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!

Everybody needs a hit: Shruti Haasan

Shruti Haasan, who is neck deep in work right now, says she couldn’t have had a better start to 2013, “I am busy with three Telugu films, two Hindi films and a Tamil movie. I have a busy and exciting year ahead,” says Shruti, who is currently shooting for Yevadu with Ram Charan. In fact, the actress celebrated her birthday on Monday with the cast and crew of themovie on the sets.

The actress also confirms that she has signed a Harish Shankar movie opposite NTR Jr. The two were supposed to work together earlier, but due of date issues, Shruti had to opt out. “Now, I will finally be working with NTR Jr and I’m excited about teaming up with Harish Shankar again after Gabbar Singh,” she says.

Shruti is also pinning her hopes on her Hindi film, Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya, to make a Bollywood comeback of sorts after a long hiatus. And this one has a good dose of Southern flavour too. “Prabhu Dheva has already made his mark inBollywood as a director and since I know him well, it is so comfortable to be working with him in this remake of Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana.We have however, made a lot of changes in theHindi version. I am playing a village girl in this film,” adds Shruti, who is essaying Trisha’s role in the film. The actress also has anotherBollywood movie in her kitty — a Nikhil Advani film set against the backdrop of terrorism, starring Arjun Rampal.

“I am working on a Tamil movie too. I love this…being busy and working everyday,” she says. Tell her that after a series of flops, her fortunes changed with one hit and Shruti says, “Yes, everybody needs a hit, but at the same time people have to like my work too. I’m more thankful for the fact that people appreciated my work in every film and I work hard to earn that.”

With her filmi graph going strong, Shruti is keen on focusing on her singing career now. “Music has always been my love and I will be singing a lot more in Tollywood films, apart from writing lyrics too,” reveals the actress, who is busy shuttling between Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai these days. “I live in Mumbai with my mom and sister. And of course, I always consider Chennai as home. But for the last few years, I’ve been practically living in Hyderabad,” says Shruti.

Kamal Haasan agrees to cut scenes, legal battle moves to Supreme Court

Actor Kamal Haasan will appeal to the Supreme Court to rescind a two-week ban on his mega-budget Vishwaroopam.  He lost his case in the Madras High Court today, minutes after he announced he had "settled amicably" with Muslim groups by agreeing to delete contentious scenes and words from the movie.

It was a day of incredible plot twists for the actor-director-producer.  Late in the afternoon, he announced he would re-edit his film, removing a list of scenes and words furnished by Muslim groups.  "My Muslim family has reached out to me...we have settled amicably...there are no more differences between me and my Muslim brothers," he said.

The compromise contrasted with the firm stand he took at a press conference this morning, where he suggested the battle over Vishwaroopam is a crucible of India's secularism and threatened to leave Tamil Nadu if the ban on the movie was not lifted. "If there is no secular state in India, I would go overseas," he said.   Blaming the state government, he said, "It appears Tamil Nadu wants me out...but I will always remain Tamil and an Indian."

The ban on the movie was introduced by the Tamil Nadu government last week. It was lifted by a Madras High Court judge last night, who had reviewed Vishwaroopam.  But the government appealed against that verdict in the High Court today, and won.

Petrol bombs were hurled at two theatres 600 kms from Chennai which were scheduled to show Vishwaroopam. Nobody was hurt; glass windows were shattered.

Kamal Haasan's offer to make changes to his film may be based on his financial vulnerability as a producer of the big-budget film. He shared today that his house and other properties have been pledged to a money-lender. His brother, Chandra, who co-produced Vishwaroopam, has said the movie has lost between 30 and 60 crores because it has not screened as scheduled in Tamil Nadu.

Will delete some scenes from 'Vishwaroopam', says Kamal Haasan; court upholds ban

Kamal Haasan on Wednesday agreed to delete some objectionable scenes from his controversial film 'Vishwaroopam'. The actor-director said the issue had been settled amicably.

But, soon after his statement on a compromise with Muslim leaders, the Madras high court on Wednesday set aside a single judge order staying the government's prohibitory orders on film 'Vishwaroopam'. As a result, theatres cannot screen the film anywhere in Tamil Nadu.

"I have agreed to remove certain scenes relating to the Holy Quran in Vishwaroopam," Kamal Haasan had said just before the HC's latest order. He reiterated his film was pro Indian Muslims and was not meant to offend his 'Muslim brothers' in any way.

Earlier in the day, an emotional Kamal Haasan said that he is thinking of leaving Tamil Nadu for some other secular state in India as the problems over his movie Vishwaroopam's release continued.

"I will look at all the states from Kashmir to Kerala excluding Tamil Nadu. If I don't find one which is secular, I will leave for another country. M F Hussain had to leave, now Haasan will have to," said the actor, whose movie's release was stopped by TN state government authorities last week after a few Muslim groups protested.

The actor told media on Wednesday that he will continue to make Tamil movies and love Tamilians even if he leaves India. "Only my passport will change," said Kamal.

Late on Tuesday night, Justice K Venkataraman had stayed the Tamil Nadu government's prohibitory orders, thereby paving the way for the film's release.

Soon after, top government lawyers rushed to the residence of Acting Chief Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and obtained permission to move an urgent appeal today. When the matter was taken up, the first bench comprising Justice Dharma Rao and Justice Aruna Jagadeesan wanted to know if Kamal's lawyers had approached the district collectors challenging their prohibitory orders. When the reply was in the negative, the court said that when the statue permits an officer to exercise a particular power that authority should be allowed to exercise it.

Pointing out that advocate-general sought to file a detailed counter, the judges said the counters could be filed by Monday, and the matter could be taken up by the single judge by Wednesday,

"You have only two options before you. Either approach the district collectors and appeal against their prohibitory orders or wait for the single judge to pass final orders in the matter.

Indicating that Kamal might approach the Supreme Court immediately, his senior counsel P S Raman wanted a copy of the order today itself. The plea was granted by the bench.

Kamal Haasan to take Vishwaroopam battle to Supreme Court

Actor Kamal Haasan will appeal to the Supreme Court to rescind a two-week ban on his mega-budget Vishwaroopam.  He lost his case in the Madras High Court today, minutes after he announced he had "settled amicably" with Muslim groups by agreeing to delete contentious scenes and words from the movie.

It was a day of incredible plot twists for the actor-director-producer.  Late in the afternoon, he announced he would re-edit his film, removing a list of scenes and words furnished by Muslim groups.  "My Muslim family has reached out to me...we have settled amicably...there are no more differences between me and my Muslim brothers," he said.

The compromise contrasted with the firm stand he took at a press conference this morning, where he suggested the battle over Vishwaroopam is a crucible of India's secularismtate in India, I would go overseas," he said.   Blaming the state government, he said, "It appears Tamil N and threatened to leave Tamil Nadu if the ban on the movie was not lifted. "If there is no secular state in India, I would go overseas," he said.   Blaming the state government, he said, "It appears Tamil Nadu wants me out...but I will always remain Tamil and an Indian."The ban on the movie was introduced by the Tamil Nadu government last week. It was lifted by a Madras High Court judge last night, who had reviewed Vishwaroopam.  But the government appealed against that verdict in the High Court today, and won.

Petrol bombs were hurled at two theatres 600 kms from Chennai which were scheduled to show Vishwaroopam. Nobody was hurt; glass windows were shattered.

Kamal Haasan's offer to make changes to his film may be based on his financial vulnerability as a producer of the big-budget film. He shared today that his house and other properties have been pledged to a money-lender. His brother, Chandra, who co-produced Vishwaroopam, has said the movie has lost between 30 and 60 crores because it has not screened as scheduled in Tamil Nadu.

Petrol bombs thrown at theatres meant to screen Vishwaroopam

Petrol bombs were hurled this afternoon at two cinemas in Tamil Nadu which were scheduled to screen Vishwaroopam, the controversial film starring Kamal Haasan. Nobody was hurt; glass windows were shattered at the theatres located in the Ramanathapuram district, 600 kms from the state capital of Chennai.

A two-week ban on the 95-crore movie ordered by the government was lifted last night by a judge of the Madras High Court who had watched the movie.  The government has appealed against his verdict and the High Court is scheduled to hear the case today.

At a press conference today, Kamal Haasan, who is 58, refuted allegations that in Vishwaroopam, Muslim characters play into negative stereotypes, the reason cited by the government for blocking the film.  The superstar threatened to move away from India, declaring that if it does not prove itself as a secular state, he will have to find a home outside the country.  However, he reassured his fans, "I will always remain a Tamil and an Indian" and said he would never stop writing or making Tamil films.

Kamal Hassan's Vishwaroopam banned in TN

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday banned the screening of Kamal Hassan's "Vishwaroopam" following strong protests from various Muslim organisations over alleged depiction of their community in a negative light. Official sources said the state government has asked the respective district collectors to invoke necessary legal provisions to maintain law and order.
The ban came hours after the Muslim groups petitioned the government, seeking a ban. A group of 20-odd organisations under a common banner submitted a memorandum to home secretary R Rajagopal to press for their demand, a day after taking up the matter with city police. MH Jawahirullah, MLA and president of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, told reporters that the movie "targets Muslims and their beliefs".
Mohammed Haneefa, coordinator of Federation of Islamic Movements and Political Parties, said the community would not accept such portrayal even if certain scenes are deleted. "We intend to register our apprehensions that release of the film with (even) deleted scenes or changes will affect the social harmony and all-round peace in the state," he said.
The move comes days after Haasan, who directs and stars in the movie, held a special show for them. The big budget movie has been made in Tamil, Hindi and Telegu.
Haasan has already clarified that Muslims are not shown in a objectionable manner in the film but that has failed to soothe frayed tempers of the community, which blames him of having a history of doing so in earlier films like Hey Ram and Unnai Pol Oruvan, the latter a remake of Hindi film A Wednesday. Hassan had played the role of Naseruddin Shah in the original.
Hasan has been facing lot of hurdles with his latest movie, which has been made on a huge budget. His decision to show it on a DTH platform ahead of its theatrical release was faced with strong protests by screen-owners recently.
He was forced to drop his plans to have a DTH premiere first after the protests but moved the Competition Commission of India against Tamil Nadu theatre owners for allegedly restricting the release.

Villathi Movie Villain Is Roja

Not many heroines have had the opportunity to impress the audience, doing a gray shaded role. To name a few Jyothika, Tamannah and Simran had their turns as the bad women in Pachaikili Muthucharam, Kedi and Parthen Rasithen respectively.

Now to join the list is a veteran heroine, who has acted with the likes of Rajinikanth, Prabhu, Karthik and Sarath Kumar. It’s none other than Roja. The actress plays a mom and the lead villain in an upcoming film Villathi. It is also heard that herrole is an action packed one.

Actress Nayanthara to go glam

Nayanthara, who is making a comeback of sorts in Tamil cinema, opposite Thala Ajith, is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that she strikes a chord with the audience. The actress’ fame reached a notch higher when she did a bikini act in Billa.

According to sources, Nayanthara has upped the glamour quotient in her upcoming film with Ajith, which is directed by Vishnuvardhan.

In fact, we hear that she has so glam that some sources from the sets are concerned that her skin show might overshadow her acting skills.

Actor Vijay Ready Act with Ajith

Director Vijay is making a film with Ilayathalapathy Vijay and Amala Paul in the name "Thalaivaa". During an interview in the recent past, the director asked actor Vijay if he would ever consider making a movie with Ajith like he did in "Rajavin Paravai" which was released in 1995. An important factor is that they were both heroes who were just rising up in the industry then and weren't the most sought out after actors like they are now."It depends on the director and the script. If the script has room for both of us, then I have no issues about doing a film with Ajith." was the reply from Vijay. Director Vijay has worked with both Vijay and Ajith and he might have a good script in hand to be asking such a question! Or so we hope.

Actor Kamal Haasan release for "Vishwaroopam" in DTH

Kamal Haasan has issued a press release regarding his upcoming "Vishwaroopam". This has all the answers and information the fans have been waiting for.

Firstly, he asks for apologies for the delay and trouble caused. The DTH release of "Vishwaroopam" is set for the 2nd of February for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. The DTH partners will be announced shortly and also, Kamal says that the cost of each DTH viewing will go down. There might be 3 slots from which the fans can choose their comfortable timings. Kamal thanks the patient and eager audience for their support and promises that "Vishwaroopam" on DTH will be a "one of its kind event in India".

Actor Ajith in "Valai"!?

Vishnuvardhan's film with AJith is Thala's 53rd movie. This production of AM Ratnam is yet to be titled and of course, it has to be a mass yet classy one because it is his 53rd film.

The writers of the film, Suresh and Subha gave a clue about the title with a recent tweet, which said it begins with a "V". Ajith's notable hits have been a "V" beginner like "Vaali", "Villain" and "Varalaru". The guessing game is on!

The story of this film with Ajith, Nayantara, Arya, Rana Dagubatti and Pia is about a man who finds himself in a pickle and how he gets out of the nets cast by enemies. And so most of the fans side for the title "Valai". 

Actor Vijay's next titled 'Thalaivaa'

Actor Vijay has been busy working on his next project with Director A.L.Vijay. The film has been quickly making progress in Mumbai just like his previous film Thuppaki which went on to become a blockbuster. After being coy on the title of the film, the makers have finally come forward and released it. Vijay's next will officially be called 'Thalaivaa' and the news breaks the silence.

Dirctor A.L.Vijay, Illayathalapathy Vijay and other members of the team were introduced the name of the film and also it's first look. G.V.Prakash Kumar will be composing for the film and he will be coming out with a song featuring Vijay again, just like Google Google. The movie has cinematography by Nirav Shah. Amala Paul and Santhanam will be playing the other roles in the film and the team is expected to move from Mumbai to Chennai soon for their second schedule.