Don’t need Salman, Shah Rukh Khan: Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan is miffed with reports that have claimed that he has approached Shah Rukh, Salman and Jackie Chan for his upcoming film Amar Hai after Vishwaroopam. He said that he is fed up of of these baseless rumors that have him approaching either the Khans or Hollywood stars like Jackie Chan or Tom Cruise. He said that he does not need Salman or Shah Rukh Khan to sell his films and is certainly not the Bollywood – obsessed regional actor he is made out to be.

Kamal insisted that he is not out to leave his footprint in Bollywood and is content to make his kind of cinema. He said that the only actor he was dying to work with is Dilip Kumar. About Amar Hai, his next film, Kamal said it is a film on corruption. He added that he will discuss it at length once Vishwaroopam hits the screens.

After action, Prabhu Deva wants to direct horror movie

After directing two action movies for Bollywood - "Wanted" and forthocming action film "Rowdy Rathore" - Prabhu Deva would now wants to make scary movies.

"More than me, people want me to do action films only. Everybody tells me to do action films. But I would love to do horror films," he told IANS.

A well-established choreographer and actor in the southern film industry and a successful director in Bollywood, the 39-year-old likes both the places and says that it's the team that is more important than anyting else. 

"South or here, anywhere it is ok until the team is good. The team must be good. We can even do a Spanish film as long as the team is good," he said.

He hit the bull's eye in Bollywood with Salman Khan-Ayesha Takia starrer Hindi movie "Wanted". Now he is coming out with "Rowdy Rathore", which has Akshay kumar and Sonakshi Sinha as the lead pair. 

It is an out-and-out action movie and Prabhu Deva felt that Akshay suited the role perfectly. 

Sarath distances himself from 'Thupaki'

Putting an end to reports that claimed that he is doing an important role in Vijay's forthcoming film 'Thupaki', Sarath Kumar has said he is not aware of any such development. "This is news to me," he said.

The actor-politician, who is the president of South Indian Film Artistes Association, said, "No one associated with Thupaki has contacted me. There is no truth in the claim that I am part of the movie."

The founder president of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi is at present a legislator in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. On the acting front, he is busy with Superstar Rajinikanth's 'Kochadaiyaan', 'Vidiyal', and a couple of films in Malayalam and Kannada.

On 'Vidiyal', he says, "The shooting is almost over. The rest will be completed once Sneha becomes free, as she took a break due to her wedding with Prasanna. We are waiting for her."

Tamil star Vijay does a cameo in Rowdy Rathore

The two time Tamil Nadu State Film Award winner Vijay, who is currently shooting for A R Murugadoss' Thuppakki in Mumbai , was roped in by director Prabhudeva for a friendly jig with Akshay Kumar in the street anthem Chinta Ta from the action-entertainer Rowdy Rathore.

Prabhudeva was keen on having Tamil actor,singer and dancer Vijay who he directed in the very successful Pokiri do a cameo in the film- On learning that Akshay was part of the song,Vijay a huge Akshay Kumar fan jumped at the opportunity -

Says Vijay "I have always been a fan of Akshay Kumar since his Khiladi days..The promos of  Rowdy Rathore are very interesting...Prabhudeva just had to ask me once and I readily agreed .They were very friendly and I won't ever forget the experience shooting for the song"

Directed by Prabhudeva ,starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha ,UTV’s Rowdy Rathore produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-produced by Shabinaa Khan promises to break the stereotypical boundaries of the action genre and is scheduled to release June 1st,2012.

Madhavan undergoing physiotherapy

Actor R. Madhavan's, who is on a break, is attending physiotherapy sessions for his knee injury.

The actor injured his knee while shooting for "3 Idiots" in 2009 and he again hurt his knee during the shoot of Tamil film "Vettai". 

He under went a knee surgery last year in Australia and is now recovering. However, the 41-year old actor regrets not listening to his doctor.

"Wish I had listened to my docs and taken a break earlier for my physiotherapy. Things would have healed so much faster. Big mistake," tweeted the actor.

Delhi Belly to be remade in Tamil with Arya in the lead

Hit adult comedy "Delhi Belly" will now be remade in Tamil and director by R. Kannan will start shooting for the film May 7 with Arya in the main lead.

The yet to be titled Tamil version will be produced by UTV Motion Pictures and and it will be completed by October. It is slated for a Pongal release in January 2013.

The original was co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Aamir Khan Productions and was directed by Abhinay Deo in English. It was also dubbed in Hindi. 

Arya, who featured in "Vettai", will play Imran Khan's role in the Tamil Version. Popular Tamil comedian cinema Santhanam will play Kunaal Roy Kapur's role and actor Premgi will step into Vir Das' shoes. 

"We have brought on actors who are youthful and popular, along with a very skilled director at the helm. We are confident that the great content of 'Delhi Belly' will act as a bridge for cinema loving audiences across languages," said Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures, in a statement. 

Hansika Motwani and Anjali will play an airhostess and journalist respectively. Actor Nasser, known for villainious roles in southern movies, has been roped in to play Vijay Raaz's role.

"Our next Hindi release 'Rowdy Rathore' is a remake of the super-hit Telugu film 'Vikramarkudu'. Some content transcends culture and language and draws audiences in for the sheer quality of story telling," said Kapur. 

"In the same vein, we believe 'Delhi Belly' will work superbly well with the Tamil audiences and we are thrilled with the exceptionally adapted screenplay that a team of young writers has developed," he added. 

John Mahendran of "Sachien" fame will pen dialogues. Youth icon Thaman will compose music and P.G. Muthiah of "Poo" fame will be the cinematographer for the film.

Leo has been signed as the editor and Videsh will do art direction.

Deepali will design costumes and stunts will be directed by Silva.

Dhanush is Vengai Sami

Dhanush and Vetri Maaran, created magic with their Aadukalam and the team is all set to get back together. Yes, Vetri Maaran, who after his national award winning Aadukalam, started off with Vada Chennai, has halted it and started working on his next film Vengai Sami. The film will have his favourite star Dhanush in the lead role. The film revolves around a forest. So, the director has gone hunting for a perfect forest location.

The director recently updated that due to various unavoidable reasons they were postponing the shoot of Vada Chennai and doing a film with Dhanush.

The film will have his usual crew consisting of GV Prakash composing music, Velraj handling camera and Kishore Te editing the film. The same crew had worked in Polladhavan and Aadukalam, which were super hits. Now the magical crew has teamed up for Vengai Sami. Will it be a hat trick?

Billa 2 1st in Asia to Use Epic Camera

A new type of camera called Epic has been used for the shooting of Billa 2 which has Ajith in the lead role.

Because of this Billa 2 has the pride because this camera is used for the first time in the entire Asia.

After the stupendous success of Billa, Billa 2 is being produced in gargantuan way. This film is that how an ordinary person becomes Billa.

The whole film is focussed on Ajith. His style and acting will be much spoken about. This film has been directed by Chakri Toleti who had earlier directed Unnai Pol Oruvan which had Kamal Haasan in the lead role. He did his film course in America.

Parvathy Omanakuttan has donned the female lead role. Brazilian beauty Bruna Abdullah has also shared the screen with Ajith in this film. R D Rajashekar is handling the camera.

The whole crew has taken many efforts to make every sequence look in a grandiose way. In view of the foregoing, the whole film has been shot using the Epic camera which has not been used in any films made in Asia. Billa 2 is a wholesome digital film.

masala cafe (Tamil movie) stills

Akshay ropes in Kajal Aggarwal for "Special Chabbis"

After making her debut opposite Ajay Devgn in Bollywood with "Singham", Kajal Aggarwal is all kicked about working with Akshay Kumar in her next. Yes, she will be seen romancing Khiladi Kumar in a film, which will be directed by Neeraj Pandey.

Tentatively titled "Special Chabbis", the film is based on the 1987 jewelry heist that took place in Mumbai. We hear that Akki was keen on roping in Kajal for this film, and had her character specially written.

Kajal confirms, saying, "I will start shooting for my portions from March 9. I was approached by Neeraj's office, and when I heard my role, I loved it. Though it's based on a real-life incident, Neeraj has partly fictionalized it. I liked the director's previous flick, "A Wednesday"."

Meanwhile, the actress is shooting in Hyderabad for Tamil film " Maattrraan" with Suriya. She has also signed a Telugu film opposite NTR Jr and is doing "Thuppaki" - with Kollywood star Vijay

Kahani & Karmayogi: 'Double Trouble'

Kahani Karmayogi Doube Bill: AKA How to ruin a perfect weekend.

There are a number of things I love about a Saturday. When you wake up late on a Saturday morning, you can’t help getting overwhelmed by the thought that the next day also, you can get up late. All through the day you feel relaxed and at peace with yourself, because the next day is Sunday. Up till now I was comforted by the idea that no matter how you screw up a Saturday, there is always a Sunday. But this Saturday, I pushed the envelope a little too hard............and I screwed the Saturday not only for me but for my kith and kin too.  

Saturday 6 pm:

Kahani........Yeah! It’s a “story”

After I finished watching the movie, I immediately called my mom and checked whether my passport was with her. She told me it was safe with her, and I felt so much better. The cause of this bizarre enquire right after the movie was because; if the Intelligence Beaureu of India works like the way it is shown in the movie, then it is better to get your papers ready, pack your bags and get out of this country ASAP. 

I went for this movie, after hearing a couple of good reviews about it. Most of it came from people who, I thought, were viewers of good and sensible cinema. 

I am an Instrumentation Engineer by qualification, and I did my masters in business administration (Sounds like my covering letter!). The most complex operation that I can do with my computer is summation in an Excel sheet. In short, I am an amateur in computer skills; and so is the director of this movie. 

A NDC with world class encrypting techniques and high security clearance uses a manual entry log book to keep track of employee attendance; fantastic! I completely lost it when Vidya Balan decodes a spy’s computer, to find a encrypted mobile number; and one of the IB men calls this number from his phone and finds out that the number belongs to the IB chief, thus exposing him. The spy, a top level employee in the NDC, encodes and stores the number of IB chief; why! Why can’t the guy just memorize the number instead! What kept the spy from storing the number “normally” in his phone (how can anyone be booked for storing the IB chiefs number in their phone). If I list all the abnormalities in this movie, I could go on forever.  But then again some diamonds stand out; like all of the computer data of a particular person being erased, but the physical data being left in an old building, ready to be broken into using a “highly sophisticated” hair pin. The constable at my local prescient is more dignified and approachable than “second in command” of the IB.   

The movie reminded me of the English flick “A mighty heart” and the villain reminded me of Javier Bardem in “No country for old men”. 

In the climax scene the intelligence and police officers come to the conclusion that Vidya Balan’s character was able to go undetected since she faked her pregnancy, and they felt sorry for her. Yeah! This could happen, given the fact that a “pregnant” lady was able to blow one of our PM to bits in the past.        

The IB men portrayed in this film are dumb and the terrorist dumber, so we might still have a chance!

Saturday 11pm:

Karmayogi........Karmam Bhalam

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them?

Question for me is whether to give a bad review for this movie or to keep silent. It pains me to write something bad about VK Prakash, but if I don’t do that then what is the difference between me and a ‘Superstar’ fan. 

How can things go wrong for Karmayogi, when there is an excellent piece of classic literature to support it? Hamlet is my favourite among Shakespearean plays. Half the job was already done for the director centuries ago. VKP failed Shakespeare in all possible ways. 

The film depicts the story of Hamlet in the backdrop of Yogi Community of North Kerala. The change of backdrop seemed very original and it elevated my expectations for the movie. My hopes were crushed in the opening scenes itself, when Manikuttan gave a very “local” Kalary performance and expression. The introductory “Kalaripayatu” scenes looked as if it were right out of a B grade Malayalam movie, starring Vani Vishwanath. 

The following scenes were mostly pointless and vague. The dialogues were neither classy nor realistic. 

One of the scenes that I was looking forward to in this movie was the encounter of his father’s ghost by Hamlet. In the Shakespearean version it was so beautiful and mysterious, but in the VKP version it is a huge let down. The movie as a whole fails to inspire the audience. 

Most of the characters in the movie were not needed at all (Eg: Sahayan, Komapanicker, Sanku, Mankamma, Rudran, I mean all of them for god’s sake; why did they make this movie) . One thing that requires special attention is the costume design. The attires worn by Nithya Menon, make her character seem like someone from the Lord of the Rings, mistakenly teleported to Kerala. I can swear that the costume worn by the lady Kalaripayatu Master was for sale at Fab-India last week. 

Indrajith as always does justice to the character. He was able to bring out the contradictory nature of Hamlet beautifully. The internal torments, which the character goes through, are effortlessly conveyed to the audience by Indran.  

The photography and direction are mediocre. The script is garbage. 

One thing common to both of these movies are that after a couple of month or years, both will be considered classics, by people who have never even seen the movies. Just like what’s been happening with ‘Melvilasam’.  And if by mistake we try to counter them, then we will be ridiculed and alienated. 

Madhavan undergoing physiotherapy

Actor R. Madhavan's, who is on a break, is attending physiotherapy sessions for his knee injury.

The actor injured his knee while shooting for "3 Idiots" in 2009 and he again hurt his knee during the shoot of Tamil film "Vettai". 

He under went a knee surgery last year in Australia and is now recovering. However, the 41-year old actor regrets not listening to his doctor.

"Wish I had listened to my docs and taken a break earlier for my physiotherapy. Things would have healed so much faster. Big mistake," tweeted the actor.

Deepika, Katrina war over Kochadiyaan

Deepika Padukone may well have lapped up the lead role in Kochadiyaan opposite universal star Rajinikanth, but she is miffed by Katrina's close aids spreading the word that Katrina was the first choice for the movie and only after she refused to do the role it landed up with Deepika. 

It is being said that Katrina couldn't do the film because she had already allotted dates to a Shah Rukh Khan film. On the other hand, sources close to Deepika express that it was Deepika who was always the first choice. The actress was to star in Rajinikanth starrer Rana. When that didn't take off, she was immediately offered the much in the offing Kochadaiyaan.

Apparently the ego fight between the top leading ladies of Bollywood over the South Superstar has once again fired up the old rivalry between them which began with Ranbir. It is a well known fact that one of the reasons behind Deepika's split with Ranbir was his closeness to the "Chikni Chameli" Katrina Kaif. Since that incident both actors were not in talking terms which was later patched up by Ranbir who managed to get his relationship back on track with both the ladies but on a different level. 

Whether it was Katrina who was offered the role first or Deepika dosent matter anymore as what matters is who appears with Rajinikanth on the screen and how well the movie fares at the box office. One out of the two is now clear as Deepika inked the contract to play the role, the BoxOffice result and how much Deepika's part in the movie influences her career is yet to be seen.

Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth movie a hoax?

The news of Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth acting in a movie together which became a major reason for celebration among the Tamil movie fans turned out to be a hoax with Kamla Hassan's manager clearing the air and denying the existence of any such project. The rumor caught up as fire when a Tabloid published an interview with Kamal Hassan where he revealed his plan to bring back to life his long pending project "Marudanayagam" with Rajinikanth playing an important role in the movie. 

In a clarification given by Kamal Hassan's manager he denied any such information given out by Kamal Hassan to the Tabloid. Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan is busy wrapping up his film Vishwaroopam and he'll then begin working on Thalaivan Irukkindran, which will be produced by Aascar Ravichandran.

Dad's goodwill gave me a head start: Mammootty's son

"Second Show", the debut film of Mammootty's son Dulquar Salman, has hit the theatres and the newcomer says his father's goodwill has given him a head start, but admits that he will have to work hard to carve a niche for himself.

"Without doubt, his (Mammootty) goodwill has given me a head start. I know very well now that I will have to work hard because that is the only thing that will keep going forward," Salman told IANS.

A graduate from the US, Salman has been busy managing his father's money matters before entering acting business. He is currently shooting for his second film, "Ustad Hotel".

"I was getting a few offers and I took the plunge after a lot of thinking. I felt if I should try my luck, so later I do not have any regrets. I am extremely happy that I decided to act as lots of offers are coming my way. I have decided to be in this profession," said Salman.

When asked whether his father has seen his debut film, he replied in the affirmative, adding: "Normally my father doesn't say much." This is true as the superstar has refused to comment on his son's film!

"My biggest advantage is that if I have doubts, I have my father to fall back on. And while working on my debut film, I sought his advice," said Salman who would love to work with his dad, but added: "Don't you think that I have to earn that and for that I have to put in real hard work." 

The actor, who got married to A. Sufia last December, said about his wife: "Language is a barrier for her but half the problem is sorted out because she lives in my home and my parents like her a lot. We have now learned to adjust to the fact that we can't be spending a lot of time together because of my acting commitments."

Andrea Jeremiah is all set to take off with Kamal's Vishwaroopam

Andrea Jeremiah is a happy person, the play back singer turned actor who made her debut opposite Sarath Kumar in Gautham Menon's "Pachaikili Muthucharam" is now working on the Magnum Opus "Viswaroopam"with the legendary actor Kamal Hassan.

"Viswaroopam"was in the news for Kamal's extensive hunt for the female lead of the film and it is indeed an honour for Andrea to be able to become a part of the film. When asked about how she landed a role in movie she said "   "Someone forwarded my pictures to the executive producer of Viswaroopam and I got a call from them while I was in London for a show, saying that Kamal sir wanted to meet me! Once in the city, I did a makeup test to set my look in the film. Gauthami ma'am was very clear about how she wanted my character to look in the film, and I'm quite happy with the way it's turned out."

Even though Andrea started receiving many offers after her role in "Pachaikili Muthucharam" she only signed Selvaraghavan's fantasy-adventure film Aayirathil Oruvan, which released in early 2010. In 2011, she agreed to play a minor supporting role in Venkat Prabhu's multi-starrer Mankatha, which was released in late August 2011. She will be next seen in a pivotal roles alongside Silambarasan and Rana Daggubati in Vetrimaaran's Vada Chennai.

Vikram to play the lead in Bollywood movie 'DAVID'

After pairing up with Aishwarya Rai in RAAVAN Vikram is all set to work with Tabu and Isha Sherwani in his next Bollywood movie.  His debut in Bollywood was with RAAVAN starring Abhishek Bachan and Aishwarya Rai.

He will be seen in Bejoy Nambiar's DAVID which is the story of an under world Don in Mumbai. Bejoy's debutant film in Bollywood is SHAITHAN which received lot of critical acclaim.

Tabu known for her seasonal acting is said to have accepted the script impressed by the strength of the story. She will be also seen in BANDA YEH BIDAAS HAI and LIFE OF PI.

Isha is known for her role in KISNA with Vibek Obroei and her dancing skills. She will also be seen in an item number in Vikram's Tamil film MATRAAN. She will be Virkam's romantic lead in DAVID.

Akshay Kumar to remake POKKIRI RAJA

It seems like the Khiladi actor Akshay Kumar is in love with South Indian films. The news is that the action king  has liked Mammootty- Prithviraj starring POKIRI RAJA soo much that he bought the remake right of the film. It is heard that the film will remade in Hindi titled NAAM BHAI BOSS.

POKKIRI RAJA was directed by Vyshakh who has done his debutant movie in Bollywood with MALLU SINGH. The director is definitely excited about his first film and his remake. In remake Akshay will be playing the role of Mammootty in Original with a Pakistani actor Imran Abbas playing the role of Prithviraj. Buzz is that the film will be directed by BLUE fame director Antony Dsouza.

If rumours are true the actor also bought the right for Tamil popular song " Appadi Podu" from Vijay's GILLI. Lets wait to see how Akshay delivers the Special English of POKKIRI RAJA and shakes legs for "Appadi Podu" tune.

Priyadarshan is busy back in Bollywood

After the success of ORU MARUBHUMI KADHA in Malayalam Priyadarshan and Mohanlal is ready to hit Bollywood with their new film TEZZ. The film also have Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Kunal Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and Sameera Reddy in lead roles.

It was heard that Priyadarshan will also be directing Bollywood remake of Tamil film NADODIGAL. The film was directed by Samuthirikani. Now the buzz is that Priyan who has seen PORALI was impressed by it and will help Kani to remake it in Bollywood. He will be helping Kani in finding the right actors to essay the roles in Bollywood version and right production company to produce it.

Samuthirikani is overwhelmed by Priyadarshan's offer since he admire and respect the director a lot. Priyan is currently busy with two of his Bollywood films TEZZ and Amithab Bachchan starring GRRR.

'Kolaveri di' Anirudh rejects IPL offer

Kolaveri di' hitmaker Anirudh Ravichander has more responsible job than before. The young musician, who thrilled the audience with his Tamil 3 album, is said to be performing live at the next season of Indian Première League(IPL).

The IPL bosses have approached him and have made an offer to give a live performance at the inaugural function. Anirudh Ravichander has not signed on the dotted lines, as he is planning a Kolaveri tour, where he will travel and perform at different venues.