Bollywood to taste Honey: Trisha Krishnan

Leading lady of Tamil and Telugu film industry, Trisha Krishnan is making her debut in Bollywood opposite action hero Akshay Kumar in Khatta Meetha, writes KK Moidu Trisha’s maiden Bollywood venture Khatta Meetha is a light-hearted romantic comedy directed by remake king Priyadarshan. She plays a performance-oriented glamorous role as the love interest of front-line Bollywood hero Akshay Kumar. After watching Trisha’s performance in few Tamil films especially Abhiyum Naanum, the Mast Mast hero decided to make her as the lady love of his forthcoming film.
Khatta Meetha is produced by Akshay Kumar himself and Pritam Chakraborty composes music for the half-a-dozen songs in the film. Trisha, the charming starlet of South Indian cinema not only had a dream debut opposite Bollywood Macho Man Akshay Kumar, but also her mentor Priyadarshan directs it. Trisha also bagged two more Hindi movies, which will be produced under the banner of Akshay Kumar’s Hari Om Productions.
Trisha Krishnan made her debut as a heroine in Tamil film Leysa Leysa directed by Priyadarshan. She signed more than half-a-dozen heroine roles in Tamil films before the release of her debut Tamil film. The model turned actress entered the industry as a heroine at the time when Simran and Jyothika were ruling the roost. But she was succeeded in winning the hearts of audience with her acting talent and the competition helped her to give the best performance.
Trisha is a winner of Miss India Miss Beautiful Smile title and was a high-flying figure in fashion shows. She won the Filmfare debutante award and critical acclaim for her pairing opposite Surya in Mounam Pesiyathe. Her performance in Aayudha Ezhuthu, Unakku 18 Enakku 20 and Manasellam brought her into the limelight. Trisha earlier rejected a few Bollywood offers because of her busy schedule in Tamil and Telugu. She is currently working in Gautham Menon’s Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya and her male lead of the films is Silambarasan.
She also plays the female lead as an Anglo Indian girl in another forthcoming film Aadukalam directed by Vetrimaran and Dhanush is her hero. According to reports the actress has opted out of Aadukalam and a Telugu film opposite Balakrishna after completing few scenes to work in Khatta Meetha. She is sacrificing the two projects for concentrating more on Bollywood. But the actress strongly denied the reports.
Trisha, a former Miss Chennai is nicknamed Honey for her beautiful smile. She has paired opposite crowd pulling Tamil heroes like Vijay, Vikram and Ajith and delivered hits like Gilli and Saamy. But her pairing opposite Vikram and Vijay in last year releases Bheema and Kuruvi didn’t repeat the previous success at the box office. The sought after heroine also played female leads in many Telugu hits like Varsham, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and Bujjigadu and won rave reviews and fetched the Filmfare Best Actress Award.
However, she mainly played the leads of young heroes in Tamil films, but in Telugu, she was paired opposite stalwart Chiranjeevi and senior hero Venkatesh and youngsters like Prabhas and Siddharth Narayan.
The attractive actress was also honoured with the prestigious Kalaimamani Award from the Tamil Nadu Government and Nandhi Award from the Andhra Pradesh Government. Trisha is against the rumours of portraying her as the competitor to Asin, who recently made her debut opposite Aamir Khan in Ghajini.
Trisha has earlier replaced Bollywood leading ladies like Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta as the Brand Ambassador of Fanta India and Scooty Pep+. Will she repeat her South Indian success in Bollywood?

Mammootty: The Best Actor Award 2009-Reality Show on Asianet

16 vie for honours in unique reality show



KK Moidu 9pm Saturday, July 25 will see the launch of 'Mammootty: The Best Actor Award 2009,' on Asianet. This purpose of this unique reality show is to find the most talented budding actor/actress in Kerala. Megastar Mammootty will declare the final winners in a grand finale to be held at Dubai during the last week of October 2009.
The programme will be based on Superstar Mammootty's contribution to Malayalam Cinema. In each episode there will be a discussion about the various characters performed by the popular hero from down South India and the closeness of those characters in real life. This is the first time in the history of Malayalam Television Channel, that a programme is named after a living legend of the tinsel world. The contestants were shortlisted from among thousands of applicants and the final 16 were selected by a jury panel headed by film directors and actors, on the basis of auditions held at major cities in Kerala.
Show format
The final contestants will compete in the roles performed by Bharath Mammootty and other famous artistes. The cutting edge actor Mammootty's outstanding performances as the Family Hero, Evergreen Youth Hero, The Macho Hero, The Epic Hero, Hero of unusual Characters, Adoptions from Literature Hero, a hero with Humor Touch and other roles will be the yardstick for selecting merit in the contest. Leading film director Siddique and evergreen actress Sheela will chair the permanent panel of judges. Other leading actors from Malayalam film industry such as Jagathy Sreekumar, Siddique, Vijayaraghavan, Nedumudi Venu, Urvasi, Sreenivasan, among others will appear as celebrity judges. Scriptwriters, film directors, critics, writers, psychologists and politicians will encourage, advice and groom the contestants. The presence of Mega Star Mammootty through out the episodes is the major star attraction of the programme.

The booty
The final winners will get the chance to act in a movie produced by Mammooty's own production arm Play House Pictures and take home other fabulous prizes. The programmes will be anchored by leading mimicry artistes and mini-screen favourites, Kottayam Nazir and Tini Tom.
Asianet will telecast 'Mammootty: The Best Actor Award 2009' every Saturday from 9pm to 10pm.

Jack of all trades

Multi-talented youth icon Prithviraj plays three challenging title roles in the forthcoming Malayalam film Raghupathy Raghava Raajaram (R3) which is directed by Shaji Kailas, writes KK Moidu
Ace director Shaji Kailas, who has a number of superhits under his belt — like The King and Valyettan with Mammootty, Aaram Thampuran and Narasimham with Mohanlal, Commissioner and Mafia with Suresh Gopi — features a young hero Prithviraj in three different title roles in R3. This is the first time Prithviraj plays three title roles, one as a Psychiatrist Dr Raghupathy, second as a police officer Raghavan IPS and the third one as a rogue Raajaram. R3, scripted by AK Sajan, tells the love story of three protagonists. Samvrutha Sunil and Mamta Mohandas will play the female leads in the film.
However, Prithviraj, the heartthrob of youngsters sports a new look in Puthiya Mugham directed by Deepan, an earlier assistant of Shaji Kailas. Prithviraj appears in an all-new look in the film without his trademark moustache. He plays the role of a Brahmin youth as Krishna Kumar in the campus based love story Puthiya Mugham. He is a shy and soft-spoken youth and a resident of Kalpathi Village, near Palakkad. Krishna Kumar, a favourite of villager’s is deeply stick to his traditions and family values. He loves music, gives music lessons to kids and an expert in Mridangam.Prithviraj and Meera Nandhan in Puthiya Mugham
Krishna Kumar has a secret crush on Sridevi. She is the daughter of their family friend and lives in the neighbouring village. The innocent life of Krishna Kumar has changed forever after his admission in an engineering college in Kochi. His friendship with Anjana and Sudhi, whose marriage is already fixed and certain incidents in their life deeply affects Krishnakumar. He is forced to accept new incarnation after a few unexpected happenings in their life. Priyamani and Meera Nandhan play the female lead of the film. M Sindhuraj of Mulla fame scripts the film and Bharani K Dharan is the cinematographer.

Priyamani

Prithviraj, who is blessed with a face that can convey various expressions also tests his vocal ability in the film by singing the title song 'Suryamugham Ini Oru Puthiyamugham'. The song penned by Kaithapram and composed by Deepak Dev.

Although Prithviraj’s earlier horror film Vellinakshathram didn’t succeed at the box office, the actor once again dons the lead in a horror thriller directed by Kukku Surendran, a cousin of Santhosh Sivan.

Prithviraj plays a hi-tech thief in another forthcoming film Robinhood directed by Joshy. Bhavana is his love interest in the film.

Prithviraj, who won the Best Actor State Award at an early age for his performance in Vaasthavam, has delivered mega hits like Classmates, Swapnakoodu and Chocolate within a short span of his career. His hands are full with offers for playing the leads in forthcoming Malayalam films like Louis VI, The Reel, Cousins, Doctor Love, Kerala Café, Veettilekkulla Vazhi, Paathira Manal, Punyam Aham, Maadan Kolli (Malayalam and Tamil) and a couple of untitled films directed by Joemon, Jayaraj and Akku Akbar.Unlike other Malayalam superstars, Prithviraj has carved a niche for himself in the neighbouring Tamil industry. His excellence in romantic and action roles made him a favourite among the audience. He has played lead roles in seasonal filmmaker like Bhagyaraj in Parijatham. He also had the luck to be a part of Mani Ratnam’s high profile movie Ashokavanam in Tamil and Raavan in Hindi. Prithviraj co-stars with former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Vikram in the film and Abhishek Bachchan will play the lead in Hindi.

Prithviraj will also play the lead in the Tamil remake of Malayalam superhit Classmate, which catapulted him to superstardom. The film, titled as Ninaithale Inikkum, is directed by Kumaravel, who assisted Kamal Hassan in many films. P Vasu’s son Shakthi will play an important role in the film and Priya Mani is the heroine.

Priyamani

Prithviraj will team up with director V Priya for an untitled film after the family entertainer Kannamoochi Yenada. Bhavana is his leading lady in the film. Prithviraj’s Telugu debut film has not seen the light of the day, but he is popular in Telugu after Sivapuram. The film is the dubbed version of Malayalam film Ananthabadram. His Telugu film Police Police, where he plays one of the lead as a cop Ravikanth is ready to release. Police Police is directed by debutante Manmohan and the film will simultaneously made in Tamil as Idam Valam.

Although Prithviraj is flooded with offers from Tamil and Malayalam, his recently released Malayalam films like One Way Ticket, Lollypop, Nammal Thammil and Calendar had failed to ring the cash registers at the box office. The actor definitely need a box office hit and pins hope on forthcoming films R3 directed by Shaji Kailas or his earlier assistant Deepan’s Puthiya Mugham or veteran director Joshy’s Robinhood.

Now the fans of the shining star are excitedly waiting to see if any of these three films or all will be able to repeat his crowd-pulling status at the box office.

Excelling together: Bhama and Vinu Mohan

Lohitha Das final dicoveries Bhama and Vinu Mohan pair again in the forthcoming film Njangalude Veedu, writes KK Moidu
Njangalude Veedu directed by debutante Binukumar is based on a script by Santhosh Rajasekharan, Jayshree Kumar and NB Suresh. The film will be produced by KP Suresh Kumar under the banner of Bhagyathara Productions. Vayalar Sharath and Jaison J Nair composes music. MJ Radhakrishnan is the cinematographer of the film.
Young artistes Vinu and Bhama had the luck to make their debut in late scriptwriter-director Lohitha Das’s Nivedhyam. Vinu excelled as an outspoken Brahmin youth, Mohana Krishnan, in Nivedhyam. He has played a very difficult role for a newcomer in Nivedhyam and won the hearts of audience with an excellent performance.
Bhama played an orphan’s role as Sathyabhama opposite Vinu Mohan in her maiden venture Nivedhyam. Unlike other Lohitha Das films like Joker and Arayannangalude Veedu, Nivedhyam was not a major hit at the box office. But Lohitha Das, one of the best scriptwriter of Malayalam cinema won the Film Critics Award for best script and best director. M Jayachandran also won the Best Music director Award for the film.
The failure of the films didn't harm the career of the lead stars Bhama and Vinu Mohan. They were flooded with offers and played equally important roles in Cycle directed by Johny Antony. But Bhama was the love interest of Vineeth Sreenivasan and Sandhya was the leading lady of Vinu Mohan in Cycle. Vinu Mohan delivered a mature performance in Cycle as a desperate cricketer Sanju, left out from the Renji team. He is working as a salesman in an electronic shop in a shopping centre for his livelihood. Bhama convincingly played the role of a receptionist as Annie in a travel agency. Cycle scripted by James Albert was a big hit at the box office.
Bhama and Vinu were seen together in Dileep starrer Colors directed by Raj Babu. But Roma was the ladylove of Vinu in the film. Vinu couldn’t repeat his success of Cycle in other films like Sultan. He has delivered a good performance as a medico in Sultan directed by Sree Prakash. The poor script of the film received lukewarm response from the audience.
Vinu Mohan paired opposite Honey Rose in the Malayalam version of musical love story Ajanatha directed by Rajppa Ravisangar. The film shot simultaneousoly in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The important roles were played by different south Indian actors in each language. The big budget film was scripted by the director himself.
Vinu Mohan, the grandson of Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair and the nephew of Sai Kumar will play the male lead in forthcoming Keralolsavam 2009. The film will be directed by Shankar, the romantic hero of the eighties. Vinoo Narayan will script the film from the basic story written by Shankar. Keralolsavam 2009 is produced under the banner of Grace Productions.
Although Vinu is getting offers to play lead roles, he didn't have a major hit in his credit after Cycle.
However, Bhama, who debuted along with Vinu in Nivedhyam has walked a long way in her career. She has acted in more than half-a-dozen films in her short span of less than two years career. She has paired opposite Manikuttan in her second film Hareendran Oru Nishkalangan directed by Vinayan and had the luck to pair opposite crowdpuller Prithviraj in One Way Ticket directed by Bipin Prabhakar.
Bhama was the love interest of popular young hero Jayasurya in recently released humorous family drama Ivar Vivahitharayal directed by miniscreen fame Saji Surendran. Bhama played the role of a Radio Jockey in the film as Kavya and was forced to marry a man of not her choice.
She will first time pair opposite Indrajith in forthcoming film Kanneerinu Madhuram directed by Raghunath Palery, he himself scripts the film. Produced by AV Govindankutty under the banner of Baba Creations, Kanneerinu Madhuram also features Jagathy and Nedumudi Venu in important roles.
Bhama recently made her Tamil debut in Ellam Avan Seyyal directed by Shaji Kailas. The film was a remake of Chinthamani Kola Case and Bhama enacted the role of Bhavana in the original. Bhama's performance as a homely student with her expressive eyes and charming looks made her a favourite among the Tamil audience.
Bhama also proved her vocal ability by sang the song ‘Kannil Kannil’ for the film Bike directed by debutante Prasad Prabhakar. The song was written by Kairali, a student of Ernamkulam Law College and tuned by popular composer Rahul Raj.
Bhama and Vinu Mohan was launched by the most reputed filmmaker Lohitha Das and both of them tasted success at the early beginning of their career. The success or failure will not affect the career of Bhama because of the lack of heroines in Malayalam films. But success is inevitable for the survival of a young hero like Vinu Mohan in a superstar dominated Malayalam film industry.
Will the last finding of Lohitha Das continue their success in forthcoming films?

Perfect punch: Babu Antony

Babu Antony, a Fifth Dan Black Belt in martial arts was in Sharjah for the inauguration of the 7th anniversary celebrations of Oasis Karate Centre. KK Moidu met him

Babu Antony is the only martial arts expert hero in Malayalam cinema to reach stardom by excelling in racy fight scenes. The six-foot plus actor also known as Bob Antony in Hindi films made his debut by playing a negative role in renowned late director Bharathan’s Malayalam film Chilambu. His monopoly in quick punches, fast kicks and fluid movements in action scenes has merited him roles in 160 films in different languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
His heroic performance as an angry young man built a huge fan following among the audience especially youngsters in movies like Bharanakoodam, Gandhari, Chantha, Dada, Kadal, Kambolam etc. His portrayal of negative characters with shoulder level hair and beard redefined the entire concept of a villain.
Babu Antony shone in action roles as a hero and villain, at the same time proved his mettle as an actor by performing a king’s role in Vaishali, an ex-terrorist role in Aparahnam and an impecunious in Sayaahnam. Few of his films were featured in national and international festivals and won recognitions. Babu Antony, who terrorised the audience in villain roles in several films and the audience rooted for this actor, the directors were wary to offer him lead roles. He lived for several years in United States, but did not lose touch with the Malayalam film industry. He acted in films like Highway Police, Vajram, Black etc in his expatriate life. Although he owns apartments in Bangalore and Ernamukulam, he settled in his hometown Ponkunnam near Kottayam. His four-year-old son is studying in Kanjirappally School.

Excerpts:-

How did you get interested in martial arts?
I was adventurous in my childhood and active in sports like high jump, long jump and athletics. First, I started learning Kalarippayattu from my neighbour and completed Meypayattu, Vadi (stick) and Vaalu (sword).
After watching Bruce Lee films, I got a strong desire to learn Karate, Kung Fu etc. I earned a black belt in Karate and pursued the training in martial arts under Solomon Isaac in Pune.

What attracted you to filmdom?
After completing my education, I moved to Pune and there I got the opportunity to watch world classics from Pune Film Institute. My friendship with regular visitors of the institute like Murali, Mohan, Raju Hirani and Michael attracted me to filmdom.

How did you get the chance to make your debut in a Bharathan film?
After completing my PG in HR Management from Pune University, I took a short break from the studies, sports and hard training of martial arts. That time few directors like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindhan and Bharathan were very famous. I met Bharathan and he gave me the chance to play the villain role in Chilmabu.

Did you get selection for the role in Chilambu because of your skills in martial arts?
Martial arts was the stepping-stone in my film career. But Bharathan later told, he has seen Lomapadan (King in Vaishali) in my walking style on the first visit. The visionary director knows very well that what an actor can do and where they will reach.
It is my luck, a prolific director like Bharathan has seen an important character in me for a classic movie like Vaishali.

Tell us about your entry into other language films?
After seeing the stills of Chilambu in Nana film Magazine, director Fazil offered me the role in Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal. The film was a huge success and remade into Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. I played the same role in all the five languages and that gave me opportunities in other languages.

Why did they choose you for the role in the remake of Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal?
It is my luck and they felt like that or may be they couldn’t find an alternative actor for the role.

You are rarely seen in movies for the last couple of years…
The music industry controlled the cinema for a short period and now satellite right is managing the industry. Director’s have no value and they are eighter depending on superstars or newcomers and ignoring the people in between them. Politics also affected the quality of cinema.

What roles you prefer to do, hero, villain or character role?
Hero’s roles are safe and preferred. But I am ready for doing villain and character roles, if my character has importance and respect for the seniority. But will not accept meaningless roles for a low remuneration.

Are your martial arts skills fully exploited in films?
What I have done in low budget films is with my own hands and legs and not even used bullets. A full-fledged action movie needs a big budget for chase scenes and nobody has made such a film with me as a hero.

According to you what is a good film?
A good film is a unity of minds and it should communicate with people. A good human being can only make a good film. It needs a totality in beginning, middle and end. I have watched world classics of good film makers and I came from the schools of Bharathan and Fazil, who knows how to handle a character.

What is your biggest achievement in films?
I haven’t lost myself. I am an ordinary man like what I was before. Acting is my job and I respect others and they also have their own space in the world. Our growth will not be a hindrance for others.

What are the projects you are currently working on?
I am playing the role of Ayyankali, the harijan leader from the State in historical film Yugapurushan. The multistarrer film based on the life of Sree Narayana Guru is directed by R Sukumaran.
I am featuring in a positive role in Gautham Menon’s Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya, where Silambarasan and Trisha plays the lead roles. I play the role of Dronar in Villalan and waiting for the release of KK Road.


You are seen in Tamil films after a long break…
Yes, I mainly played villain roles in Tamil films. Some offers came to me but I don’t want to act as a villain in films where the hero is responsible for everything. I am not interested in doing villain roles, which always deserves blows and assigned for raping the heroine. Although it is a movie, when a director tells me to beat a person, I ask him the reason and most of them don’t like that.

Do you practice martial arts even now? Any scope to exhibit your skills in forthcoming films?
I am a student of martial arts and still practicing and learning new techniques in martial arts for perfection and finishing. The role of Ayyankali in Yugapurushan has scope for Kalarippayattu.

Did you benefit from martial arts in life also?
Of course, it helped me to overcome difficult situations in life and make the mind and body strong and perfect.


Photographs: Kamal Kassim

Oasis Karate Centre celebrates 7th anniversary

KK Moidu
Actor Babu Antony, 5th Dan Black Belt holder, inaugurated the seventh anniversary celebrations of Oasis Karate Centre, Sharjah held at Al Ma’arifa School auditorium.
Shihan KK Ahmed, 5th Dan Belt, technical director and chief examiner of the Oasis Karate Centre, distributed the Black Belts and certificates to the winners.

The function started with the prayer and meditation by the students. Shihan KK Ahmed, in his welcome speech, praised the dedication and hard work of students.
Babu Antony said in his inaugural speech, “I got the chance to act in renowned director Bharathan’s film Chilambu 22 years ago, because of my special skills in martial arts. It was my stepping-stone in films.” He requested all the students to continue training in martial arts and use it only in dangerous situations.
KK Moideen Koya expressed his congratulations to the students and trainers in his felicitation speech. More than 200 karate students, their parents and martial arts fans were present at the occasion.
A karate demonstration by 50 karate students including the 10 new black belt holders, headed by Shihan KK Ahmed, showed the basic and fundamental techniques of martial arts like the method of punching, kicking, breaking tiles, defence with knife, sparring etc.
A mind-blowing magic show by Seraj Ummer was another highlight of the function.
Dik Bahadur Magar from Nepal was awarded the IIIrd Dan Black Belt and Indian nationals Mujeeb Rahman and Lijo Varghese were given the IInd Dan Black Belt. Pooja Nair, 14, and Aswathy Ann Mathew, 15, both from India, received their Black Belts.
Tanzanian national Lufe Labib Hassan, 11, Mohammed Basil from Palestine and Joseph Abraham from India were the youngest Black Belt holders in the team.
Teenage boys Akash Ravi and Kevyn Koshy Thomas from India were the other winners of Black Belts.
A new black belt holder Aswathy Ann Mathew from Kottayam said: “It is a happiest moment in my life and it was my dream come true. Although my parents do not practice martial arts, I got all the support from them and will continue my training as long as I can.”
The Oasis Karate centre started in 2002 is giving training for more than 300 students of 30 nationalities in karate, wushu, kubudo, yoga, etc. The students are trained by qualified masters under the supervision of Shihan KK Ahmed who has more than 25 years experience.