Robot Shooting Started

Feb 15 a shoot of Rajinikanth- Shankar big budget magnum opus Robot started in Chennai’s AVM A/C Floor with no fanfare or any publicity. It was the first photo shoot for the film by famous Chennai fashion and portfolio photographer G.Venket Ram exclusively focused on superstar Rajinikanth. Remember Rajini did his first ever photo-shoot with Venkat for Sivaji.
The Robot shoot was a hush –hush affair, as Rajinikanth arrived on dot of time in his Chevorlet Tavera, Shankar drove down in his new black BMW car with the trademark registration number 8 and producer Karunamoorthy of Ayngaran International came in his Honda-CRV.
Cameraman Venket Ram had set up his camera and other equipments early in the morning itself. Nearly a dozen wigs were flown in from US by hair dresser Bhanu to be tried out on the superstar who shot in various blazers. The look of Robot is one of the most important aspects of the film.
Shankar and his young team have also roped in an international consultant to give a new look to Rajinikanth as Robot. The final look will emerge after matching the photo shoot pictures with a computer generated look, which will take about a month.
Now that Aishwarya Rai has denied the rumours of her exit from the film as rubbish, the rest of the casting of the film is going on. Three top characters from Tamil have confirmed that they are willing to shoot for the film as and when Shankar wants.
Meanwhile Nirav Shah has decided to quit the project, due to personal reasons. So now, noted cameraman Thiru has been roped into the project.

Action King Plays a Villan Role

We'll never know for sure who's on and who isn't until Shankar decides to make a statement about the cast for his magnum opus Robot!
What we know for sure is that Rajinikanth will play the lead. But who will fit in the heroine's shoes remains to be seen. Even the villain's role and the other supporting characters have not been decided. The longer the silence, the stronger and stranger the assumptions!
The latest to join the winding list of Robot rumour is king of action Arjun, who apparently has been roped in for a pivotal role in the movie.
Will Arjun sport an anti-hero guise? His earlier ventures with Shankar were massive hits. Let's wait and watch

Anjathey Movie Review

Cast : Narain, Prasanna, Vijayalakshmi, Pandiyarajan, Ajmal, Ponvannan, M S Baskar and others
Director / Script : Mysskin
Camera : - Music director : Sundar C Babu
Producer : V. Hitesh Jhabak

Mysskin has delivered another knock-out punch with his Anjathey. The canvass is engaging and thrilling as he is able to bring out the moods, anxieties and sheer dread of the characters due to top of the line performances from his lead actors.
Here is superior quality Tamil cinema as Mysskin's intricately crafted script and the slick execution of every sequences, make the film a treat to watch. The film avoids clichés and smashes stereotypes as it makes its journey from opening credits to the end. But a nail-biting thriller for over three hours… is way too lengthy.The story opens in a police housing colony where Satyavan (Narain) and Kripa Shankar (Ajmal Ameer) both sons of police head constables (M.S.Bhaskar and Livingston) are childhood friends. They are thick friends but totally different in principles and attitude towards life. Satyavan is a happy-go-lucky irresponsible guy who spends time drinking, loitering with friends and getting into petty fights. Kripa on the other hand is serious, soft-spoken and has a big dream to join the police force through hard work and discipline. He is encouraged by his sister Uttara (Vijayalakshmi), who feels that Satya is the only bad influence in his life, as comparisons are made between the two by the residents of the colony.One day Satya is badly humiliated by his dad for spoiling a festival day in the colony when he gets into a fight with Daya (Prasanna) a sinister guy who is running a kidnapping racket with a small time mechanic and mobster Logu (Pandirajan). Satya after this ego deflating act from his dad decides to join the force by using the clout of his uncle, a personal assistant of a powerful minister. Both Kripa and Satya appear for the police Sub-Inspectors (SI) examination, and using his clout Satya is selected while Kripa fails. This triggers the motive and twist in the tale as inevitably Kripa drifts away from his best friend and turns out to be his most bitter foe.Meanwhile after joining the force, there is a gradual transformation in Satya who becomes more human, righteous and duty conscious in his approach to life. He fights the system from within, and soon Uttara secretly starts admiring him as he becomes her role model which irks Kripa. At the same time Daya the cunning psychopath holds the police force to ransom as he kidnaps young girls from rich families for money and also rapes them so that they will remain silent.The police top brass set up an encounter cell under a cop (Ponvannan) to hunt down the kidnappers, and Satya is also drafted into the team. Daya who is now on the run recruits Kripa knowing that he is on a revenge romp whose only aim is to see the fall of his friend. Now it is a cat-and-mouse game between Satya and Daya who uses Kripa as a pawn, leading to a stunning nail biting climax on the outskirts of the city in a sugar cane field.The biggest strength of Anjathey is its perfect casting, as every actor is just right for the role and you couldn’t find better actors to fill out these roles. Mysskin introduces new guys like a one- armed guy called Kuruvi (played by a former stuntman Bomb Ramesh, who lost an arm while shooting an explosion scene for a film) a go-between Satya and Kripa, he is terrific. Prasanna is a revelation as the deadly, charismatic but ruthless and terrifying psychopathic rapist Daya (the weird wig is a minus), Pandirajan without his moustache as the humorous accomplice of Daya is a scream and provides some funny moments. And Ajmal makes a promising debut; he’s clearly an actor to look out for.Vijayalakshmi is here to stay as the sweet and lovable girl next door. Ponvannan, M.S Bhaskar and Livingstone are all aptly cast in supporting roles. Narain is astonishingly agile and lives the role of Satyavan. His drunken act and subtle comedy in the first half, the anguish, frustration and guilt giving way to tears in the second half bring out the actor in him. It is Narain’s show from the first frame to the last, a performance that will remain in your hearts to remember and savor.Technically, the film is top class and exquisitely photographed by Mahesh Muthusamy, using a lot of top angle crane shots with the climax in the sugar cane field being picture perfect. Sunder.C.Babu’s music is peppy especially the first song in the bar Kannadasan … and the title song. To give credit where it’s due, director Mysskin delivers on both style and content and he has not shown any excessive blood and gore scenes in a story of police encounters, rapes, kidnapping and other nefarious activities.If there’s one problem with the film is it’s too long, at 3 hours 10 minutes and as a result, at times taxes the viewers patience especially the long drawn out climax, scenes in the first half to establish the hero being reformed and sentiments injected into the plot. Moreover, it has very few commercial elements and is a bit classy.Despite these minor hiccups, Anjathey is unmissable. It is a sparkling, fresh and innovative film from Mysskin, makes for recommended viewing.

Mayajaal gets a new Look

Mayajaal, one of Chennai’s biggest multiplexes just got bigger. The multiplex will now house four more theatres thus increasing its strength to ten theatres. Located on the East Coast Road, in Kanathur, Mayajaal is also the abode of one of Chennai’s first snow bowling alley and a shopping mall.
The theatres have a seating capacity of 150 and Mayajaal can now hold 7,500 fans in any given day in all the ten theatres. In an event held this evening at 6.30 at the Mayajaal premises, Vikram formally inaugurated the six theatres and a food court recently accommodated in the complex that houses multi-cuisine eateries and outlets. Touted to be one of the biggest in Asia, Mayajaal now also boasts of housing the maximum number of theatres in the city.

Shankar's 'Irettai Suzhi'

In the countryside, the lucky ones are described a shaving 'irettai suzhi.
In that sense, Shankar must also be having irettai sushi, because even the films he produces fare well.
Shankar is at present producing 'Arai Enn 305-il Kadavul' following which he is producing a film to be directed by 'Poi' dialogue writer Thamira. This film is titled
'Irettai Suzhi.'
Thamira's first directorial venture is made with children in mind. Such films are rare, and one could well even say that there are no such films for children in Tamil.
Since it is a children film and also being produced by Shankar's S Pictures, there is a great deal of expectation.

Ajith’s Aegan takes a cue

If you thought the fully loaded weapon van used in Billa is cool, don’t be surprised when we reveal its secret. The entire van has been created using plain mineral water bottles and PVC pipes, the creative brain behind it being art director Milan. He has been receiving accolades from all quarters, let alone from Ajith and the entire crew for making the indoors of Billa look realistically Malaysia. Billa’s outdoor shoots have been canned in the exotic locales of Malaysia, as is known, however, the trendy and plush looking indoors on par with the Malaysian standards were created by Milan in Chennai.
Close on the heels of these impressive credentials, Milan has also managed to bag the contract for art direction for Ajith’s next, Aegan. Directed by Raju Sundaram, the movie is progressing at a supersonic pace.
Milan is an alumnus of the Loyola College Visual Communication Department and was junior to director Vishnu Vardhan during the good old college days. He apprenticed with ace art director Sabu Cyril before taking off on his own.

Ajith or Vikram - Who is the right choice?

After the success of Billa, attempts to remake old hits have become the latest fad in the industry. Discussions are on at various levels to choose the right film which will have a contemporary feel and Kadiresan, producer of Polladavan has obtained the remake rights of super star’s Moondru Mugam which was a blockbuster hit during those times. Now he is in the process of choosing the correct hero for the new venture and is considering Ajith and Vikram.

Currently Kadiresan is producing a film with Dhanush and Vetrimaran and after this venture gets completed, the project of Moondru Mugam will commence if he gets the call sheet of any one of these actors. At this juncture it is interesting to note that Cheeyan had once replied that he would be interested to act in Moondru Mugam if it were to be remade. Perhaps after he completes Kanthaswamy, he may consider this offer. Meanwhile Ajith is also busy in Aegan and fans should wait for a while to know which of their favorite actors will feature in this remake.

Remake"Agni Natchathiram "

Tamil film industry has always witnessed the presence of two powerful actors at various points of time where there would be a dichotomy of their fan base. Initially it was Sivaji and M.G.R followed by Kamal and Rajini, Ajith and Vijay and many such pairs. Though the actors in question have been sharing a perfect bonhomie, it is the fans whose adrenaline levels are always pumped up.In the recent times, it is the actor’s duo of Simbu and Dhanush who have attracted widespread attention related to their off-screen chemistry. They are considered to be two poles from opposite directions and their minute body language in each other’s presence has been blown put of proportion.

Now it has been reported that Prabhu Deva is attempting seriously to bring this couple together for a film which is titled Agni Natchathiram to be produced by Gnanam films. But for the similarity in title with the Mani Rathnam’s film of the same name, the movie bears no resemblance with the original. It has been buzzed in the known circles that Prabhu Deva has 3-4 scripts with the right mix of comedy and action based themes. It may be a serious one like Nerukku Ner or a comedy caper like Guru-Sishyan.

Prabhu Deva had reportedly talked to Simbu who has given the green signal indicating that he and Dhanush have always remained friends and he is open to the idea of sharing screen presence with him. However Prabhu Deva is yet to approach Dhanush on this and in the event of this film getting materialized, it will only be after the dancer/director completes Hindi Pokkiri and a Vijay film.

Child later, 'Robot' important now – Aish

Aishwarya Rai says he has no idea of having a child now.Every time a Rajini film is finalized, without fail, Aishwarya Rai would be approached. She would invariably turn down the offer as she would have no free call sheet. Now that drama has finally come to a close with her accepting to do 'Robot.'

There was a sudden rumour from Mumbai that Aishwarya had backed out of 'Robot' as she was planning to enter motherhood.

In her interview, she refuted the rumour saying the story of 'Robot' was good, she had an important role in it and at present, she had no intention of planning for a baby.

The 'Robot' heroine put an end to gossip with her interview.

Kuchelan' in Hindi

Director Priyadarshan is a smart man.At one time, he re-made his Malayalam films into Hindi and in a short span, made a lot of money.

When P Vasu made 'Chandramukhi' based on 'Manichitrathaazh,' he successfully made its Hindi version with Akshay Kumar.


Now P Vasu is making 'Kadhaparayumbol' into the Tamil 'Kuchelan' with Rajini in the lead. At the same time, Priyadarshan is making it in Hindi.

Shahrukh Khan has agreed to do the superstar's role in Hindi. Priyadarshan is busy appointing the rest of the cast and will start shooting soon for the film.

Trisha in ‘Jab we met’

Jab we met’ starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor was a great hit last year in Bollywood. The film was talked about for its freshness in narration and for the performance of its lead actors. In fact heroine Kareena had bagged many awards for the film. Now this movie will be made in Tamil and Telugu and the remake rights have been purchased by Moser Baer. As ‘Jab we met’ will be made in both these languages, the producers wanted their heroine to be popular in both the languages and they have zeroed in on Trisha

It has been said that Trisha is also very keen to do this film and when contacted she said, “I saw Jab we met and I liked the film a lot. The role of the heroine in this film is on par with the hero. The first half of the film is a hard core comedy while the second half is laden with emotion and sentiment. I am fortunate to get such a character early in my career.” When questioned about her other projects Trisha said that she is doing Radha Mohan’s Abhiyum Naanum and Dharani’s Kuruvi right now. For the role of hero in Jab we met remake, Dhanush has been approached but confirmation is yet to come.

Pyramid Saimira in trouble

Apart from buying distribution rights of films like 'Azhagiya Thamizhmagan' and 'Vel,' Pyramid Saimira is also into film production.
The company has taken more than 100 theatres on lease in Tamilnadu. According to information received, Pyramid Natarajan wants to opt out of the company, ostensibly because of some troubled financial dealings.

One of the measures to be undertaken by Pyramid Saimira was to help out needy producers with grants. Because of the latest developments, there are rumours that this project could be dropped.It's said the company name could be also changed to just Saimira.

We are not lovers, says Nayantara

Poor Nayantara. Looks like controversies like this Malayalee belle. First it was the pictures of her with her ex-beau Simbu doing the rounds on the Net. Then of course, it was the bikini scene in 'Billa'.

Now, the hottest rumours in the Tamil film industry are about her alleged relationship with her co-star Vishal. But this time, Nayantara decided not to keep quite for too long.

She has denied the affair and says it is a figment of imagination.

For now, the Vishal and Nayantara are shooting for 'Salute'.

Box office of this Week

It’s a battle of sorts at the box office between the mighty Bheema and the funny Azhagappan (Indiralogathil Na, if you insist). If that isn’t enough, director Siddique is back with a witty and intelligent movie that could pose a threat to the existing biggies at the box office.

Be that as it may, surf on to find out who took the honors this week.


Cast: Vikram, Trisha, Prakash Raj, Raguvaran
Direction: Linguswamy
Music: Harris Jayaraj
Production: A M Rathnam
Four weeks in the run, Vikram’s bad boy act couldn’t keep the box office sinking lower as weeks go by.

Trade Talk:
With a mammoth budget and plummeting collections in very little time, Bheema might not garner profit for the buyers.

Public Talk:
Glad that Vikram isn’t taking another extended sabbatical for a project.

No. Weeks Completed: 4
No. Shows in Chennai over this weekend: 99
Average Theatre Occupancy over this weekend: 60 %
Collection over this weekend in Chennai: Rs.14,46,678
Total collections in Chennai by end of the fifth weekend: Rs.2.41 Crore

Verdict: Average

Cast: Vadivelu, Suja, Theetha, Rari, Nazar, Shriya
Direction: Thambi Ramiah
Music: Sabesh Murali
Production: Manickam Narayanan
It is amusing to watch Vadivelu’s dim-witted antics on screen, but are we ready yet to hear him deliver sermons on reforming society? That, and an obtuse script hasn’t helped either.

Trade Talk:
Although bashed by most critics, INA’s patronage among the public is not completely dreary with the movie registering more than half-full theatre occupancy in the week.

Public Talk:
Nothing to rave about, but not a let down either.

No. Weeks Completed: 1
No. Shows in Chennai over this weekend: 129
Average Theatre Occupancy over this weekend: 60 %
Collection over this weekend in Chennai: Rs.21,04,287
Total collections in Chennai by end of the second weekend: Rs.87 lakhs

Rajini's take on politics

Whatever Rajini does, he makes news.

He attended the wedding of his assistant's son in Andhra after which he spoke to the press.

For questions fired at him about his new films, spirituality and politics, he answered in his usual style of careful neither here nor there answers.

He said that he was acting in 2 films and that would definitely take a couple of years to complete, so he would not get into politics for the 2 years! What after 2 years? It's all in god's hands!


After 'Robot' is completed, Rajini plans to make a spiritual film like 'Baba.' It would have he sadhus in Himalayasas the central characters, said Rajini.

Would he support Chiranjeevi if he started a political party? "I have not decided anything on that as yet," responded Rajini.

Films with "U" certificate

The Censor Board has given 'U' certificate to 2 films that were expected to get 'A' certificates.


Most of the recent action films have received only 'A' certificate, but Mysskin's 'Anjadhey' has got a 'U.' That's because though it's an action film, there is no violence in it.

KS Adhiyaman's 'Thoondil' has some hot love scenes between Shaam and Divya. There's also a scene where Divya gets all wet as she frolics in the seawater. So it was expected to get an 'A' certificate. Contrary to expectations, the film got a 'U' certificate.
Naren, vijaya lakshmi

'Anjadhey' is to be released on coming 15th and 'Thoondil' on 22nd.

Mozhi remake in Hindi

Nowadays, Tamil stars are making a mark in other languages.

Many of our cinematographers are working in Telugu and Hindi films. There also seems to be a growing regard for our directors in other languages.

Bharatiraja's Hindi film 'Cinema' is to be released soon. Murugadoss is busy with the Hindi remake of 'Ghajini.' After completing 'Aayirathil Oruvan,' Selvaraghavan plans to make a film starring Vivek Oberoi. Gautham Vasudeva Menon also plans to start work soon on a Hindi film.

After completing 'Abhiyum Naanum,' Radha Mohan plans to re-make 'Mozhi' in Hindi. For the first round of talks, he went to Mumbai but the cast has not yet been decided on.

Music composer Iman to wed an engineer

Iman has finally found his soul mate in a computer engineer. D Iman made his debut in films with 'Whistle.' The song "azhagiya asura..." from the film was a super hit and Iman became sought after. He went on to compose music for around 20 films including 'Giri,' 'Chinna,' 'Thalainagaram,' 'Vathiyar,' 'Marudhamalai' and so on. Iman is the in-house music composer for all Arjun films.

When offers dwindled, Iman started composing music for television programs. Right now, he does not have too many offers on hand, so his parents have found him a suitable bride. Iman is now betrothed to Monica, the daughter of Richard and Rita from Chennai.

The betrothal took place on Feb 1 at Chennai. Monica has a BE degree. The wedding is to take place on April 24 at 7pm at St. John's Cathedral in Chennai.

Not all of films that Iman composed music for have been great hits. Our best wishes that his luck turns for the better after his marriage!

Dhanush Charges 3 Crores

The Telugu super hit Arya created a star out of Allu Arjun in the lead. The same is to be remade in Tamil with Dhanush in the lead role. This debut undertaking for Gemini Labs will be directed by Balasekharan, who has victorious movies like Love Today and Thulli Thirindha Kaalam to his name. Dhanush, who has hit a high following the huge critical and commercial success of his recent release Polladhavan, is currently awaiting the release of his forthcoming movie Yaradi Nee Mohini, a remake of the Telugu film Aadavari Matalaku Ardhale Verule, which was directed by his brother Selvaraghavan.

The actor has supposedly been signed up for a huge sum of 3 crores, which has catapulted him into the big league. The heroine is yet to be finalized. The original was a marketable potboiler with rib-tickling comedy, awesome action and rocking musical numbers. With a big league star, a fine filmmaker and a proven script at their disposal, it seems like Gemini Labs is going to have a dominant debut production.

Mallika to Kiss Simbu

Mallika to Kiss Simbu

Bollywood’s sex throb Mallika Sherawat, famous for her ‘dare to bare’ attitude, has set her eyes towards south, it seems. Recently her Telugu dubbed version of ‘Bach Ke Rehna Re’ is simply rocking Andhra Pradesh and she is all set to heat up Tamil screen too. A rumour is making the rounds that she is going to smooch with Tamil cinema’s young smooching king Simbu in a new film.

Mallika is now doing a role with Kamal Haasan in Dasavadharam. It is said that Simbu, the bold young actor, is roping her to his next film. He has planned a kissing scene with her. It is interesting to recall that Simbu’s lip lock with Nayan Tara in ‘Vallavan’ created a lot of sensation last year. The latest news is that the Mallika is said to have agreed to his lip kiss proposal.