After 2 decades, Vikram tries dual roles Posted by Raj , Friday, January 7, 2011 at 8:45 AM, in

‘Chiyaan’ Vikram, who has been in the industry for more than a couple of decades, is finally playing double role in an upcoming film.  After debuting as hero in ‘Maestro’ Ilaiyaraaja’s musical film ‘Meera’ in the late eighties, he remained out of favour and secluded for most part of the nineties, indulging in dubbing and sundry works for sheer survival.

 He got a big boost in his comeback film ‘Sethu by Baala and has never looked back since then, delivering many hits in the past 6-7 years.  Last year, though, wasn’t a very fruitful one for him as his much-awaited ‘Raavanan’ (directed by Maniratnam and starring Aishwarya Rai and Prithviraj) failed to elicit any positive response from the audience despite the pre-release hype of the movie.

Vikram hopes to bounce back into reckoning as a bankable star with his upcoming film titled ‘Deiva Magan’ directed by Vijay of ‘Madarasapattinam’ and ‘Kireedom’ fame.  The film has the sizzling Anoushka and the toast of the town, Amala Paul, as his heroines.

Suseenthiran, another successful young director who has had delivered back-to-back and different genre of hits in ‘Vennila Kabadikuzhu’ and ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’, is said to have met Vikram and narrated a ‘great’ script to him.  Vikram, who has done 48 films as on date, thinks this could be a ‘turning point’ in his career as it has ‘double roles’ for him.

Tags : Deiva Magan, Actor Vikram, Maestro’ Ilaiyaraaja, Suseenthiran, Vennila Kabadikuzhu, Naan Mahaan Alla, Kireedom, Madarasapattinam, Raavanan

Kaavalan climax moves Censor Board officials Posted by Raj , Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 9:22 AM, in

Vijay-Asin starrer ‘Kaavalan’, which is gearing up for a Pongal release over the next weekend, is eagerly awaited by Vijay’s fans who firmly believe that he has a hit film on hand.  Vijay himself has said more than once that the film won’t be an usual ‘commercial fare’ but would have him getting into ‘romance’ in a big way after a long time.

 Though he faced many hurdles in fixing up the requisite theatres, the problem appears to have been sorted out amicably.
 
Contrary to the producer’s idea of releasing the film in 600 halls across the State, only 200 halls have so far been finalized, it is reliably learnt.  This has kept the producer and Vijay in a tense mood, even as they sent the film to the Censor Board for certification.  Vijay’s dialogues in the film breathe fire but Siddhique has reportedly handled the dialogues in a non-controversial manner.

Reports say that a couple of the Censor Board members, on condition of anonymity, confessed after watching the film that they were unable to control their emotions as the climax sequence was very effective, emotional and moving.  At least, there is some silver lining for Vijay and his producer!

Tags : Kaavalan, Actor Vijay, Actress Asin, Director Siddique, Aascar Ravichandran

Happy New Year 2011 Posted by Raj , Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 1:04 AM, in

Memorable moment r celebrated together,

Here is a wishing that

the coming year is a glorious one

that rewards all your

future endeavors with success.

Happy New Year 2011

Movie Review of Manmadhan Ambu Posted by Raj , Monday, December 27, 2010 at 6:59 PM, in

Manmadhan Ambu is a much awaited Kamal flick for his fans, coming with an all new pairing with Trisha. Coming as it does from a renowned director and big producer; the expectations are sky rocketing to say the least. However, though the film does not meet all your expectations, it nevertheless doesn’t cease to entertain and keep you pinned to your seats with some roller coaster activity, picturesque scenery, peppy music and lively proceedings with a talented star cast.

The story:

The story revolves around Ambu (Trisha) who is an actor named Nisha on screen. She has a very suspicious fiancé in Madan (Madhavan) who suspects her of affairs with co stars. This feeling is fuelled by his mother who does not approve of an actor for a daughter-in-law.
The lovers have a tiff and an accident ensues which leaves them unharmed. However Ambu takes a break from it all to meet her divorced school friend Deepa (Sangeetha) in Europe and the duo with Deepa’s two kids, decide to go on a Mediterranean cruise.

However the suspicious lover hasn’t given up. He sends a detective called Major R Mannar (Kamal), behind her to find out what shes upto. When the rich man does not pay up according to plan, the detective decides to lie and make up a story of  Ambu meeting a lover. This angers Madan who in turn lands up in Europe at their trail. What ensues is a comedy of errors with a series of rib tickling situations. Who wins whom in the end in this curious foursome is the climax.

What works:

The credible performances by all including Trisha dubbing for herself for the first time, are a big plus. Maddy and Sangeetha excel in their roles and for Kamal fans its good to see him without the trappings of ‘avatars’!

The music is peppy and apt and keeps you happy and the special number with Surya in the beginning is a treat in itself.

The story moves forward briskly and the pittoresque locations are all a huge draw. The right mix of comedy and sentiment make it a good, clean family entertainer. The dialogues by Kamal are sharp and at times, thought provoking.

The ship setting works wonders for the film and gives us something different on the Tamil screen.

What doesn’t work:

The final pairing in the climax comes as a surprise since the Kamal- Trisha pairing doesn’t look credibly portrayed on screen.

Oorvasi, who is known for her wit, is wasted as she is forever crying in most shots.
Two many English dialogues may be irksome for the average Tamil cinema viewers.

The script in the second half could have been better. The assembling of all the characters in the climax looks odd. Kamal’s role doesn’t give any challenge to the veteran.

Worth a watch, if you leave your expectations of a typical K S Ravikumar-Kamal film.

Happy Merry Christmas..... Posted by Raj , Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 8:33 PM, in Labels: Happy Christmas

Another day, another month, another year,
Another smile, another tear, another winter,
A summer too, But there will never be another you!

May lovely, happy times decorate this time of the season.
May warm, special memories brighten your new year.
May the wonder of Christmas be with you forever.

Nayan to take a short break from movies Posted by Raj , Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 9:29 AM, in Labels: Nayan to take a short break from movies

Despite being the most successful actress for the year 2010 in all the four South Indian languages, actress Nayantara isn’t plunging herself into the film world with renewed enthusiasm.  On the contrary, the actress has decided to go on a ‘long leave’ from the world of films and shooting.

“For the time being, I’m in no mood to commit myself to doing any film in any language.  I’m just on a long leave and feeling happier than I had ever felt in my life,” said Nayantara when asked as to what was going to be her next assignment.

Nayantara and controversy go hand in hand.  When she’s around, the presspersons usually don’t worry about filling the columns of their respective journals.  Despite her name featuring prominently in the press about her alleged liaison with Prabhudeva, she has been doing quite well on the professional front.

Following the success of her latest Tamil film ‘Bass Engira Baskaran’, Nayan was flooded with new film offers but she has chosen to reject all those offers saying she needed a ‘break’ from her routine.  She has a solitary film in Telugu in which she plays Goddess Sita.  As she had recently completed the shooting of her pending Malayalam film, she is almost free from her professional work.

Speaking to a leading English daily recently, Nayan had reportedly said, “I can’t confirm or deny rumours that I’m quitting films.  Even a few days back, I was asked to play the epic Savitri for a new film.  Though the character and the script was very exciting, I refused the offer.  For personal reasons, I have decided to give myself a well-deserved break.  Everything else can wait!”

Gambhir, Ishant return for New Zealand series Posted by Raj , Friday, November 26, 2010 at 11:50 PM, in Labels: Gambhir, Ishant return for New Zealand series

Chennai: The selections for the New Zealand cricket Test series did not throw up any surprises with Mahendra Singh Dhoni leading a 15-member Indian team for the three-match series beginning Nov 4 in Ahmedabad.

 Seamer Ishant Sharma and opening batsman Gambhir return to the squad after sitting out the second of the two Tests against visiting Australia earlier this month due to knee injuries.

 The pair played in the first Test at Mohali that India won by one wicket, but missed the second game in Bangalore where the home team clinched the series 2-0 with a seven-wicket victory. 

 Going out of the Test squad are batsman Abhinav Mukund (Tamil Nadu) and left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat (Saurashtra) both of whom were included for the Bangalore game as back-up players and did not get into the playing eleven.
 New Zealand are scheduled to play three Test matches at Ahmedabad (Nov 4-8), Hyderabad (Nov 12-16) and Nagpur (Nov 20-24).

 The Test series will be followed by five One-Day Internationals on Nov 28 (Guwahati), Dec 1 (Jaipur), Dec 4 (Vadodara), Dec 7 (Bangalore) and Dec 10 (Chennai)

 The Indian team will then head to South Africa for three Tests and five ODIs Dec 16-Jan 23, 2011.

 The squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Santhakumaran Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara and Amit Mishra.