karan ) is a committed, hard working guy who is a cycle stand contractor near the Madurai bus stand. He has a battalion of friends who assist him, and during the night has mimicry cum dance troupe, where look- alikes of famous stars and politicians perform. Karupusamy does the Rajnikanth act so successfully that he is known as Xerox!

One day a medical student Raasathi (Meenakshi) daughter of a upper caste bank nanager comes into his life. She sees the good qualities of her dead mother in Xerox, and slowly becomes dependent on him. Though he has a soft corner for her, Xerox believes that education is more important than love, and her priority should be to complete her studies and become a doctor.

Like the crux of all Madurai films, here too the love between the lead pair is opposed by the parents, relatives, cousins and uncles with walrus moustache, grand mothers and aunts looking like witches. Finally in a fitting climax, with powerful Hindu God's on the side of our hero, up against the girl's family, true love triumphs.

The message that a girl's education is very important, at the same time there is nothing wrong in falling in love has been developed as the basic framework for the movie. What makes the film work is Karan looking trim and dashing and coming out with a convincing performance. Though his role is heroic, there is no action scene till the climax.

The pent –up rage of the hero comes out easily making the climax work. The new girl Meenakshi , does her role with the ease of a veteran, and is sure to go places. Another highlight of the film is Vadivel and his team's comedy track that makes you laugh. Vadivel plays Padipura Pandi a con guy, who cooks up ingenious ways to con the people, the comedy dialogue is a scream. The supporting cast of newcomers as friends, father, uncles, and grandmothers are all apt.

Dheena's music using local instruments like Nadaswaram is interesting. Bombay Jayashree's Uppu Kallu…. is soft and melodious and the pick of the lot. Sridhar's camera has etched Madurai city and its surroundings very effectively.

On the downside, the film sags towards the interval point as the director tries to give it a typical Madurai look with lots of unwanted sentiments. There is also too many songs that pop in spoiling the narrative. Still Karupusamy Kuthagaitharar is the best of the Madurai stories that have come out in recent times.

Sulekha

Reema Sen recognized as the best actress by Singaporeans

Reema might be missing all the awards given by the State and Central government. But Singapore fans have identified and recognized her skills and getting ready to give her an award for her service to the Tamil cine industry.

She will be in Singapore on July 14th 2007 to receive the award by a group of her fans.

She is so happy to speak about the gossips that went around during the Vallavan shooting and release.

Billa 2007 - the latest remake

Billa is a forthcoming modern day remake Tamil film to be directed by Vishnuvardhan.[1] The film is set to be produced by L. Suresh,[2] son of Balaji, who was his father, who produced the 1980 film, Billa starring Rajinikanth which itself is a remake of the Hindi film, Don which starred Amitabh Bachchan.

The forthcoming project was announced with Ajith Kumar replacing Rajinikanth in the roles of Billa and Raja, with Nayanthara and Namitha in the female lead roles, covering the original roles performed by Sripriya and Praveena. Prakash Raj and Prabhu Ganesan have been signed to feature in supporting roles. The film's score and soundtrack have composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film's release is scheduled for 23 October 2007, clashing with Diwali, however the dates may vary depending on the status of the film. It is set to be released in box offices across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh, with limited releases overseas to capitulate Ajith Kumar's worldwide fans.

The film puja was held on April 13, 2007 and shooting started after Ajith Kumar's project, Kireedom[3] was completed.

Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In 2007, the drug trade is booming. The Malaysian Intelligence and Anti-Narcotic Department are called upon for assistance by their Indian counterparts. There are rumours that a drug gang has recently moved their headquarters to Kuala Lumpur.[4]

The Indian team is headed by the DCP (Prakashraj) who wants to break the back of the drug operations of a drug lord. He believes that capturing the drug Lord's dangerous and elusive lieutenant, Billa, (Ajith Kumar), will be the most effective way of accomplishing this. Billa's gang consist of Narang (Santhanam) and Anita (Namitha). Soon, Roma (Nayanthara)[4] joins them but she has other plans - kill Billa. Billa was responsible for killing her brother Ramesh as well as his fiancee, Kamini.

During a chase with the police the real Billa is critically injured and is captured by the DSP. He keeps it a secret that he has captured Billa, even from his fellow officers, and tracks down a look-alike called Jeeva, a lowly singer (also played by Ajith Kumar). He asks Jeeva to infiltrate Billa's gang by pretending to be Billa. In return he will make sure that the child Jeeva found and adopted, Deepu gets a proper education. Meanwhile Jasjit who has just been released from prison sets out in search for his son, Deepu, and to get his revenge on the DSP who arrested him and prevented him from rescuing his wife and child from black mailers, this in turn killed his wife and left his son missing.

The DSP[4] trains Jeeva and admits him in a hospital (in which Billa is also admitted and supposedly in coma) to surgically give him all the scars and birthmarks the real Billa has on his body. However Billa dies of heart failure suddenly in front of the DSP and the doctors, who are unable to save him. While Jeeva is infiltrating Billa's gang, the DSP is captured and killed in a fire blast; and Jeeva is forced to run from the police as well as Billa's gang members -- pursuing the last piece of evidence (a disc) which has all of Billa's criminal activities loaded on it, a disc which can get him out of this mess.


Through various plot twists, Jeeva recovers the disc. Eventually, it surfaces that the DSP is alive and is actually Vardhan, a notorious underground criminal with a grudge against the Drug Lord, Billa's boss, and eventually ends up killing him. Jeeva arranges a meeting with Vardhan and assists in his capture.

In a final twist, it emerges that the real Billa is still alive, and was pretending to be Jeeva who he killed and replaced while in the hospital. It was actually Jeeva who had died in the hospital of heart failure in front of Vardhan. In the end both Billa and his girlfriend Anita (Namitha) escape, bewildering the police and Roma.

Wikipedia

Kalaimamani Awards

The TN state government announced Kalaimamani awards for the film stars Silambarasan, Vishal, Jeeva, Trisha and Navya Nayar .

According to a press release, others from the film industry who were selected for the award include directors Bala and Seeman, Vidyasagar, Vineeth, singers Bombay Jayashree and Tippu, lyricists Pa Vijay, Na Muthu Kumar and Kapilan, and actress CID Sakuntala.s

Suriya - Navy Officer

After Sillunu Oru Kadhal, Suriya is back in full flow shooting day and night for Varanam Aayiram.

He has joined hands with his lucky mascot Gowtham Vasudev Menon. The duo had teamed up to render a blockbuster in Khaakha Khaakha before.

Varanam Aayiram, quite typical to Gowtham, would be an action-packed thriller.

Buzz is that Suriya has donned the role of a Navy Officer in the movie. In this regard, the actor has been receiving training with some senior Navy Officers in Chennai.

Plans are on to shoot a few portions of the movie in Afghanistan. Sources close to the director say Suriya would be appearing in four different makeups in the movie.

The movie features Genelia, Kuthu Ramya and Daniel Balaji in lead roles. Music is by Harris Jayaraj and cinematography by Rathinavelu.

All about Sivaji பல்லேலக்கா !

Yes, almost a year and a half later since Shankar's mega movie started shooting under the auspices of the AVM Productions banner, the Rajinikanth-Shriya starrer has managed to reach its crescendo of hype and expectations.
Finally, AVM Productions has announced the date of release of this eagerly awaited movie - 31st May, 2007. This information has been given to Galatta.com EXCLUSIVELY and FIRST and it is our pleasure to bring it to all users of Galatta.com and fans of Sivaji The Boss.

Said AVM's spokespersons during an exclusive conversation with Galatta.com, "We're all set to release one of the biggest movies of South Indian Cinema and it's happening on 31st May. We're really excited about our movie hitting the screens and can't wait to see how the film looks on the huge screens of cinema halls region-wide! Thanks to our great team, in front of and behind the camera and various personnel surrounding the movie!"

Well, we guarantee it's going to be worth watching the throng of the masses who will flock at theatres across the region to watch this film and we wish Sivaji The Boss all success!


Source : Galatta.com