Sampath – First visualize, Then sign

The actor has been an inspirer of himself as he doesn’t want to let it go on the usual way of imitating others. Though in the initial stages, we had him enacting prototyped characters, Sampath stood out carefully selecting the best roles.

His recent release ‘Aaranya Kaandam’ is winning him relentless appreciations across all the roads. In fact, he has become a major brand in Tamil film industry as producers and directors call upon him for any kind of roles.

On picking the right kind of roles, Sampath utters, “When a filmmaker approaches me with a script, I visualize the entire film along with my film. If I envisage myself with a best appeal, I go for it or else avoid it.”

The actor stole the spotlights with his negative roles in ‘Saroja’ and ‘Asal’, while he impressed everyone in ‘Goa’ with humorous touch. ‘Aaranya Kaandam’ had him in lead role exhibiting his best performance.

Vikram-Deeksha Seth’s Rajapattai proceeding briskly

Actor Vikram is a bundle of energy. Though in the wrong side of the forties, the actor is as fit as a fiddle and is game for any kind of roles, unlike most heroes. The actor is now eagerly awaiting the release of net film ‘Deiva thirumagal’ which stars Anushka and Amala Paul and has been directed by Vijay of ‘Madarasapattinam’ fame.

Not the one to sit idle for long, Vikram has already started work on his next project titled ‘Rajapattai’.  The film is directed by Suseendhiran who has had a successful beginning as director with hat-trick of hits in ‘Vennila Kabadikuzhu’, ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ and ‘Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai’.  Except for ‘Naan...’ which starred Karthi, Suseendhiran has always relied on his script rather than on the actors/actresses to deliver a hit.

‘Rajapattai’ would also mark the debut of Tollywood’s sexy-looking Deeksha Seth as heroine in Tamil films.  Fair-complexioned Deeksha Seth is quite happy to be debuting opposite Vikram.  Incidentally, she is also playing Simbu’s heroine in his ‘Vettai Mannan’ and as such would be debuting with either of the two films.

The film is produced by the teenaged duo of Prateesh and Santosh, sons of popular producerRamesh who had earlier produced the Vijay-starrer ‘Pokkiri’.  Ramesh, though, is cooling his heels in Andhra Pradesh police’s custody as he has been arrested in connection with a case of ‘extortion’ and ‘fraud’.  The Unit informs that despite Ramesh’s arrest, the shooting of ‘Rajapattai’ is proceeding normally.

The shooting is going on in Chennai in specially erected sets, confirms an Unit source.  If everything goes well, the film is likely to be wrapped up by the first week of September so as to be released on the eve of Deepavali!

Jeeva is confirmed while Simbu is not – Gautham Menon

Actor Jeeva’s film with Gautham Menon is confirmed that the first schedule will begin in the month of August 2011. The shoot on August 5, 2011 will be followed by a photo session on August 1, 2011. The first schedule will take place in Chennai and the rest of it will be in the UK as opposed to Gautham Menon’s favorite US.

While this is confirmed, the media had carried news on the sequel to Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya. Simbu had reportedly claimed himself to be the hero and Amy Jackson to be the heroine. We had also predicted that it could be about Simbu finding new love after Trisha gets married.

However, even if made, the story could be close to this. Gautham Menon has come out with a press note stating that although such a prospect was discussed, the sequel to VTV was not confirmed. However, he will be teaming up with Simbu once again in 2012.

Amy Jackson has not been decided as part of the cast. Gautham Menon loves working with Simbuand he is sure to make a film with him in future but not at the moment. On the other hand, Jeeva has bagged all good directors’ offers and is surely on the path to delivering so many hits in future.

Kalavadiya Pozhudugal to release on July 29

Director Thangar Bachchan had no takers for his script that he finally zeroed in on Prabhu Deva and Bhumika Chawla to play the lead roles. The film has been made for so long that it is finally releasing in theaters on July 29.

Everyone wanted Thangar Bachchan to make a film like Azhagi - his best hit till date. All other films of his had gone down in popularity due to the melodrama in them. Thangar Bachchan is worried about actors not coming forward to act in good scripts.

By the way, it has to be seriously determined what a good script is and if Thangar Bachchan writes one. It looks like Kalavadiya Pozhudugal is a controversial story. Bhumika Chawla plays wife of Prakash Raj who falls in love with a Taxi driver played by Prabhu Deva. Will the moral police protest again? If it is a retrospective narration, that will not invite political groups.

Simbu at Superstar Rajnikanth’s favorite place

Actor Simbu is the latest busy-bee in Kollywood as the actor is continuously involved in more projects. The actor completed first schedule of ‘Vettai Mannan’ that was held in Chennai. He has now taken a break from the project and has got into ‘Osthi’ that will go on a full-stretch for next three months.

According to the sources, major portions of the film will be shot in backdrops of beautiful city of Mysore. Superstar Rajnikanth has been one amongst the very few actors, who often chooses to have at least a sequence in film at the backdrops of Mysore as he feels it as a lucky factor.

Since ‘Osthi’ has a story taking place in rural area, the makers have found Mysore to be an apt place.

Now Vijay too wants a Dabangg

Actor Vijay has realized his past mistakes that make him regret. He has now decided to give importance to quality directors. When Dabangg is being remade in Tamil with Simbu and Richa Gangopadhyay, there is no chance of remaking this film in Tamil with Vijay in Salman Khan’s shoes.

However, he has decided to team up with Abhinav Kashyap, the director of the film Dabangg.Abhinav Kashyap is also the younger brother of the famous director cum producer Anurag Kashyap. The younger brother had made a typical Tamil masala entertainer in Hindi which had attracted Vijay.

Abhinav Kashyap’s inspiration sprang from his stint in Chennai as an assistant to Mani Ratnam when he watched a lot of commercial masala flicks and drew inspirations from them. Vijay is now likely to sign a film with Abhinav Kashyap.

Will Captain Vijayakanth make it happen?

Later reports are that Captain Vijayakanth has been invited to launch the audio of Johnny starrer ’18 Vayasu’. The film is directed by Panneer Selvam of ‘Renigunta’ fame and is produced byJohnny’s father-producer S.S Chakravarthy of Nic Arts. The film’s shooting rapidly moving towards the completion and the makers have decided to launch the audio by July 14, 2011.

It seems that Captain Vijayakanth has been approached by S.S Chakravarthy for the audio launchwhile rest of the celebrities’ list is yet to be confirmed.

It is worth mentioning that Vijayakanth was present for the audio launch of Johnny’s previous film ‘Renigunta’ as well. It looks like the producers want to streak with the lucky factor and that must be the reason behind this invitation.

Why actors deny each and every time?

Have you followed a pattern on how actors are rumored to be acting in a particular film when they in fact are not? Is it the handiwork of a few magazines and newspapers? Or is it the idea of filmmakers to gain publicity before any film is commenced?

A couple of days ago, news reports ran that Ramya Krishnan, one of the best friends of Trisha, with whom she is seen partying around most of the times, has signed her. The film was to be directed by her husband Krishna Vamsi.

Ramya Krishnan was said to be the producer of the film. The once sizzling actress was said to be producing the film. However, when all else remains true, sources close to Trisha has come out denying her acting in the film. While this has been happening for quite some time, it seems a good marketing ploy to promote a film.

Nature sabotages Aravaan

Aravaan had been reportedly stalled due to escalating production costs. Someone had to buy the film. Else it would not become complete, said reports. Now, the film has cleared all its financial issues and the crew had proceeded to work towards making the film.

But that was when nature had taken its course at the film. The unit had built a huge set at Thoranamalai around Tenkasi where the shooting was taking place. They had built about 90 thatched roof houses.

A strong wind that had surfaced at the place had blown the roofs of the huts off. In addition to it, a Jimmy Jip crane also got disfigured by the wind. Aravaan is an adaptation of Su Venkatesan’s novel. This film is directed by Vasantha Balan.

Aadhi plays the lead role while Archana Kavi and Dhansika play the female lead roles. Pasupathy, as usual, plays a pivotal role while Kabir Bedi also is in the cast in an undisclosed character.

After this mild turmoil, the cast and crew of Aravaan has shifted base to Hogenakkal from Tenkasi. Aravaan’s first look pictures looked raw, realistic and stunning. This has increased the expectations on the film.

Ameer & Cheran play hooky at Directors’ Union

Perhaps, it is not so much profitable to sit at the Directors’ Union than to make films. A Director may be paid in lakhs per day for a film but he is not paid much for bearing office in the Directors’ Union. Which one would he naturally prefer? He would sure prefer to be at his beloved profession than to bear office.

Busy directors want to get the best of both. Their desire for power is met through the elections held at the Tamil Film Directors’ Association. At the same time, money is something that is made only by working at the sets.

It should be made a norm that office bearers who hold powerful positions must not be busy directors. Sometimes, directors don’t attend office at least once in a year. They skip office throughout the year. The latest to play hooky at the office were prominent directors Ameer and Cheran.

When an Assistant Director notified them of their responsibility to turn up, they are reported to have used abusive language at the assistant director. Bharathi Raja is irked by these developments and has slammed both the directors in Ananda Vikatan. Directors are known best for their egos which disqualifies them for powerful positions of leadership

Doo Music Review

Star-casts: Sanjay, NakshatraDirection: Sriram PadmanabhanProduction: R.Gunasekaran, K.N.AadhinarayananMusic: Abhishek-Lawrence

Lyrics: Yugabharathi, G.Kumar, Na.Muthukumar

Newcomers Abhishek and Lawrence come up giving some newness to the musical touch as they try delivering some unique tunes. The specialty about the album is that it boasts of some best singers.

1. Oru Naal Vidumurai
Vocals: Haricharan, Prashanthini
Lyrics: G Kumar

Newfangled melodic duet as it boasts of an unique pattern. Lyricist G Kumar comes up with a new attempt of delivering some new words that becomes the major highlight. What else does it need for a melody to become a chartbuster when you have Haricharan and Prashanthini? This song will surely stand out one of the Top 15 best songs in 2011.

2. Doo Da
Vocals: T. Rajendran, Abhishek Lawrence
Lyrics: G Kumar

A peppy fast beat Kuthu number for the youth cohorts. Abhishek and Lawrence have reestablished their ‘Cable Raja’ effect here. The song becomes too appealing with the rendition of T. Rajendran. Of course, the choreography has been done very well and it’s sure to capture the senses of fans.

3. Nadhiyile
Vocals: Simbu
Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar

The best pick arrives now with the combo Simbu and Na. Muthukumar. The music directors go for the western type song with that is more revealing with the interlude that is played with the base of piano and harmonica. But the spotlighting key factor is Silambarasan’s voice, who gets more coating with the modulation through computerization. This one resembles the work of Yuvan Shankar Raja, but has uniqueness. The reprise version has additional voices by Abhishek-Lawrence and Praveen.

4. Kaiya Thoda Venam
Vocals: Ranjith, VJ Dhivya
Lyrics: Yughabharathi

The song is a typical folk beat, but doesn’t have any newness. Ranjith has become the apt singer for such songs while VJ Dhivya newly found pearl in music industry.

5. Vaa… Vaa
Vocals: Reshmonu
Lyrics: Yugabharathi

It really puzzles you for the first few minutes, whether it’s a Tamil song or an Arabic track. Reshmonu can try her luck out for peppier item numbers for her sassy vocalism would be more suitable for such tracks.

With ‘Nadhiyile’ and ‘Oru Naal Vidumurai’ standing out as colossal efforts by Abhishek and Lawrence, the album will surely top the charts within short span of time. All that it needs is a perfect promotional campaign.

Nanban to wrap up by August?

If what we heard from the closer sources is believed to be true, then here is something that will send us into a vivid astonishment. Yeah, it is all about the progression of ‘Nanban’ shooting as Shankar is taking no breaks between each schedule. Much before there were some issues pertaining to the lead actor of the project was to be confirmed; he finished canning portions involving other characters in Ooty.

Once everything was set on tracks, there has been no stopping for the entire team. The recent photo promos blatantly revealed that Shankar is done with almost all the major portions of the film including a climax that was shot in Andaman Islands.

Some of the unit members have mentioned that if the shooting is taken on a full-stretch from now, it will be completed by August. It is worth mentioning that Shankar has added many new scenes from the original script that has 109 scenes altogether. Yet, he is effortlessly taking it ahead as he said in one of his interactions, ‘Nanban is completely in contrast to Endhiran’.

Mynaa flies to Tollywood

Prabhu Solomon had a hit of his life in Mynaa. It has gained him an entry in Bollywood too by bringing him the prospect of remaking Mynaa in Hindi. The filmmaker has gone about hunting for locations and actors in the north.

Mynaa had raked in three times its investment making the film one of the best hits in recent times. It was critically acclaimed as well to begin with. Udhayanidhi Stalin spotted the film early and bagged its distribution rights.

Music by Imman was also a hit. With everything going right, Mynaa is now dubbed into Telugu asPrema Khaidi. Vidhaarth and Amala Paul were noticed only after Mynaa to bag some big offers. Mynaa has gotten several honors including the national award by Thambi Ramaiah and now this dubbing in Telugu and remake in Hindi.

Priyamani is a second heroine now

Priyamani has beauty. She has the talent of getting National Award. Moreover she is very glamorous. In spite of all these traits the cinema world is avoiding her. She has no film in Tamil. Once in a way she gets offers in Telugu.

Priyamani was approached for a Telugu film which has Junior NTR in the lead role. She had already paired with him in two Telugu films which turned out to be great hits. Priyamani who was quite happy when she got this offer but her happiness was short lived because Shruthi was the first heroine of this film. Any how Priyamani has agreed to do the second heroine role because she had no other go.

‘Deiva Thirumagal’ doesn’t need a Censor

Filmmaker Vijay’s films always go through the same process as he ensures that his film is a decorous family entertainer sans violence and adult themes. So will be his upcoming release ‘Deiva Thirumagal’ that stars Vikram, Anushka and Amala Paul in lead roles. Loosely based on Hollywood movie ‘I am Sam’, the film has got a new lease of life after UTV Motion Pictures picked up the project.

The film was recently screened for Censor Board members and they were floored by Vikram’s ne plus ultra performance.

‘Deiva Thirumagal’ will have a simultaneous release in Tamil and Telugu (titled as ‘Nanna’). G.V. Prakash has contributed a huge share in grabbing everyone’s attention with his smooth mellifluous tunes.

The film has been passed with Clean ‘U’ certificate without any cuts.

Narain Plays Jeeva’s Villain in Mugamudi

Jeeva gets powerful villains of heroes turning villains in his films. K.V Anand had Ajmalplaying villain against Jeeva in Ko. Now, he will have Narain playing villain against him in Mugamudi. Narain played hero in Mysskin’s first two films - Chiththiram Paesudhadi andAnjathey.

Mysskin did not cast Narain in Yuddham Sei. When asked about it, Narain said he would not ask Mysskin about it, since he was his friend.Jeeva has been lucky to get powerful villains and now since he has signed Mysskin’s Mugamudi, which is a film like Christopher Nolan’s Dark Nights, Narain is cast as his villain.

Mysskin told Jeeva that the script demanded a powerful villain. Mysskin wants to give them equal screen space and so is working on the script towards that direction. Often Yuvan Shankar Rajashows his desire to work with Mysskin but sources say that K (Yuddham Sei) will wield the tunes again. Mugamudi will go on floors in August 2011.

‘Raana’ may miss typical Rajnikanth stunts

It's not confirmed as yet but reports emanating from Singapore say that superstar Rajnikanth has been 'strongly advised' by the doctors not to indulge in risky 'stunt sequences' while he starts shooting for his upcoming film 'Raana' in the near future. Rajnikanth has been advised to make use of a 'duplicate' in such sequences.

On the day 'Raana' was launched (on 29th April), Rajnikanth fell ill and spent two stints at two leading hospitals in Chennai before being air-lifted to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said to be the best in the Asian continent for treatment of kidney-related ailments. Rajnikanth was discharged from the hospital two weeks ago and has been taking 'complete rest' in Singapore ever since.

Rajnikanth's wife Latha Rajnikanth and son-in-law Dhanush, who have since returned to Chennai, have informed the media that Rajnikanth is doing 'fine' and would be back in Chennai very soon.Rajnikanth is expected to land in Chennai within a fortnight's time and is likely to take part in the shooting of 'Raana' either from August or September.

It's in this backdrop that he has been advised not to strain his body vis-a-vis action sequences. He has been told not to insist on doing all the action sequences himself and instead has been 'advised' to make use of a duplicate in such sequences. Rajnikanth has made use of 'duplicate' many times in the past for filming many sequences in his earlier films.

Either way, it's a fact that the audience and the star's fans are waiting with bated breath for Rajnikanth to get into 'shooting mode' sooner than later!

Dhanush denies romancing Shruthi Hassan

Superstar family is making headlines for more reasons. Firstly it is about Rajnikanth’s health ameliorating and is soon flight to Chennai. Last Saturday, the actor was awarded with couple of Vijay Awards - Best Villain and Best Favorite Hero that was received by Dhanush. This morning, the news was published in some media channels that Aishwarya Dhanush is ready to take off with her directorial venture.

It was mentioned that Dhanush will be romancing Kamal Hassan’s eldest daughter Shruthi Hassan. Dhanush instantly cleared up the speculations saying that it’s true that his wife will direct her. But the confirmations about heroine are yet to be done and Shruthi Hassan is not on the cards now.

Shriya Saran denies Starry Tantrums & Controversies

Actress Shriya Saran was alleged to have irked reporters and photographers with her tantrums and show offs at the National Geographic’s Tamil Channel launch held recently. She had allegedly said that she would not want to face the camera since she felt allergic to the flashes from cameras.

Which actress could be allergic to cameras? No actress could be allergic to cameras. She was also seen getting close with actor Salman Khan. He is a powerful actor in Bollywood and power does attract women. Shriya Saran is also a woman.

The only way to defeat Asin’s chances of getting cast in Salman Khan’s movies is by doing what Asin did - getting close to Salman Khan. Shriya Saran knew the magic and so she openly got close to the actor when he was available at the audio launch of Markandeyan.

Shriya Saran has responded by saying that she found the allegations baseless and that she would not need to react to them. She also added that she would not throw tantrums and show off in public. Controversies do help stay in the limelight - good or bad!