BROADER OUTLOOK-BHAMA

Bhama is set to make her Tamil film debut with Ellam Avan Seyyal, directed by Shaji Kailas, writes KK Moidu


Ellam Avan Seyyal is a remake of the Malayalam superhit Chinthamani Kolacase. Suresh Gopi played the male lead as a leading criminal lawyer with a razor-sharp mind in the psycho-suspense thriller. The film was noticed for the different body language and dialogue delivery adopted by Suresh Gopi.
Bhavana played the title role as Chinthamani, a bright and brilliant student who secured a merit seat in the medical college financed by NRIs. Bhama will play the character played by Bhavana in the original. Notebook fame Parvathy was the earlier choice for the role and was replaced by Bhama.
After three films, Bhama is the new sensation of Malayalam cinema. She was launched by the accomplished film maker Lohithadas, who was known for his affluent, elegant and realistic screenplays. He has gifted many new talents to the industry like Meera Jasmine.
Bhama made her debut in Nivedhyam opposite newcomer Vinu Mohan, the grandson of late Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair. Nivedhyam failed to do big business at the box office but her endeavour did not go unnoticed.
In her launching vehicle Nivedhyam, Bhama played the role of an illegal daughter of an unmarried woman, who committed suicide. She lives with her grandmother in a separate house away from their relatives and earns her living by selling pappads.
Bhama's super efficient performance and charming eyes got the attention of the industry. The songs of the film were well accepted and that made her more popular.
Bhama was appreciated by dear and near, others also showered their love and blessings for her innocent performances.
Bhama hails from Kottayam, completed her grade 12 (equivalent to pre-degree) at St Mary's Higher Secondary School, Mannarkkadu, Kottayam. A shy girl, Bhama never dreamed about a career in films. After playing the heroine as a bold girl Sathyabhama in Nivedhyam, fame and fortune followed her.
Before her entry onto the silverscreen, she was the presenter of a matrimonial programme Thaali on television. Although it was not a regular programme, Lohithadas spotted her. Playing the heroine in a Lohithadas film is not an ordinary thing which even Bhama did not expect.
After Nivedhyam, she played an entirely different role as a lively rich girl Indulekha in her second film Hareendran Oru Nishkalankan directed by Vinayan. She was the female lead opposite Manikkuttan and the film failed miserably at the box office.
But her latest release Cycle ,directed by Johnny Antony, is running in packed houses in Kerala. Bhama plays the role of Annie, a receptionist in a travel agency in City Centre, a state-of-the-art shopping mall in Cochin.
Her male lead was played by play back singer Vineeth Sreenivasan. Vineeth, the son of Sreenivasan, repeated his singing success as an actor in his maiden venture.
Cycle, a soft thriller with younger stars in the lead, is rich with comedy and good songs. The sound script by James Albert made the film tremendously enjoyable by its freshness.
Although Bhama has received number of offers from Malayalam films, she chose a Tamil film. Ellam Avan Seyyal is the comeback vehicle of Shaji Kailas in Tamil and that also by remaking his Malayalam superhit Chinthamani Kola Case. A newcomer will play the male lead in the film, which was played by Suresh Gopi in the original. The film will also bring together Manivannan and Vadivelu after a short interval.
Shaji Kailas, the successful action director, failed to attract crowds in his recently released Malayalam films like Time, Alibhai, Sound of Bhoot etc. He also failed to impress the audience in his earlier Tamil film Jana with Ajith.
Will Shaji Kailas, the prolific director, rediscover his magic of churning out hits with his forthcoming Tamil film Ellam Avan Seyyal? Will Bhama become another flavour of the Tamil industry after the film? If the angelic-faced actress with a child-like quality accepts glamour roles, she will get more films not only in Tamil but in regional languages like Telugu and Kannada also.

SECOND TIME LUCKY-BIJU MENON

Biju Menon will play the lead opposite Lakshmi Sharma in the forthcoming Malayalam film Parayaan Marannathu, directed by debutante Arun S Bhaskar. KK Moidu writes

Biju Menon has played heroic roles earlier in popular director's films. But before reaching superstardom, he was degraded as a second hero. He seeks a comeback after years as a hero in Paryaan Marannathu, produced by VS Sheeja under the banner of Nandanam Films.
Director Arun S Bhaskar himself pens the story of the film which will be scripted by Shabari Shankar. Upcoming actor Arun will play an equally important role in the film. Other artistes include Madhupal, Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Mala Aravindan, KPAC Lalitha, Master Shyam, Baby Parvathy etc. Arun Sidharth will compose for the lyrics of Poovachal Khader.
Biju Menon was considered the future superstar of Malayalam cinema because of his leading performances in films like Meghamalhar, Mazha, Madhuranombarakkattu etc. He fetched the Kerala State Best Second Actor Award for his portrayal of Akhilachandran in Krishnagudiyil Oru Pranayakalathu.
A bright student, Biju Menon showed interest in extra curricular activities in his school and college days. He displayed his skills in his childhood by mimicking his surroundings and developed that talent. He also participated in stage plays and showed great enthusiasm in watching movies.
Biju got his acting talent from his father Balakrishnan Nair, a police officer and a close friend of late film maker Padmarajan. He performed notable roles in Padmarajan films.
Biju also approached Padmarajan for a chance — not as an actor but as a dubbing artiste. Padmarajan was looking for someone to dub for the hero in Njan Gandharvan, but the voice of Biju did not match the character. Although Padmarajan could not give him a chance, he encouraged and wished him a bright future in films.
Biju Menon made his debut in Mikhailinte Santhathikal directed by Jude Aattipetti. He got the privilege to do the same role Aloshi on celluloid, which made him a favourite among the miniscreen viewers. Although he performed the character with perfection, Mikhailinte Santhathikal bombed at the box office. He also played the lead in Jude Aattipetti's Puthran, which did not perform well at the box office.
Biju Menon came into the limelight after his performance as Mahendra Varma in the comedy hit Mannar Mathai Speaking, a sequel of superhit Ramji Rao Speaking. After the success of the film, Biju acted in a variety of roles as hero, second hero and villain in his more than ten year's career.
He gained the industry's attention not only as a hero but also in supporting and villain roles. His competing performance along with superstars like Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi made him a favourite in the industry. He played major roles in Mammootty films like Pattalam, Azhakiya Ravanan, Dubai etc. Biju also supported Mohanlal in films like Baba Kalyani, Vadakkumnathan etc. His memorable role as Firoz, an honest brave cop in the Suresh Gopi starrer superhit Pathram created box office records.
Biju won acclaims for his performance as a hero in Mazha, Meghamalhar, Madhuranombarakkattu etc. He also married his screen partner Samyuktha Varma. Like other Malayalee married heroines, she retired from the acting profession and has given birth to a baby boy.
The box office failure of the films, in which he played heroic roles, became a hindrance to his career as a hero. His excellence in cop roles merited him a lead in Shivam directed by Shaji Kailas. It was Shaji Kailas who moulded Suresh Gopi as a superstar by featuring in cop films like Commissioner.
The super direction of Shaji Kailas and bold performance of Biju Menon could not save the action thriller Shivam from a box office disaster. Meaty roles dried up for the actor as a result. He tried his luck as an antagonist in Tamil films like Thambi, Maja etc.
Although he was not playing heroic roles for the last few years, Biju Menon continued his presence in the industry by doing other roles like second hero and villain.
He will play a central character along with Kalabhavan Mani in another forthcoming film Pathikar. The film will be directed by debutante Satheesh Kumar, who worked as an assistant to famed directors like Thulasidas, Viji Thampi and Suresh Unnithan.
Pathikar will be produced by MS Babu under the banner of MS Movies. Manichithrathazhu fame Madhu Muttam's script is one of the highlights of the film.
After years, ladyluck has smiled on Biju Menon who will be playing a hero's role in the forthcoming film Parayaan Marannathu.
Will he achieve success as a hero once again?

ITEM GIRL RAGASIYA IN MALAYALAM

Ragasiya will perfom an item number in Annan Thampi directed by Anwar Rasheed. Superstar Mammootty will appear dual roles in the film. Their previous film Rajamanikyam was the biggest hits of Mammootty's career.
Mohanlal played the male lead of Anwar Rasheed's last film Chhota Mumbai. Softporn actress Shakeela played a decent role in the film.

BANKING ON TALENT - NAGARJUNA

Banking on talent

Nagarjuna bagged his third Best Actor Nandi Award 2006 for his portrayal as a devotee in Sri Ramadasu, directed by Raghavendra Rao. KK Moidu writes

The trio Raghavendra Rao-Keeravani-Bharavi proved that films like Sri Ramadasu still has a place in mainstream cinema, whereas crass commercial movies rule the box office. Sri Ramadasu not only won critical acclaim but also became a major hit at the box office.
Sri Ramadasu tells a simple story that spins around Gopanna-Ramadasu, played by Nagarjuna. After marrying Kamala, Gopanna joins as a Tahsildar (village officer) in the kingdom of Tanisha.
Dammakka, a tribal lady and a worshipper of Rama, saves Gopanna's life from a critical condition. Dammakka was waiting for someone who could construct a temple in Bhadragiri. She shows Bhadragiri to Gopanna and that changes his life forever. After seeing the place, Gopanna builds a temple on the hill by collecting money from the public. Because of his great bakthi or faith, he becomes Ramadasu.
The enemies of Ramadasu start negative campaigns and Tanisha's dishonest brother-in-law succeeds in convincing the King against him.
Tanisha, the emperor of Golkonda, believes the false news that Ramadasu has misappropriated the money of the people. The temple was constructed without the permission of the king. Ramadasu is imprisoned and the rest of the story tells how Tanisha realises the truth and frees him from jail.
Nagarjuna plays the challenging roles of the film successfully — one as an unmarried happy-go-lucky man and the other as a devotee after his marriage. His skillful performance with perfect body language is the biggest strength of the film.
Sri Ramadasu also won the Nandi Best Home Viewing Feature Film Award and Best Makeup Award for Ramachandra Rao.
The film has 19 songs composed by MM Keeravani. Although the original tunes of Sri Ramadasu keerthanas are highly classical, Keeravani has made it simple for the common man. The songs create a perfect mood for the film and this has made him a household name in Andhra Pradesh.
The story and dialogue are penned by JK Bharavi with enough research that gives it a realistic appeal.
This is the third time the dynamic hero Nagarjuna has achieved the Andhra Pradesh Government's prestigious Nandi Award. He fetched his first Best Actor Nandi Award for Annamayya in 1997, for his challenging performance as Annamacharya, the legendary singer and poet of medieval times. The role also won the Special Jury National Award.
Annamayya, directed by Raghavendra Rao was one of the biggest hits of the year in the Tollywood. His portrayal of Karthikeya aka Karthik in Santosham got him the Best Actor Nandi Award for the second time in 2002.
Telugu actor and producer Nagarjuna is popularly known as the "dream boy" among his lady fans, even in his late 40s. He was lucky enough to work with reputed directors and prestigious banners of the industry in his more than two decades long career.
His successful films like Shiva and Geethanjali were dubbed into other languages. That made him a lot of fans among Malayalam and Tamil film audiences.
Telugu frontliner Nagarjuna is the son of actor Akkineni Nageshwara Rao (ANR) and Annapurna. Padma Bhushan ANR is noted for his class roles in the mid 60s, excelling in tragedy roles.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner ANR is a Padma Shri recipient and continues acting although in his 80s. He played a pivotal role as Kabir in Sri Ramadasu.
Nagarjuna was born on Aug.29, 1959. He completed his education at Hyderabad Public School, Little Flower Junior College and earned an engineering degree from a foreign university. He married former heroine Amala who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. Amala played the heroine opposite Nagarjuna in the superhit Shiva. Their son Akhil played the lead role as a boy in Sisindri and won awards for his performance. Nagarjuna also has another son Naga Chaitanya from his first marriage.
Amala said good-bye to the tinselworld after marriage. She and Nagarjuna started the Blue Cross of Hyderabad, an organisation dedicated to animal welfare.
Nagarjuna made his debut in the Telugu film industry with Vikram, a remake of the Hindi film Hero. After doing a couple of films, like his father, he played a tragedy hero's role in Majnu. Nagarjuna, with a cool and trendy hairstyle, was elevated to stardom after being paired with Sridevi in Akhari Poraatam. The film was his first big hit and completed 100 days in 12 centres.
The success of Geetanjali took him into new heights as a romantic hero. Geetanjali was a pure love story directed by Mani Ratnam and the film tells the love of true friendship. Nagarjuna played the role of an easy going college student who is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Geetanjali won the Golden Lotus Award and Bangaru Nandi Award for the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment.
The superhit action film Shiva followed, which deals with violence in the college campus. Shiva, the maiden directorial venture of Ram Gopal Varma, created box office history in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The success of Shiva gave him an action hero image and he became a favourite among college students. He also made a grand entry into Bollywood with the remake of the film.
Crowdpuller Nagarjuna changed the industry's mindset with creative thinking and new technologies. He always encourages new directors and newcomers like Ram Gopal Varma, Krishna Vamsi etc. He delivered superhits like Gari Pellam, Hello Brother, Ninne Pelladutha etc. and is one of the "success guaranteed" heroes of the industry.
Nagarjuna excels in all kinds of roles and once again proved this in Sri Ramadasu. He surprised the audience with his stylish appearance in Don, last year's release. He charmed cinegoers as Gopala Krishna, the owner of GK Constructions in the 2006 release Boss I Love You opposite Nayantara.
His 2005 release Super was produced by him under home production Annapurna Studios. Nagarjuna was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in the film. Ali won the Best comedian Filmfare Award and Super was nominated as Best Film. Super was also nominated for Filmfare best director, best music director and best actress award for Puri Jagannath, Sandeep Chowta and Ayesha Takia respectively.
His production venture Mass released in 2004 was also a big success. Mass, written and directed by Raghava Lawrence, collected the distributor's share in its opening week and played 100 days in 74 centres.
His other release of the year Nenunnanu, written and directed by VN Aditya, was noticed for the music composed by MM Keeravani.
Nagarjuna played a guest role as a modern day version of Krishna in the recently released Krishnarjuna directed by P Vasu.
According to reports, Nagarjuna's forthcoming film will be directed by Sreenu Vaytla. His love interest of the film is leading south Indian actress Trisha Krishnan. Although Trisha has paired opposite senior Telugu heroes like Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh etc. this is the first time she is being paired with Nagarjuna.
The frank and soft spoken Nagarjuna differs from other heroes. This is because he is not only successful as a hero in clean commercial entertainers but has also achieved success in films that value tradition and culture.

adoor goapalakrishanan

ENTERTAINING FANS WITH A NEW IMAGE - PUNEET KUMAR

Entertaining fans with a new image

Puneet Rajkumar plays a different role opposite Hansika Motwani in the Kannada film Bindaas, directed by D Rajendra Babu, writes KK Moidu

Popular star Puneet Rajkumar plays an honest young man in Bindaas. He falls in love with a beautiful girl and gets involved in evil activities to win her heart.
Puneet has a clean track record and has delivered hit after hit right from his debut film. The fans of the action hero expect another superhit from him. He also hopes his success last year with Arasu and Milana will be repeated with Bindaas.
Although Puneet's characterisation in Bindaas looks similar to his previous hit Appu, the story is completely different.
Puneet has acted in about one dozen films like Bhaktha Prahlaada, Bettada Hoovu, Yaarivanu, Parashuram etc. as a child artiste. He won the National Award for Bettada Hoovu.
He made his debut as a hero in the superhit Appu in 2002. The success of the film merited him many offers. In a short span of five years, he acted in nine films as a hero. Bindaas is Rajendra Babu's 50th directorial venture after a string of hits like Karulina Koogu, Haalunda Thavaru, Ramachari, Annaiah, Yaare Nee Cheluve, Auto Shankar etc.
Bindaas is Puneet's first film with Rajendra Babu who is an expert in making sentimental films. This is a youthful film with a powerful storyline after a long time. The director expects to further boost Puneet's image with Bindaas.
Produced by Chandrasekhar under the banner of Udayachandra Productions, Bindaas is a mix of emotions, sentiments, action, romance and comedy. Chandrashekhar has spent lavishly for the film for a better look and hopes the crowdpuller will be another hit in his career. He has tasted success as a producer in his earlier films like Annaiah, Karpoorada Gombe etc.
Teenage heroine Hansika Motwani is the female lead of the film and the tagline of the film is 'Be Happy. No BP'.
The big budget film Bindaas is pure entertainment for the fans of Puneet. Few songs were pictured in good locations abroad to satisfy fans, who are crazy about peppy and trendy music.
Guru Kiran has composed the mass oriented music. The audio and CD launch was held recently in Chancery Hotel and was attended by all three Kumar brothers.
The duet song Gubbachigalu Kaddu Muchchi with Udit Narayan and Soumya Rao on the vocals has already become a hit.
The story was penned by Janardhana Maharishi, who also wrote the story of Puneet's earlier hits Akash and Arasu.
The cinematographer is HC Venu and the action scenes were composed by veteran fight choreographer Vijayan.
Suman, who terrorised the audience as a baddie in Rajinikanth's superhit Sivaji The Boss will play the villain.
Other artistes of the film are Nazar, Rahul Dev, Vanita Vasu, Komal, Fighter Babu, Rajanna, Manmohan Rai etc.
Puneet Rajkumar is the youngest son of legendary Kannada actor late Dr Rajkumar and Parvathamma. He got an easy entry into filmdom like his elder brothers Shivaraj Kumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar. He is one of the highest paid actors in the Kannada film industry.
'Natasarvabhouma' Rajkumar is known as the John Wayne of South Indian Cinema. Rajkumar is the only Indian actor who has fetched the National Award for both acting and singing.
Former child artiste Hansika Motwani made her big screen debut in the Telugu film Desamuduru directed by Puri Jagannath. She played a Sanyasin opposite Allu Arjun in the action-packed romantic entertainer. According to reports, before the release of her first film, she had signed another Telugu film for a whopping amount of Rs50 lakhs.
Hansika is doing her A levels (equivalent to the 11th grade in Indian Education system) from University of Cambridge at Podar International School, Mumbai.
She made her foray into films as a child artiste and gained fame in Jaago, Abra Ka Dabra, Koi Mil Gaya, Escape From Taliban etc.
Hansika has already played lead roles in different language films like Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, even before turning 17.
Her performances in television serials Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Desh Me Nikla Hoga Chand, Shakalakaa Boom Boom, Tum Bin etc. has made her a household name.
She has appeared in many commercial television ads of big brands like Pepsi, Samsung, Hyundai, Bournvita, Onida, Amul etc.
Born on Aug.9, 1991 as Hansika Pradeep Motwani to Pradeep, a businessman and Mona, a dermatologist, her mother tongue is Sindhi. Her mother's client actress Juhi Chawla recommended her to act in films. She signed her first Hindi film Yahoo with Govinda and the project was abandoned. But the ominous beginning in her career did not stop her from acting.
She made her Hindi film debut as a heroine opposite Bollywood singer-composer-actor Himesh Reshammiya in Aap Kaa Surroor: The Movie: The Luv Story. The film was an average success at the box office, putting her in the top ten leading Bollywood actresses category.
Hansika will play a killer's role, taking revenge for her family in the forthcoming Hindi film He: The Only One opposite Mimoh Chakraborty, son of National Award winning actor Mithun Chakraborty.
After Bindaas, Puneet will start working in his next project, directed by Prem, who has given mega hits like Kariya, Excuse Me, Jogi etc.
His forthcoming film Mayura is a remake of the superhit starring his father. He was born at the time of the making of the original Mayura.
Puneet is an actor who has given nine consecutive hits and Hansika is an actress who has never tasted failure. Will they repeat their earlier success with Bindaas? Cinegoers expect that the fortunate hero and comely heroine will make Bindaas another smash hit.