Vetern Film Director Actor Manivannan Passed Away

Veteran director - actor Manivannan passed away today at his Nesappakkam residence.

Actress Tamannaah to Act Opposite Saif Ali Khan

After a debut in Bollywood, Tamannaah came a successful round down south, with many super hits to her credit, especially in Tamil and Telugu. After a success rendezvous here, she has returned to Hindi once again, making it big in 'Himmatwala' along side Ajay Devgn and is currently working on the Sajid-Farhad project, with Akshay Kumar.
Now the latest on the heroine is that she has signed on the dotted line for a project tentatively titled 'Humshakal', in which she will be sharing the screen with Saif Ali Khan and Riteish Deshmukh, who are the male leads in the film. We hear that earlier Jacqueline Fernandez was about to be a part of the film, but later got opted out, due to personal reasons. Another buzz has it that the film is inspired by the early 80's comedy caper, 'Angoor'. Albeit, Tamannaah is very happy to be a part of this project.

Actress Jiah Khan Commits Suicide

Beautiful, young, talented, charming, simple and no more. Bollywood actress Jiah Khan was found dead in her Mumbai Juhu residence. She had allegedly committed suicide last night. She was 25. Though proper reason for the mishap has not yet been concluded, the actress' servant and watchman are interrogated on her death. Apparently, no suicide note was found. However, it was quite evident that she maintained a low profile in the society, and was undergoing personal trauma. But she was reported to be recouping and making plans to return to acting. Having been brought up in England, she recently shifted to a residence in Juhu to pursue her screen interests. She was in fact meeting filmmakers for new projects. About a fortnight ago, her last Tweet read " So sorry I have been off twitter! Took a bit of a break from twitter verse.. sometimes u need a sabbatical to recollect ur thoughts."  Her body has been sent to Cooper Hospital in Mumbai for post mortem.
The actress debuted along side Big B in Ram Gopal Varma's 'Nishabd' and has the fame credits of Akshay Kumar's 'Housefull' and Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini'. We at Indiaglitz, deeply mourn the sad demise of a beautiful actress.

Actress Aachi Manorama hospitalized

Veteran actress ‘Aachi’ Manorama has been hospitalized following ill health. The actress has been in and out of hospital lately. She had also gone through a couple of minor surgeries in the last few years.
However, she looked fine and active for the past few months and the veteran had also taken up a few projects. Suddenly, her health took a beating yesterday and she was immediately admitted in a private hospital in T Nagar.

Doctors, however have announced that her health is better today.

Santhanam Gets Kamal Haasan's Role

Comedy actor Santhanam is undoubtedly one of the most wanted factor of every film. Even his guest appearance adds a lot of value to his movies. Well, here is one such illustration befitting to it. Remember Kamal Haasan playing a cameo role in Superstar Rajnikanth's 'Thillu Mullu'. The remake version with Mirchi Shiva and Prakash Raj in lead roles has Santhanam making a special appearance that was made by Kamal Haasan in original version.

Lakshmi Menon Fails???

The entire state had its sensational moment with SSLC results announced this morning and there was something that popped up in many media channels. It is all about the results of actress Lakshmi Menon. There was a buzz on social networking sites that Lakshmi Menon has flunked in her exams. Apparently, when tried contacting her through phone, her mother cleared off such rumours saying that Lakshmi Menon has excelled with First Class marks and is now busy promoting her recent release 'Kutti Puli' with the entire team.

Aascar Ravichandran stunned by AR Rahman

AR Rahman has not only given extraordinary songs for Bharathbala’s Maryan, he is also working day and night on the background scores. Rahman has supposedly postponed all his foreign tours and concerts to finish Maryan first.

The producer of the film, Aascar Ravichandran was stunned by the commitment Rahman is putting on the project. The producer was all praise for the maestro. “Talent alone cannot place a person on top. One has to remain committed and devoted to the job,” he said.

Vikram New look

Thalaivaa Audio Releasing On June 22

It has become a trend these days to do Audio launch, Teaser trailers or any promotional campaign for upcoming movies on the star's birthday. Even quite recently it was unveiled that Karthi's Biryani teaser is to be released coinciding with his birthday. Joining the bandwagon is our Ilayathalapathy's Thalaivaa.
It will be a double dhamaka as the track list of the album will be out on the music director's birthday which falls on June 13. GV Prakash took out on a social networking site to reveal further that, the audio launch itself is slated for a June 22 release, which is also Vijay's birthday. Call it coincidence or mere planning; the event will indeed be a birthday present for the stars, as it's a gift for their hard work.

SPB in Bollywood After 15 Years

Though his songs are timeless, this one is clocked. It has been a clear 15 years since SP Balasubramaniam has sung a song in Bollywood, and the long time dream is coming true with King Khan's 'Chennai Express'.
Music for the Sharukh Khan film is composed by Vishal Shekhar and 'Chennai Express' has its title song rendered in the peerless voice of SPB. The song was recorded in Raju Menon Studio, Chennai, and we hear that the track has come out really well. Directed by Rohit Shetty for Sharukh's Red Chillies, 'Chennai Express' stars SRK and Deepika Padukone in the lead, and many Kollywood big names. In the film, Deepika is portrayed to be a Tamil girl. The 'Chennai Express' team has a surprise in store, at the IPL finals, to be held in Kolkata.

Actor Dhanush and KV Anand come together

For long there rumor mills of Kollywood were running with the news that KV Anand is due in for a movie with Vijay or even our own superstar, however the air of confusion is finally clear and sound. Actor Dhanush who is quite active in a social networking site, has come out with tweeting that the KV Anand-Dhanush project is a GO for sure.

He has further revealed that the movie is confirmed recently, and shooting to commence from somewhere in August. KV Anand's previous movie Maattrraan had a decent outing at the BO and as for Dhanush, he is on all time high with so many projects round the corner. An official word from KV Anand's camp is yet to be out soon with the rest of technical cast and crew also being zeroed in.

Manisha Koirala After Surgery @ London

Movie on Sreesanth

Its only days since Sreesanth was arrested for spot fixing, and now two Malayalam film makers are gearing up with a movie " Cricket" which will showcase Sreesanth's life. The movie will be directed by Shaji who is well known for depicting movies with underworld milieu and scripted by Sajan.  Sreesanth is the hot topic in whole of India for his alleged involvement with bookies and spot fixing, the matter has become a national issue as it's a shame to Indian cricket itself.
Sajan and Shaji reveal that this movie will be about a young Kerala born cricketer who is rich in talents and reaches the peak in a short while, but how greed takes over him and how he enters the crooked ways of life, with no one else to blame than himself. They also further mentioned this movie will be an eye opener to young cricketers, it will tell them only Hard work matters and money is not everything.

Music Director Anirudh bags Vijay-Murugadoss's next

While Vijay fans are rejoicing to hear that the superstar will be working with director Murugadoss again post 'Thupakki', here's latest update on the movie front.

Buzz is that the untitled film has brought 'Kolaveri' musical hero Anirudh on board. Initially, rumours had it that the filmmaker will be working with Harris Jayaraj, since they had given success hattricks earlier with 'Thuppakki', '7aum Arivu' and 'Ghajini'. However it has been now finalised that Anirudh will make our Thalapathy dance to his tunes, literally!

But now sadly the young talent wouldn't be able to don grease paint. News had been that Anirudh will debuting as a actor in 'Podaa Podi' famed Vignesh Shiva's next venture. Now with new responsibility on hand, apparently Anirudh's acting dream has to wait. "This is a prestigious project and I have my hands full with music composing assignments currently," the young composer said in an interview. Incidentally, Anirudh also has Elred Kumar's untitled project on hand.

Big buyers for Thalaivaa

Vendhar Movies is on a high, getting hold of everything on their way. They hit a jack pot with their last buy, Ethir Neechal. Now it has come to our knowledge that the company has acquired the distribution rights for the Vijay starrer Thalaivaa.

Team Thalaivaa has also sold the Kerala distribution rights to Thameens Films, who had also earlier distributed Vijay’s Thuppakki. The producers, Shri Mishri Productions are also looking to release Thalaivaa’s music, composed by GV Prakash on 22^nd June, Vijay’s Birthday.

International nominations for Naan Ee

SS Rajamouli’s Naan Ee is all set to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20^th in the Film Market Section. Following which the director and his team will fly to Madrid, Puchon and Shanghai.

The romantic-fantasy has won six nominations, including the Best Film, best supporting actor (Sudeep), best cinematography, best special effects, best music composer and best editor at the prestigious Madrid Film Festival 2013.

This is also the first Indian film to compete in the ‘Best Film’ category in the Madrid Film Festival. Naan Ee, following this, will also participate in the Shanghai International Film Festival and Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Director Shankar & Dhanush project

Early in 2011 there was a buzz created around the possible teaming up of Shankar and Dhanush. It was before Nanban had commenced that stories of Dhanush being part of that project started doing the rounds. Even though that didn’t materialize the buzz over Dhanush being part of Shankar’s next has surfaced yet again.

Sources say that AGS cinemas are in possession of Dhanush’s call sheet and are keen to share it with Director Shankar. While the combination would have the Tamil audience licking their lips in anticipation, the CEO of AGS cinemas, Archana Kalpathi, has played down the reports as being just mere rumors.

But in all likeliness, Dhanush and Shankar could literally be sharing the same stage very soon as both of them have been invited by Aascar Ravichandran to grace the occasion of 555’s audio launch which is scheduled to take place in a couple of days.

Actor Vikram's new look for 'I' spotted !

As always the case Shankar has been closely guarding the details of his under production film, ‘I’, that stars Vikram and Amy Jackson in the lead. There have been several reports that have emerged regarding Vikram’s various looks in the film. It has been reported that Vikram’s character will be seen completely beefed up in one portion of the movie, while another half of the movie will shown him with a leaner physique, warranting a rapid loss in weight from the actor.

Now it has been brought to Behindwoods’s attention that Vikram was recently spotted in the city with a completely shaved head, leading us to believe that the tonsured look too is going to be part of Shankar’s ‘I’. While the story of the film is anybodys guess, the various getups of Vikram alone are proof that ‘I’ is going to be yet another ambitious project from Shankar.

Highest award for Nayanthara from Big B

Nayanthara has bagged the highest award for excellence in Telugu cinema, the Nandi Award, for her highly publicized portrayal as Sita in Sri Ramarajyam. The award for Best Actress was made all the more special for Nayanthara as she received the award from the hands of Amitabh Bachchan.

The function took place in a grand manner on 11^th April at Hyderabad. Nayanthara was also visibly pleased as her film Sri Ramarajyam was awarded the Best Film too. This is Nayanthara’s first Nandi Award and should mark her comeback as a clearly successful one.

Actress Anjali returns, meets DCP

Actress Anjali who was feared to have gone ‘missing’ over the past couple of days returned to Hyderabad and appeared before the DCP of West Zone, Sudheer Rao. After explaining her situation to the Deputy Comissioner, Anjali was allowed to face the media persons who had swarmed the area.

Anjali said that she was not in a frame of mind to speak elaborately on the matter but said that she had gone to Mumbai as she was mentally upset. She said that she will be reporting back to work from Monday for the Telugu remake of Bol Bachchan where she stars opposite Venkatesh once again after their successful pairing in Seethama Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu.

'Mariyaan' Music

Starring Dhanush and Parvathy, 'Mariyaan' is a story of survival. Based on the fiction of a fisherman caught up in the Sudan oil wells, the story revolves around five important emotions - love, separation, pain, confidence and rise. We hear that it was not only Dhanush, but also the music director AR Rahman, who has displayed these emotions. Rahman is said to have composed a beautiful album, containing one song for each of the emotions. The best of the lot is said to be a song where a galore of emotions has been brought by Rahman, to fit the few minutes of the song. According to a source close to the team, the over all effect reminds one of Bharat Bala-AR Rahman rapport in the world famous 'Vande Maataram'. The good friends, were earlier expected to release two individual single tracks from the album, but the crew has later decided that the audio launch will be holistically held on the 23rd of April. The main film can be expected in the big screens by the first week of May.

Yesudas Back with 'Moodar Kudam'

If we had to describe the singer in a word, he is legendary. Everybody in the music fraternity worship his voice, while the man has only humbled with age as ripe as his experience. The most favourite singer of the industry, KJ Yesudas is coming back in the the album of the movie 'Moodar Kudam'. The film is directed by Naveen, who was formerly an associate of directors Simbudevan and Pandiraj.
The film's music has been composed by Natrajan Sankaran of Trinity Music School. The album has seven songs in all, out of which 5 are original tracks. The album has the leading voices from the industry, like Srinivas, SPB Charan, Naresh Iyer, and of course Yesudas. The veteran singer has sung a remix version of his debut song, 'Neeyum Bommai'. The album is said to have music of all genres, including rap. Audio launch of the movie is scheduled for the 29th of April. The audio rights is owned by Think Music. The movie will be released under Pasanga Production by director Pandiraj.

Kollywood misses year’s biggest date!

This year there will be no big or medium Tamil release on April 12, the ‘Tamil Puthandu- Vishu’ weekend. Traditionally, the Tamil Puthandu sees the release of one or two big star films and a few medium budget movies.

2013 Tamil Puthandu weekend starting on Friday April 12, will see only little known releases that nobody has heard of. It is for the first time in history of Tamil cinema the Tamil New Year weekend will not see any new releases.
In the good old days all top heroes used to have a biggie which would be their summer release. Collection wise the Tamil Puthandu weekend is the best among festival release dates.
Remember 2005 Tamil Puthandu weekend saw Rajinikanth’s Chandramukhi, Kamal Haasan’s Mumbai Express and Vijay’s Sachein ? The trade experts believe that films that release during that weekend always makes an extra 5 to 10 % in their total collection due to the holiday season.
Even last year (2012), Udhayanidhi Stalin’s debut film Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (OKOK) released during that weekend and the film went on to become a mega hit and the second highest grosser of that year.
Meanwhile there are nearly a dozen films which had earlier planned to release on April 12, but could not make it due to various reasons. They are Biriyani, Kutty Puli, Madha Gaja Raja, Soodhu Kavvum, Udhayam NH 4, Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal, Vallinam, Nagaraja Chozhan MA MLA, Sonna Puriyadhu, Ethir Neechal etc.

Tamanaah’s next hero is Akshay Kumar

Tammannaah is doing her first Hindi film Himmatwala opposite Ajay Devgan, directed by hit maker Sajid Khan. The buzz is that the pretty actress even before her film releases next month, has landed another project opposite Akshay Kumar being produced by Ramesh Taurani.
Tammannaah seems to have shifted her priorities to Bollywood. This film, which will mark the directorial debut of writer duo Sajid and Farhad, will be produced by Ramesh Taurani. Apparently, this film will be rolling out towards the end of the year.
Meanwhile the shoot of Tamannaah’s only film in Tamil opposite Ajith and directed by Shiva is expected to start end March.

Actor Vijay gets Superstar title!

Films using Superstar Rajinikanth’s blockbuster titles are becoming commonplace now, but an upcoming Kannada film has chosen to keep the Superstar’s name itself as the title. Kannada hero Vijay’s latest film will be called ‘Rajinikanth – The Superstar’.

While one imagines this to be a biopic of sorts since Rajini spent many years in Karnataka, the makers are quick to deny that. They say that the hero’s name in the movie is Kanth while the heroine, played by Anita Rao, is called Rajini and hence the title.
The producer of the film, Prassad, finds the title sentimental as his parents too have Rajini and Kanth in their names and the hero is thrilled to be part of a film named after the one and only Superstar.

Ethir Neechal and Gauravam Gets Bigger Now

Dhanush’s upcoming production Ethir Neechal has been making headlines from the very beginning and with the songs turning to be Chartbusters, the expectations have reached beyond the usual status. The film is directed by Senthil starring Sivakarthikeyan and Priya Anand in lead roles. While the post-production works has been completed, Vendhar Movies has bagged the theatrical rights of the film and is planning to release the film in April. On the pars, there is another movie getting under the wings of the same banner – Gauravam directed by Radha Mohan and is produced by Duet Movies. The film marks the debut of producer Allu Sirish in lead role and Vicky Donor fame Yami Gautham plays female lead role and is scheduled for release in April.

Actor Delhi Ganesh in hospital

Actor Delhi Ganesh has been admitted in Apollo Hospital following a heart attack. The veteran actor, who has had his takes as hero, villain, comedian and even in character roles, had a heart attack on Wednesday, 27th February 2013, night.

He was hurried to the above mentioned hospital, where he was under intensive observation. We have now come to know that the 62-year-old actor has regained his stability.
We at tamilkey, wish him a speedy recovery and a very long and healthy life!

Director Shankar's expensive Plan B !

Director Shankar who is known for his extravagance leaves no stone unturned to capture the perfect imagery for his movies. Shankar has never been one who has been perturbed by size, location or budgets. For his latest film ‘I’, Shankar had scouted for some spectacular locations in China and also completed shooting some portions there in his first schedule.

But all was not roses for Shankar as he couldn’t gain access to some parts of China where he planned the shoot. Despite making numerous efforts his request was declined by the local authorities. But in typical Shankar style, he has apparently recreated those parts of China across 150 acres in Kodaikkanal to shoot those portions.

Looks like Shankar’s ‘Little China’ is quite the expensive Plan B !

Actress Shruti Haasan joins the heavyweight S S Rajamouli gang

Shruti Haasan has been roped in for the next mega project of director S S Rajamouli which already has the likes of Anushka, Rana and Prabhas. This project has been titled as Baahubali and features Rana and Prabhas as brothers with Anushka pairing up with the latter.

This movie will get into production from April onwards and is currently in the pre-production and location scouting phase. The lead cast is being trained in martial arts and horse riding for this movie which comes on the back of the Rajamouli blockbuster Eega. Keeravani will compose the tunes for this film as well. 

Oscars : Disappointment for India, joy for Ang Lee!

‘Life of Pi’, a movie adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel, which was shot extensively in and around Pondicherry with the help of a healthy Indian contingent as part of the crew has bagged 4 awards at the 85^thAcademy Awards that took place earlier today.

Not surprisingly the film won for Best Visual Effects and also for Best Cinematography which was accepted by Claudio Miranda. But the most unexpected surprise was Ang Lee winning Best Director, and deservingly too, since Steven Spielberg was the front runner for that award for his film ‘Lincoln’.

While the film was nominated for a total of 11 categories, the most anticipated one of them for the Indian audiences was that of Best Original Song which would have fetched Bombay Jayashri an Oscar for lending her voice, but sadly that wasn’t to be as the award went to the title track of the James Bond film ‘Skyfall’. But the film’s music director Mychael Danna took home the award for Best Original Score.

In the end the director, who won the award for second time after Brokeback Mountain, was clearly overwhelmed with the announcement and in his acceptance speech he made it a point to thank his Indian crew and even managed to sneak in a ‘Namaste’.

After Mumbai, Morocco beckons Jiiva and Thulasi

The second schedule of Ravi K Chandran’s Yaan has been wrapped up. This was supposedly the longer of the two schedules. The director has also revealed that he has canned 65% of the film and that they are left with five songs, four action sequences and one more schedule of talkie portions.

The final schedule will happen at Morocco for 20 days, announced the cinematographer-turned-director.

The film stars Jiiva and Thulasi Nair in the lead roles and RS Infotainment is funding the flick. The technical crew also consists of, editor Sreekar Prasad, sound engineer Resul Pookutty, composer Harris Jayaraj and cinematographer Neha Parti. 

Siva Karthikeyan values his 20 minutes with Ajith

Not many know that actor Siva Karthikeyan actually made a blink-you-miss type cameo in Ajith’s 2008 release, Aegan. Siva recalled that he felt astonished seeing Ajith for the first time due to the sheer presence of the star and his glowing complexion.

Siva got a chance to act in this film thanks to his comedy show on TV, which was noticed by one of the associate directors who was working for Aegan. He had to wait for 4 to 5 days though, to get a chance to do a scene together with Ajith but was made to feel welcome despite his humble stature at that time. Ajith spent about 20 minutes with him before their shot, asking him about whether he was paid properly, his family life and also about his spending and saving habits.  
 

Due to changes in the script, Siva didn’t participate in Aegan beyond that particular day but he still deems it an unforgettable experience.

Official Confirmation: Prabhu Deva-Salman for Wanted 2

This time, Salman Khan prefers a fresh script and not a remake. As soon as the news about 'Wanted 2' flashed from the production house of Boney Kapoor, the instant question that rose in every mind was whether it would be again a remake as Salman Khan's recent films have been mostly of that sort including 'Kick' (a remake of Ravi Teja's Telugu movie).

However, the closest source of Sallu Bhai revealed that the actor is keenly looking out for a fresh script and agreed to sign this project only on this condition.

The film will be directed by Prabhu Deva, who has witnessed a couple of blockbusters (Wanted and Rowdy Rathore), which again are a remake of South projects.

'I' beats 'Endhiran' in cost?

His current production with Shankar is "I" which has a cast of Vikram, Amy Jackson, Santhanam and Powerstar Srinivasan. Rumours had it that this movie had a budget of 80 to 90 crores, but now, sources close to the producer said that the actual budget of "I" is about 145 crores. If this is true, then this film surpasses "Endhiran" and will be the costliest film ever made in India. Vikram said that the film is based on a life of a male model and problems he faces.One of the costliest movies ever to be made in India was Rajnikanth and Aishwariya Rai Bachchan starrer "Endhiran" Producedby Sun Pictures. The another big producer Aascar Ravichandran who had known for his mega budget films is on a role now

6000 people fight for 'Bhoolagam'!!

Aascar Ravichandran, the producer of the Jeyam Ravi and Trisha starrer "Bhoolagam" has taken up a challenge to outdo his own feats of grandeur in older movies.

The team of "Bhoologam" is in Thiruvannamalai now for  10 day schedule of a fight sequence. This fight alone costs 4 crores and has 6000 people in it. The hero, the villain, 4000 college students, 1000 junior artists, 150 trained athletes and almost 500 sports persons from colleges. Blows your mind? Ours too. We are eager to watch the magnificent outcome of this literally mass fight scene.

Rajinikanth to see Kamal's 'Vishwaroopam' Wednesday

They’ve always been the best of friends and the best of rivals. The two icons of Tamil cinema - Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth - have always stood by each other. It, therefore, comes as no surprise to know that the latter would be watching the former's controversial "Vishwaroopam" Wednesday.
Said Kamal: "I'm expressing my gratitude to all my colleagues in the Tamil film industry for standing by me. I've a screening at the 6 Degrees theatre in the Auro 3D format for all my friends this evening."
The screening of "Vishwaroopam", directed and produced by Kamal, was banned in Tamil Nadu after a group of Muslim Organisations protested against the film saying it will hurt the sentiments of the Muslims. But later, after several round of talks, the actor-filmmaker got permission to release the film after editing objectionable scenes. Now the espionage thriller is releasing in the state Thursday.
Before that there is the special screening and Rajinikanth, who stood by him during tough times, is among the special invitees.
Said a source close to Kamal: “Yes, Rajini sir is indeed watching 'Vishwaroopam' on Kamal sir’s request. Rajini Sir was one of the first actors in Tamil Nadu who spoke up in favour of Kamal sir’s film when all the protests broke out. He even offered to do a film free of cost to compensate for the losses suffered by Kamal sir because of the protests. Kamal sir has arranged a screening of 'Vishwaroopam' in the special Auro 3D for Rajni sir.”

A special screening of the film for the Bollywood fraternity is also being planned in Mumbai. It is expected to be attended by the Bachchans, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, the Roshans and Shatrughan Sinha’s family, among many others.
On Feb 9, Kamal leaves for Paris for the special French premiere on Feb 10 of "Vishwaroopam", which stars Kamal along with Pooja Kumar, Jaideep Ahlawat, Shekhar Kapur and Rahul Bose.

Actor Kamal announces "Moo"

With his "Vishwaroopam" issue settled down after facing various problems, Kamal is ready with his next which is to be titled 'Moo'. It has been reported that Kamal will be starting this project after completing his Vishwaroopam 2.

Quiz Kamal about this he said, "I will be registering the title soon. It denotes three. The Tamil language has this beauty about it - you can tell a word in one syllable, like nee, naan, thee. I'd like to title my next film, post Vishwaroopam 2, as Moo." We hear that Kamal will be playing three roles in the film and it also might be made in English because of the Ulaganayagan's interest in Hollywood. Not surprisingly  the famous Hollywood producer Barrie Osborne has shown an interest in working with Kamal. Barrie Osborne is well known for his series of "Lord Of The Rings". " I am inspired by Kamal Haasan. We are discussing a project together. I hope it comes true soon." says Barrie Osborne.

When asked about this, a source close to Kamal said. " There's no official confirmation about Moo yet. Kamal sir is planning to make Vishwaroopam 2 next and he had mentioned that even during the talks with the Muslim groups. He has already shot most of the film and will shoot the remaining portions soon. In fact, when Vishwaroopam ends, there's an indication that the sequel will take place in India."

February release schedule

As per early scheduling, February with 28 days may have a record 23 releases. Most of these are low budget unknown movies with either newcomers or little known faces.

Some have announced release dates, while others are waiting to be censored or trying to get a decent release date. There is such a huge rush in February mainly because everybody wants to release before examination season starts in March.

Here is the February list, taken from newspaper ads and trade talks. The dates mentioned need not be accurate, as some of them may get postponed or delayed.

Feb1 – 1.David 2. Kadal (Released)

Feb 7 – 3.Vishwaroopam

Feb 8 – 4.Chuda Chuda 5.Ninavodu Kalandhuvidu 6. Ariyadhavan-Puriyadhavan

Feb 14 – 7. Sillunnu Oru Sandhippu 8. Nesam Nasepeduthe 9. Vanayudham 10. Naangam Pirai -3D

Feb 15 – 11. Pardesi 12. Aadalam Boys Chinnadha Dance

Feb 22 – 13. Aadhibhagavan 14. KD Billa Killadi Ranga 15. Haridas 16. Pechiakka Marumagan 17.Thalakonam 18. Chandamama

Also trying for February Release – 19. Kiripulla 20. Andava Perumal 21. Kanpesum Varthakal 22.Arjunan Kathali 23. Sonna puriyathu

Films with item numbers to carry ‘A’ certificate!

All films with item songs will get an ‘Adult’ rating, as per a recent order of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). An ‘A’ certificate will hit filmmakers hard, as satellite television rates of the film will plunge.

A meeting of CBFC members in Mumbai was critical of what the censors had passed. The censor board came under tremendous pressure after the recent Delhi gang rape.

The CBFC CEO Pankaja Thakur has said : “ We have decided to issue ‘A’ certificate to any film which has an item number” The CBFC felt some strict measures has to be taken before the public anger boils over.

Producers in south are already hit by the ban, as most pictures which have item numbers are now calling it “fun song” !! But CBFC chief Leela Samson is clear that in whatever name you call an item song, the producer will have to take an ‘A’ cut!

Meanwhile after Vishwaroopam controversy and subsequent ban in Tamil Nadu, the centre has appointed a judicial commission to review the Cinematography Act, which creates and empowers the national censor board.

An eight-member committee has been appointed by the centre headed by retired Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Mukul Mudgal, and includes Sharmila Tagore, who headed the censor board, and award-winning lyricist and parliamentarian Javed Akhtar.

Actor Kamal Haasan manages to beat Rajini

Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroop has managed a decent first weekend total in the Hindi markets by netting 7.75 crores. The opening day netted 1.89 crores, as earlier reported. Each subsequent day showed good growth when compared to the previous day and this total is the highest for the Hindi version of a South Indian film. Previously Rajini’s Robot managed a first weekend net of 7.25 – 7.5 crores.

Ahead of the release of the original Vishwaroopam in Tamil Nadu in the coming days, this news must come as sweet music to Kamal Haasan and his supporters.

Actress Neetu Chandra does an item number for Settai!

After sizzling in Kanni Theevu Ponna… in Mysskin’s Yuddham Sei, Neetu Chandra is all set to woo the audience with her moves in Laila Laila… in Settai. Yes, the actress will be seen performing a special number in the film, along with Arya, Santhanam and Premgi.

Confirming the news, director Kannan says, “We will be shooting for the song for three days from February 9 in the city. It’s a very peppy number and Na Muthukumar has written the lyrics for it. Videsh is now working towards erecting a lavish set of a Mumbai bar, replete with flashy bulbs. Kalyan master will be choreographing the song. We wanted someone who could look sensuous, and roped in Neetu Chandra for the song.”

Neetu is quite gung-ho about the number as well. “I love dancing, and as soon as I heard the tunes, I was sold on performing for this number,” she says. Settai is the Tamil remake of Delhi Belly.

Christian groups want a ban on Kadal !

Now a ban on Mani Ratnam’s Kadal? A Christian fringe group led by a priest has approached the Chennai city police commissioner demanding a ban on the film for it being “anti-Christian”!

The group Christhuva Jananayaga Katchi (CJK) found certain scenes in the film to be objectionable and depicts christians in bad light! The organisaton members have metChennai city police Commissioner and requested him to ban Kadal from screening.

The CJK are also demanding that seven scenes, the same number of scenes objected by Muslim communities in Vishwaroopam, be deleted from the film!

Actor Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' to release in Tamil Nadu on Thursday

Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan's film Vishwaroopam will release in theatres in Tamil Nadu on Thursday, after the state government first banned the film and then brokered a compromise with leaders of groups who were offended by the portrayal of Muslims in the Rs. 95-crore film.

Ahead of the film's debut in his home state, Kamal Haasan agreed to edit out the audio for seven scenes and withdraw a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the government's ban.

In a statement today, the actor, who has also produced and directed 'Vishwaroopam', thanked his fans for their immovable support. "What brought me to an emotional pulp was the sight of many money orders, currency notes and bank cheques sent to me in envelopes," he said, referring to the donations made after he disclosed last week that the ban on his movie had placed him in borderline bankruptcy. He asked his admirers not to be offended by his decision to return their money. "In case politics and religion hound me again to take refuge," he said, he will call on them.
Since January 22, when the government banned his film two days before its scheduled release in 524 theatres, Kamal Haasan has defended his movie as "Muslim-friendly" and said that he has been used as "a political instrument." A judge of the Madras High Court who said that the ban should be lifted was over-ruled by two others the next day.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa last week said the ban was necessary to maintain law and order, but offered that her government would help mediate negotiations between Muslim groups and the actor.  After six hours of talks on Saturday, Kamal Haasan agreed that the audio would be removed in seven contentious scence

Actor Kamal & Muslim groups come to a settlement

Kamal Haasan talking to the press at around 8:00pm IST on Feb 2nd, said that the meeting with the Muslim groups has been successful in resolving Vishwaroopam's release problem. He added that he has accepted to remove few ‘objectionable’ audio segments from the movie.
 

Once these segments are removed, a certification will be obtained again from the Censor Board, which could probably be tomorrow (3^rd February) and a release date will be announced as soon as possible. 

The actor also added that he will be withdrawing the writ petition from the High Court. He once again thanked the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr.J.Jayalalitha and the Tamil Nadu Government for playing a major role in resolving the problem. Kamal also thanked the media and his fans for their continued support. 

The Muslim groups have also re-iterated that they now have no personal animosity against Kamal and that they will withdraw the cases in regards to the issue immediately.

Actor GAUTHAM KARTHIK SHOCKED WITH THULASI NAIR LIP KISS

Director Mani Ratnam has a unique way of picturing sequences and he is one filmmaker who believes in naturality & spontaneity. The tough task maker used the same technique to get the romantic smooch between the lead pair of Kadal right.

In a recent interview, Gautham Karthik was asked to share his experience performing the love-making sequence. Surprisingly, the actor claimed he had no clue that Thulasi Nair was going to lock lips with him. Mani Ratnam explained the scene to Thulasi, but Gautham was’t informed prior about the lip-lock.

As soon as Thulasi kissed Gautham, the youngster was in a state of shock as he never unexpected it. On the other hand, Mani was delighted to capture the blank expression on the hero’s face as it is all what he was expecting.

The lip-lock sequence has become quite popular ever since the trailer was out and it even stirred controversy for shooting such sequence with Thulasi who is a minor. Doubts were raised by films buffs on whether or not this smooch clip will be there when they throng theatres.

Wish Mani Ratnam doesn’t compromise on his creative freedom at any cost.

Chief Minister's Verdict on Vishwaroopam

'Karunanidhi is my political adversary and I haven't banned the films made by his family members. Then why should I ban Kamal Haasan's movie'. The very punch pierced through lens of cameras and boom mikes in the press meet hall as honorable Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha interacted with media channels pertaining to the ban on Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam.

With the entire Indian film fraternity thronging up for the support of Kamal Haasan, the Chief Minister incisively clarified that she has nothing to do personally with Kamal as he is not her rival in anyway and there is no political vendetta with respect to this issue.

'The Government had to take certain actions and pass section 144 for the sake of maintaining peace and cordiality in the state' said CM Jayalalitha as she continued to add that this a feud between Kamal Haasan and the party that has opposed the release of film on its feelings, which could be amicabbly settled.

When asked about Kamal Haasan on his statement of selling his properties to settle the loss, she had a sang-froid reply saying, "The Government has nothing to do with Kamal Haasan's decision of pledging his property to make a film."

On the pars, celebrated actors and technicians from Tamil film industry and small screen that included Siva Kumar, Suriya, Karthi, Bala, Prasanna, Madhavan, Ameer, producer KE Gnanavel Raja and others were spotted at the residence of Kamal Haasan to have their views exerted following the decision of Tamil Nadu CM. They thanked chief minister for the commendable decision and mentioned that their support for Kamal Haasan will remain constant forever.

Vijay Mallya Appreciates Kamal’s Vishwaroopam

Liquor baron and industrialist Vijay Mallya has appreciated Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam. Tweeting about this film, Vijay Mallya said that he loved the film so much that he feels like giving his 26 per cent share in the United Breweries to Kamal Haasan for free.

It is sad to note that a film receiving such a huge compliment from one of India’s top ranking businessman is banned in Tamil Nadu, unfortunately, a state where Kamal belongs!