Reel Change: Arya-Naan Kadavul & Casanova

Tamil actor Arya makes his Malayalam film debut with Mohanlal in Casanova, directed by Roshan Andrews. KK Moidu writes
Roshan Andrews hopes to score a hat trick in the forthcoming film Casanova after the success of Udhayananu Thaaram and Notebook. The film will be scripted by Bobby and Sanjay, who penned the script for teenage love story Notebook.
Young Tamil hero Arya plays a pivotal role in the film, where superstar Mohanlal dons a Casanova's role. The big budget film will be produced by Confident Group. Lal is a businessman, who makes huge profits from the flower business based in Vienna. The protagonist believes that love can cure crime.
Casanova will be one of the costliest Malayalam films ever made and the estimated budget is 10 crores. Arya had enough luck to make his debut in a Malayalam film with a leading actor like Mohanlal.
This is not the first time a Tamil hero is trying his luck in Malayalam cinema. Young heroes like Jeeva and Bala earlier tasted success by playing important roles along with superstars like Mohanlal and Mammootty in Keerthichakra and Big B respectively. Jeeva disappeared from the Malayalam industry but Bala continued his career. His latest release Chempada is doing well at the box office.
Like Bala, Arya, one of the sought-after young heroes of the Tamil industry will not be a regular in Malayalam films, even after the success of Casanova.
Lakshmi Rai is the heroine of the film, Priyanka and five other super models will play important roles. The romantic thriller is an Onam release and most of the film is shot in foreign locations in Europe, mainly Vienna.
However, the top notch performance of Arya in recently released Tamil film Naan Kadavul won him praise and reached his career into new heights. The film directed by Bala not only sky rocketed the career of Arya but also put him in the big league of actors.
Naan Kadavul is the critically acclaimed director Bala's fourth film after Sethu, Pithamagan and Nanda. It is in the making for more than three years and the film is noticed by the novel theme and the innovative storyline, which has attracted the audience attention.
Arya played an entirely different role in the film, which portrays the life of Aghori, the long lost tribe of Sadhus. The ardent devotees live a challenging life against all odds of the real world. Powdering themselves with ashes and consuming drugs are a part of their rituals. The film also goes deep into the miserable life of beggars and mentally challenged people controlled by drug mafia.
Bala's previous films have been path breaking and haunted the audience. Superstar Vikram won the Best Actor National Award for his performance in Pithamagan directed by Bala and Nandha took Surya's career into greater heights.
Bala himself pens the script of Naan Kadavul and Jayamohan writes the dialogue. This is the first time someone else is writing the dialogue for his film and also some small character has been adapted from the novel Ezhaam Ulagam written by Jayamohan.
Pooja Umashankar, who made her debut along with Arya in Ullam Ketkumae is the heroine of the film. She plays a visually-impaired poor girl role as Amsavalli, who is forced to beg in the pilgrim centres. Her role in the film is very different from her earlier glamour roles and proved that she can easily handle all kinds of characters with equal ease.

Ace director Bala is making a big leap in the Tamil industry and has done enough homework to bring out details for the film. It is evident in the film showing Arya powdered with ashes, wandering in the crematory grounds. Naan Kadavul set in the backdrop of the temple town of Varanasi is the touching story of a father, who forsakes his little son for spiritual and astrological reasons. The boy reaches Kasi as a refugee and grows up as a Sadhu with dreadlocks and disorderly looks. But the father is shocked to see his son in such a state and decides to bring him back home.
The problems he encounters in Tamil Nadu after leaving Varanasi is the crux of the story.
Music maestro Ilayaraja tunes for the lyrics of Vaali. Among the six songs, five of them are penned by Vaali except Pitchai Paathiram, which has been penned by Ilayaraja himself. Uttam Singh scores the background music and Arthur Wilson is the cinematographer.
Arya was born on Dec.11, 1980 as Jamshad in Trikarippur, Kerala. After completing his schooling, he secured an engineering degree from Crescent Engineering College at Vandalur, Chennai under University of Madras. His passion for filming brought the young computer engineer to modelling.
Arya made his debut in late Jeeva's Ullam Ketkumae. The film was also the launching vehicle of Asin Thottumkal and Pooja Umashankar. It got delayed and the second film, Arinthum Ariyamalum, released earlier. But both the films were hits at the box office. He played a critically acclaimed role as Prakash Raj's son in Arinthum Ariyamalum. Arya won the Filmfare Best Debut Award South and Best New Male Face Award at the Filmfare Awards. The box office success of Oru Kalluriyin Kadhal made him a sought-after hero of the Tamil industry.
However, his low budget film Kalabha Kadhalan, directed by debutante Igore, was only an average hit at the box office. His next release Pattiyal, as a henchman Kosi, along with Bharath, was a money spinner. Pattiyal created collection records in B and C centres. His pairing opposite Pooja as an expert auto racer in Oram Po and a gun leader Burma in Vattaram were also hits at the box office. Oram Po was directed by India's first husband-wife duo Pushkar and Gayathri.
Arya had no release last year and recently completed Sarvam directed by Vishnu Vardhan. Arya-Vishnu Vardhan duo earlier created hits like Arindhum Ariyamalum and Pattiyal.
Trisha Krishnan is the love interest of Arya in Sarvam. Telugu actor JD Chakravarthy plays an antagonist role in the film, which was rejected by Arjun Sarja because of an image fear. Malayalam actor Indrajith plays a prominent role in the film shot in Chennai, Goa and Munnar. Yuvan Shankar Raja, who always rendered hit numbers for Vishnu's films, tunes music and Neerav is the cinematographer.
According to report Arya will play the lead in a period film Madarasa Patinam directed by Vijay of Kireedom and Poi Solla Porom fame. A foreigner will play the heroine role in the film set in the year of 1945. Other important roles of the film will be played by Nasser, VMC Haneefa and Bala Singh.
Arya, still under 30, has never tasted failure in his career has come upto the expectations of audience in his latest release Naan Kadavul. His performance and body language as a rough and tough Rudhran in is unique. His frightening looks and rustic performance, especially in the second half of the film, will never be forgotten by the audience.

Sohan Lal: Firmly in the Director's Seat

Young director Sohanlal is delighted by the overwhelming response to his maiden directorial venture Orkkuka Vallappozhum (Remember sometimes). The low-budget Malayalam film, with veteran actor Thilakan in the lead role, is bringing him laurels from all walks of life. There are more reasons for him to be happy, this is his first feature film and it has already placed him among well-known filmmakers in Kerala.

Sohan Lal

Moreover, the film has not only got rave reviews, but it also won the prestigious Atlas Film Critic Award for the director. Awards and appreciation are not new to him. He has won more than 15 awards earlier for his small-screen works. His teleserials Pedakam, Neermathalathinte Pookkal and other mini screen programmes like Sopanam, Anjali, Cinema Vicharana, etc. fetched several awards for him earlier.

Born in Thiruvananthapuram, he has a postgraduate degree in Web Designing and a degree in English Language and Literature from the prestigious University College, Thiruvananthapuram. He has been working with various television channels in Kerala. His initial years at Doordarshan gave him the opportunity to work with famed directors like Shyama Prasad. His live commentary for a programme called Veettilekkulla Vazhi (Road towards home) is still fresh in the minds of people. He has worked with most of the Malayalam channels like Asianet, Amrita, Indiavision, Jeevan etc.

Sohan Lal

His long experience with electronic media has made him technically perfect in his projects. While working with Indiavision he had the good fortune of working with the legendary littérateur and filmmaker MT Vasudevan Nair. Incidentally, MT is writing the preface for his book Orkkuka Vallappozhum, on which the film was made. A strong critic of present-day commercial potboilers, he always wanted to make good films and Orkkuka Vallappozhum proves his commitment.

Sohan Lal, who was in Dubai recently, talks to KK Moidu for Time Out on his film and other projects.

Here are some excerpts:

Tell us about your first feature film Orkkuka Vallappozhum?
Orkkuka Vallappozhum is a natural film, which tells the story of an old man’s journey into his past. This is the story of Sethumadhavan, a 75-year old expatriate played by Thilakan, who returns to his native land where he was born and brought up, after living out of the state for 60 years.

Rejith Menon and Shilpa Bala in Orkkuka Vallappozhum

How was the initial response to the film?
People gave it a positive response and I am very happy about the good reviews from the media. Orkkuka Vallappozhum is a fresh experience for the audience. I think people accepted the theme and the way it was presented before them.

Did the film achieve success at the box office?
Well, the film did not harm the producer because it was a low-budget venture. My close friend Vinu YS produced it and I can’t imagine any financial loss to him. Like the script of the film, I am aware of the expenses. It has already recovered its cost from satellite and audio CD rights.

How did you manage to get a producer for a film like this, which obviously lacks any commercial elements?
I was really lucky, my friend Vinu YS trusted me because of my long association with him. The film is not a colourful event with mind-blowing stunts, punch dialogues and glamorous dances but it has some commercial elements and its own chances of success at the box office.

Can you explain?
Late directors like Bharathan and Padmarajan had achieved great success at the box office by making good films with stories that touched the hearts of common people. They had the flavour of the soil of Kerala.
Many audience left theatres when some of the new directors started copying the format of the new Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. I am trying to bring back those audience who are eagerly waiting for good Malayalam films.

Are other language films also hits at the Kerala box office?
Many people are showing interest in other language films with highly charged action scenes and amazing foreign locations. They treat them as just time pass. But they actually long for a good film. That’s why my film made a good impression.
It’s unfortunate that some of our filmmakers are blindly following the format of other language commercial films.
The recent Tamil films have focused on the Tamil life and culture. Look at the recent films like Paruthiveeran, Anjathey and Subramaniapuram. They are super hits. Instead of focusing the camera on our life and culture, Malayalam films are copying other language films.
Orkkuka Vallappozhum is trying to change that trend.

Did you expect commercial success to the film without a crowd pulling hero and a glamorous heroine?
I was not serious about the box office success and audience reaction at the time of making the film.

Shilpa in a scene from Orkkuka Vallappozhum

Your award-winning teleserials Pedakam and Neermathalathinte Pookkal were based on the stories of Maupassant and Kamala Das, what about Orkkuka Vallappozhum?
The film was inspired by a poem with the same title by the great poet P Bhaskaran. But the film is entirely different from the poem and my attempt was to sincerely present it before the audience.

Why did you select Thilakan for the lead role?
My trust in the veteran actor and his great interest in the subject.

Thilakan and Shilpa in Orkkuka Vallappozhum

Did you utilise the maximum talent of Thilakan in the film?
Squeezing the maximum talent out of Thilakan was not my priority. He is a great actor and he can perform the character Sethumadhavan in various styles.
The character in my film is a soft-spoken person and needs only basic expressions. He is living in 2009 and the entire film happens in his mind. After living outside the state for six decades, he is returning to his native place and to an old bungalow there, where he spent his past, his childhood and teenage years.
He is totally shattered when he knows about the death of his childhood darling Paru. He decides to accept death by falling into a cave. His character has only few dialogues and he is talking his mind. The actor had lots of scope for performance.

Why did you choose a newcomer like Shilpa Bala, an expatriate girl as the heroine, instead of an established heroine for the crucial double role?

Shilpa Bala

Shilpa is a talented girl and she has done her part very well. The film is also a teenage love story and I can’t even imagine any compromise on my subject.
I know her for years and she anchored many popular programmes like Playstation on Middle East Television, Dubai, where I was working as a senior programme producer for two years.

Jagadheesh is playing an important role in the film. Is there any comedy element in a film with an emotional subject?
Jagadheesh is playing a pivotal role in the film as the talkative Kasi, the caretaker of the bungalow. Although he is not doing anything purposefully for humour, the audience will definitely get a chance to laugh after watching the genuine performance of the actor and the special treatment of the subject.

Jagatheesh and Shilpa in Orkkuka Vallappozhum

You haven’t assisted any film director and you are also not a film institute student. How did you manage to succeed in the highly competitive film world? The assistance of established and experienced technicians like cinematographer MG Radhakrishnan and Pandit Ramesh Narayan and my mini screen experience gave me the technical knowledge. I am a student of cinema and my tenure in mini screen was my study time. My childhood aim was to direct films and television opened my entry into filmdom.
If a director can view in his mind the first frame to the last frame of a cinema, then he can make films. I learned the grammar of cinema by reading books like Grammar of Cinema.
Communication is also very important and if a director can clearly communicate with the technicians and artistes, half of the work is done.

Tell us about your future projects?
Vinu YS is producing my next film under the banner of Gods Own Moviz and two other films with different producers are at the discussion level. One of them will be produced by a prestigious banner with a leading superstar. The other film is bilingual and a leading Bollywood actor will play an important role in the film.

Will the film with the superstar be a commercial entertainer?
It will have commercial elements. But I am interested in making value-based films — it will not be a colourful event for satisfying the mass audience.

But you have directed colourful events and stage shows earlier for television?
It’s true. I had done that for satisfying a larger audience on the spot with superstars like Mohanlal and the glamorous dances of Ramba, Simran and the songs of Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam. But my films will be entirely different, I promise.

Glamour girl returns: Anushka Shetty

Telugu leading lady Anushka Shetty returns to the Tamil film industry after a three-year hiatus, writes KK Moidu

Anushka made her Tamil film debut three years ago opposite R Madhavan in Rendu. The film, directed by Sundar C, was a moderate success at the box office.
She is now returning to the Tamil industry as the heroine of two popular young Tamil heroes, Karthi and Vijay, in forthcoming films Siruthai and Vettaikkaran respectively.
Anushka is the lady love of Karthik Shivakumar in Siruthai directed by Suraj, who has delivered hits like Thalainagaram, Marudhamalai etc. Yuvan Shankar Raja scores music for the film. Siruthai will be produced by Studio Green and distributed by Ayngaran International. The film is a remake of superhit Telugu film Vikramarkudu, where Anushka played the female lead opposite Ravi Teja.
Anushka plays one of the heroines in Ilayathalapathi Vijay's Vettaikkaran. Tamanna Bhatia will play the other heroine in the film. It is produced by AVM Balasubramanian and directed by Babu Sivan, an earlier assistant of Dharani. Her fans hope the forthcoming films with success guaranteed heroes will make her a recognised heroine in the Tamil industry.
Anushka, nicknamed Sweety Shetty, won the hearts of the Telugu audience with her beauty and talent. The box office success of her films opposite senior Telugu heroes like Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Ravi Teja etc. made her a darling of the industry.
She filled the glamour slot in commercial entertainers and had enough luck to play a double role in the recently released women oriented Telugu film Arundhati. Its success took Anushka's career to new heights and won appreciation from all corners.
Heroines like Anushka rarely get a chance to show their acting skills in the male dominated film industry. The leading ladies have nothing much to do in commercial entertainers except romance the hero and appear in a few song sequences.
Anushka's double role as Arundhati and Jejamma in Arundhati directed by Kodi Ramakrishna is not only a money spinner at the box office but also a new experience for the audience in technical perfection. The Hollywood standard of graphics by Rahul Nambiar in the film is a wonder and one of the major highlights of the film. There are plans to make the film, produced by M Shyama Prasad Reddy, in Tamil and Hindi languages.

Mangalore girl Anushka was born in the renowned Bellipady family as Maha Lakshmi. She is the only sister of Dr Sai Ramesh, a dentist and Gunarajan, a businessman. Anushka graduated from the famous Mount Carmel College in Computer Application (BCA), Bangalore University.
Anushka hails from a family of professionals but concentrated on the fitness world instead of choosing a career in the fast growing IT sector. She learned yoga from the renowned yoga guru Bharat Thakur and became a yoga trainer.
Anushka made her film debut as one of the heroines in the Nagarjuna starrer Super directed by Puri Jagannath. She performed the role of Sasha beautifully, who is madly in love with the unemployed hero Akhil, played by Nagarjuna. He doesn't have any romantic feelings for Sasha, his sister's friend, and treats her only as a friend.
Anushka not only paired opposite a senior hero like Nagarjuna in her debut film but also proved her vocal ability by singing a song Mila Mila. Music director Sandeep Chawta was nominated for the Filmfare Best Music Director Award and the songs were chart toppers for several weeks.
Although Anushka was a debutante in Super, she received a decent salary of Rs20 lacks as per report. But the success of her pairing opposite superstars in films like Vikramarkudu, Lakshyam, Arundhati etc. multiplied her payment five times in less than five years. She is one of the highest paid South Indian actresses.
Anushka won acclaim for her repeated pairing opposite Nagarjuna in Don written and directed by Raghava Lawrence. The film was dubbed into Malayalam as Bhai and in Hindi as Don No. 1. Raghava Lawrence himself choreographed the film and also made his debut as a music director.
It was the commercial success of Vikramarkudu that stamped her as a successful heroine of the Telugu industry. Her character Neeraja was the lady love of the hero Ravi Teja, who for the first time played a double role in the film as a petty thief and police officer. The film, directed by SS Rajamouli with music composed by MM Keeravani was also remade into Malayalam as Vikramathithya.

After the commercial success of Vikramarkudu, Anushka once again paired opposite Ravi Teja in Baladhoor, but couldn't repeat the success of Vikramarkudu. Her sexy, slimmer new look failed to attract the audience because of the film's poor direction, bad music, routine commercial formula and high expectations from the audience. Baladhoor is one of the biggest flops in Ravi Teja's career. The director and choreographer chose the unnecessary and unwanted exposure from the heroine to attract the audience.
Anushka's first time pairing opposite Gopi Chand as a college girl in Lakshyam, directed by debutante Srivas, was one of the biggest hits of 2007and the hero Gopi Chand's career. But the duo couldn't repeat their success in their next venture Souryam.
Anushka played a naughty college girl in the film. Her graceful performance as a bubbly college girl who teases the hero, and at the same time, a sensitive girl at the home, was highly appreciated. Cameraman J Siva Kumar made his debut as director in the film produced by Anand Prasad under Bhavya Creations banner. The commercial action-packed entertainer had all the ingredients one could expect from a Gopi Chand film.
Anushka played an ill-tempered businesswoman in the big budget romantic triangle Swagatam, directed by Dasaradh. Jagapathi Babu played the male lead in the film and Anushka's character Shailu finds a new perspective in life with the assistance of the hero and falls in love with him, who is a widower. Although the film won rave reviews, it was a commercial let down. Jagapathi Babu, the other heroine of the film Bhoomika and the director walked away with credits.
Anushka played a glamour role as one of the heroines in Okka Magaadu starring Balakrishna. She also rendered her voice for the song Ammatho with Naveen for the film.

Anushka as Sunitha won appreciation for her perfect pairing opposite victory Venkatesh as one of the heroines in the romantic comedy Chintakayala Ravi. Mamta Mohandas played the other heroine's role in the hilarious entertainer. The film directed by Yogesh of Oka Raju Oka Rani fame and the duo Vishal-Shekhar, who delivered mind-blowing numbers for the Bollywood hit Om Shanti Om, made their debut by composing music for half-a-dozen songs in the film. The major portion of the film has been shot in the US including New York and Washington DC.
Anushka will rub shoulders with Prabhas as the female lead in the forthcoming Telugu film Billa. The film is a remake of the Tamil superhit with the same title. She will play the role enacted by Nayantara with dazzling costumes and a two piece bikini in the original version. According to reports, she has agreed to appear in a two piece bikini for a whopping amount of one crore rupees. The film, produced by Gopikrishna Movies Pvt Ltd, has presented many blockbusters earlier. It will be directed by Meher Ramesh with tunes by Mani Sharma. Major portions of Billa will be shot in foreign locations like Malaysia, Korea, Dubai etc.

Will Anushka's forthcoming Tamil films with popular heroes like Vijay and Karthik bring her luck? Will the success of the films make her the most wanted heroine in the Tamil film industry? We'll have to wait and watch.

ASIANET FILM AWARDS 2009

MOHANLAL & GOPIKA WON THE BEST ACTOR & BEST ACTRESS AWARD.

Mohanlal-Best Actor

Gopika-Best Actress

Mohanlal and Gopika have won the Ujala-Asianet Film Award 2009 for their performance in Madambi and Veruthe Oru Bharya respectively.
Director of Veruthe Oru Bharya Akku Akbar won the award for the best director and Jayaram, who played the lead role, was adjudged the popular actor.

 Jayaram-Popular Actor

 

Twenty-Twenty directed by Joshy has been chosen the best film. Singer K.J. Yesudas has been selected for the special lifetime achievement award. The special award for patriotic film went to Kurukshetra, directed by Major Ravi. Jagathy Sreekumar won the special jury award for his various roles.
The other awards are: character artistes Innocent (Innathe Chintha Vishayam), Samvrutha Sunil (Minnaminnikoottam), villain Siddique (Madambi), comedian Salim Kumar (Annan Thambi), lyricist Gireesh Puthencherry (Madambi, song ‘Amma mazhakarinu…’), music director Vidyasagar (Mulla), playback singers M.G. Sreekumar (‘Kando kando kakkakuyile…’ Innathe Chintha Vishayam), Swetha Mohan (‘Kuyile kuyile…’ Novel and other films), child artiste (Baby Nivedita, Innathe Chintha Vishayam) cameraman M.J. Radhakrishnan (Adayalangal, Thirakatha), editor Renjan Abraham (Veruthe Oru Bharya, Mulla), best pair Jayasurya-Roma (Minnaminnikoottam, Shakespeare M.A. Malayalam), debut artistes Vineeth Sreenivasan (Cycle) Meera Nandan (Mulla).
The awards have been given to the films released last year. Artistic excellence and popularity were the yardsticks for selection. Nominations from the audience too were considered for selecting winners. The awards, comprising a purse and statuette, will be presented on January 17.

Festival fare: Villu, Padikkadhavan & Kadhalna Summa Illai

KK Moidu takes a look at three Tamil films Villu, Padikkadhavan and Kadhalna Summa Illai scheduled for release during the Pongal season
Pongal, which falls in the Tamil month Thai (Jan-Feb) is the most important Tamil festival. It is celebrated by the Tamil community all over the world with the hope the new harvest will be blessed.

However, the harvest festival Pongal is also a visual feast for Tamil cine lovers. Three new Tamil films Villu, Padikkadhavan and Kadhalna Summa Illai are scheduled for release during Pongal.

Although films like the Vijayakanth-starrer Engal Asan are ready for release, they are now delayed to avoid competition with biggies like Villu and Padikkadhavan.

Villu
Prabhu Deva teams up with Vijay in the rollicking entertainer Villu, after hitting bull's eye with the earlier superhit Pokkiri, released for Pongal in 2007. After winning the hearts of audience as a dancer, actor and choreographer, Prabhu Deva proved his mettle as a director in the blockbuster Pokkiri.

Prabhu Deva's latest directorial venture Villu was released in more than 400 screens worldwide on Jan. 12, two days before Pongal. This has made the celebration cheerful for die-hard fans of Ilayathalapathy.
The lead of the film, Vijay has always delivered mass entertainers with punch dialogues, defeating the baddies and by creating ripples of laughter. His latest Villu, an action-packed comedy film guarantees fun-filled moments with Vijay in the company of Vadivelu.
Vijay's love interest of the film is the highest paid South Indian actress Nayantara, who is pairing with Vijay for the first time in the youthful extravaganza.

The big budget stylish film is produced by Ayngaran Internationals and the music is tuned by Devi Sri Prasad. Raju Sundaram, Shobi, Asok Raj, Baba Bhaskar and Dinesh are the five choreographers of the film. The songs of the film, already topping the charts and Vijay's partnership with Prabhu Deva in the title song, will be a real Pongal feast for the fans.
Vijay plays an angry young man, Pugazh, who is taking revenge for the murder of his father.

Mass hero Vijay's appearance in dual roles as father and son are one of the pleasant surprises for the audience. Item girl Mumaith Khan and her sister Sabhia Khan dance with Vijay for a racy number Daddy Mummy and Kushboo features in Vijay's intro song He Rama...Hey Rama.
Cinematographer Ravi Varman's brilliance in mixing the colours to set the mood for every sequences will be delighted the audience and Kola Baskar edit the film. The 48th film of Vijay is shot at various countries has all the ingredients to satisfy Vijay fans. Villu, one of the costliest films in crowd-puller Vijay's career is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited film of this festive season.

Padikkadhavan
Dhanush hopes to repeat his previous success of Yaaredi Mohini with his latest action-filled entertainer Padikkadhavan releasing on Pongal day. The title of the film is inspired by Dhanush's father in law Rajinikanth's yesteryear hit Padikkadhavan and the fans of Dhanush are awaiting for an action filled and entertaining Pongal.
Padikkadhavan is directed by Suraj, who delivered big hit Marudhumalai recently. Padikkadhavan is made for satisfying the ordinary people with an overdose of comedy with the company of Vivek.

Dhanush plays the role of a youth, who is not good in academic and suffers insults from his educated family members. Dhanush, who paired opposite highly payed leading ladies like Nayantara and Shriya Saran in previous hits like Thiruvilayadal Aarambam and Yaaredi Nee Mohini, romances the latest Kollywood sensation Tamanna. She is an aeronautic engineering student in the film and Suman plays her father. Atul Kulkarni and Shayaji Shinde play important roles.
Mani Sharma scores music and the film produced by Vijaya Production has been taken over by Sun Pictures and have all the elements of success. The makers hopes the movie would set a new trend in terms of comedy because of the twists and turns in the story and the treatment.

Kadhalna Summa Illai Kadhalna Summa Illai is a remake of Telugu blockbuster Gamyam. Raj Television Networks maiden silver screen production venture directed by Illankannan features Ravi Krishna, Kamalinee Mukherjee and newcomer Sharavanaanand in the lead roles. Sharavanaanand enacted the same role in the original and had enough luck to make a Tamil debut in a film, which was a hit at Telugu box office. Young director Illankannan has made the necessary changes in the script according to the taste of Tamil audience.
Kadhalna Summa Illai, revolves around three main characters and the film had enough thrills and spills in it. The two youths in the film have different approach on life and are opposite to each other.


Ravi Krishna plays a different role in the film as a easy go lucky youngster, who is never serious about anything in his life. One of the main highlight of the film is a 'thiruvizha' song pictured in a lavish manner. It features Ravikrishna and Tejashree and a huge set was raised in Prasad Studios for the shooting of the song sequence.
Vidyasagar, Anil and Mani Sharma scores music for the film and Vincent, an earlier assistant of PC Sreeram is the cinematographer. Nasser, Illavarsu and Crazy Mohan are the other artistes in the film.
Although Vijay is the most favourite among the two dozen young Tamil heroes, will the duo Vijay-Prabhu Deva repeat their earlier success of Pokkiri in latest Villu with a winning formula? Will Dhanush's commercial entertainer with a promising heroine Tamanna repeat the success of his father-in-law Rajinikanth's earlier hit with the same title? Will Kadhalna Summa Illai, a remake of super hit Telugu film Gamyam repeat the box office victory in Tamil?

Looking back with pride: Mammootty & Mohanlal

KK Moidu looks at the career graph of Mammootty and Mohanlal and their dominance at the box office

At the end of 2008, front line Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal had reason to be happy — they remained in the top slot. Their box office successes with super hit films and success guaranteed projects in their hands show their strong presence in the industry.

Mammootty
He started 2008 with the hit film Roudram by playing a cop for the 25th time in his career. His double role in Anwar Rasheed's superhit Annan Thampi was one of the biggest superhits of the year. Other films of Mammootty like Parunthu and Maya Bazaar didn't do well at the box office. But the actor, who started the year by playing a cop ended it by shining in a lawyer's role in the magnum opus Twenty 20.

Compared to the seven releases in 2007, Mammootty had only five films last year including Twenty 20. In 2007 the actor had two offbeat films like Ore Kadal and Kaiyoppu, which has screened in various film festivals and won few awards. But this year the actor didn't have an art film.
The biggest achievement of the actor last year is not the released films, but his completed projects like Pazhassi Raja and Kuttishranku. The epic movie Pazhassi Raja, made on a big budget, reunites the literary genius MT Vasudevan Nair and Mammootty. The film, directed by Hariharan, also stars senior Tamil hero Sarath Kumar and veteran Ilayaraja scores music.
Like Pazhassi Raja, Mammootty is playing a rare role in Kuttishranku directed by National Award winning director Shaji N Karun. Both the movies have a chance of benefiting him by winning accolades at the national and international levels.
Mammootty has already completed the shooting of few commercial entertainers and the first release of 2009 will be Love in Bangkok directed by Rafi-Mecartin. Telugu heroine Navneet Kaur is making her Malayalam debut as his love interest.
His bilingual film Vandemataram titled in Tamil as Aruvadai has only few scenes left for completion. Tamil action hero Arjun plays an important role in the film. Mammootty romances Sneha and their pairing in Thuruppugulan was a hit at the box office.
According to reports, three times national award winners Mammootty and Kamal Hassan are expected to team up in a forthcoming film in different South Indian languages. The film will be a remake of Bollywood offbeat hit A Wednesday. If Kamal succeeds in buying the rights of the Hindi movie, he himself will act in the role of Naseerudheen Shah and Mammootty will once again fit the cops cap as a police officer, which was enacted by Anupam Kher in the original.
Mammootty will play the lead in director Jayaraj's forthcoming film scripted by Renjith. The ace director's earlier movie Johny Walker with Mammootty in the lead, released one-and-a-half decades earlier, was also scripted by Renjith.
In the forthcoming film Thaappana, which means an elephant used to train wild elephants, Mammootty plays the proud owner of a famous elephant. The film will be the next directorial venture of Akku Akbar, after his runaway hit Veruthe Oru Bharya. It will also feature the elephant owned by actor Jayaram featured earlier in Rappakal.
Mammootty dons the lead in another success guaranteed film of the newly formed ABS Combines owned by director Shafi, script writer Benny P Nayarambalam and production controller Anto Joseph. Shafi and Benny are known for giving catchy and funny titles to their films and have come up with another interesting title — Mallanum Madhevanum for the forthcoming film. ABS Combines' maiden venture Lollypop, released last Christmas, is running successfully in theatres.
The commercial success of Annan Thampi, Roudram and Twenty 20 has helped him to pass the year 2008 without a hitch in his career. His forthcoming films are not only capable of ringing the cash registers at the box office but also have the potential of winning national and international recognition. The fifty plus actor will continue his domination as a leading superstar of the Malayalam industry at least for another couple of years.

Mohanlal
Compared to the half-a-dozen films of 2007, Mohanlal played leads in eight films in 2008. They are College Kumaran, Innathe Chinthavishayam, Pakal Nakshathrangal, Madambi, Aakashagopuram, Kurukshetra, Mizhikal Sakshi and Twenty 20. He won appreciation with a noteworthy performance as a larger-than-life character Devan aka Devaraja Pratapa Varma in Amma's multi-starrer Twenty 20. He succeeded in satisfying his fans by his common numbers like folding up his dhothi, twirling his moustache, delivering punchlines along with a challenging performance with his screen rival Mammootty in the film.


Mohanlal had two super hit films, Madambi and Innathe Chinthavishayam, under his belt last year. He fetched the first hit of last year with the Vishu release Innathe Chinthavishayam directed by Sathyan Anthikad. His screen rival Mammootty's Annan Thampi was also released in the same season.

His biggest disaster of the year was College Kumaran which unfortunately failed to attract even his die hard fans. Another despair of the actor last year was the weak box office performance of the big budget war film Kurukshetra directed by Major Ravi. The movie was expected to perform well at the box office like their previous war film Keerthichakra.
Mohanlal's noteworthy performances in offbeat films like Aakashagopuram as Albert Samson, director Sidharthan in Pakal Nakshathrangal and another modest role in Mizhikal Saakshy will be selected for screening in film festivals.
Mohanlal satisfied his fans and art house cinema lovers by acting in commercial and off beat films last year.
His fans are waiting for the release of his film of the year, Red Chilies, directed by Shaji Kailas. The thriller was expected to be released last Christmas and tells the story of an FM Station and its leading RJ's.
Mohanlal also completed the shooting of another commercial film Bhagawan directed by youngster Prashanth Mambully. He is playing the role of a gynaecologist, Dr Balagopal, in the film. The film produced under the banner of Anaswara Film is planned as a Republic Day release.
Mohanlal will play an underworld don in the forthcoming film Sagar Alias Jacky directed by Amal Neerad. Neerad's maiden venture Big B, featuring Mammootty, has been criticised for copying scenes from Hollywood films but won appreciation for its technical perfection.
Sagar Alias Jacky will hit the screen in March. The film is a sequel of an earlier superhit Irupatham Noottandu, which made Mohanlal a superstar two decades ago.
His character as Sagar Alias Jacky from the film Irupatham Noottandu will be modified for the taste of the new generation audience. Mohanlal will appear in stylish attire and will tour in expensive vehicles like Ferrari with his bodyguards. The big budget film is pictured in foreign locations like Dubai. The film is scripted by SN Swamy, who penned the script for the original. The stylish flick Sagar Alias Jacky is cinematographed by the director Amal Neerad himself.
Mohanlal's Onam release of this year is titled Alexander The Great. The film will be directed by Murali Nagavally, an old friend, and is not a historical on the great emperor. Alexander The Great planned to be shot at Mumbai and Dubai will be scripted by C Balachandran. The film will be produced by VB Menon under his home banner Anugraha Cine Arts.
Mohanlal will play the lead in two films directed by veteran Joshy. The first movie will be scripted by AK Sajan and other by Sibi K Thomas-Udhay Krishna.
This year, Mohanlal will team up with Blessy in a forthcoming film produced by Raju Malyath. Mohanlal-Blessy partnership has earlier created Thanmathra, which won accolades and a best actor State Award for Mohanlal.
According to reports, 75 per cent of films released last year flopped at the box office. Among the five dozen films released in 2008, only five films like Twenty 20, Annan Thampi, Madambi, Innathe Chinthavishayam and Veruthe Oru Bharya were superhits. Half-a-dozen films like Cycle, Crazy Gopalan, Lollypop, Roudram and Shakespeare MA Malayalam managed to become hits. Thirakatha, Kurukshetra, Malabar Wedding and Kabadi Kabadi did not harm the makers and all the other movies were losers at the box office.
The films released in the first quarter of the year like Of The People, Novel etc. bombed at the box office. But Cycle released in the first month of last year was a surprise hit. Vineeth Sreenivasan made his acting debut as a hero in the film.
Jayaram, who was going through a lean patch in his career, made a comeback with Veruthe Oru Bharya — one of the biggest superhits of the year.
Dileep also turned lucky at the end of the year by delivering the hit Crazy Gopalan directed by Deepu Karunakaran. His other films with reputed directors like Blessy (Calcutta News) and Lal Jose (Mulla) drowned at the box office.

Holiday attraction: Aakashagopuram

By KK Moidu

Aakashagopuram, a highly acclaimed Malayalam film that was shot entirely in the UK, has been released on DVD







In time for the holiday season, fans of Malayalam cinema are treated to the latest offering featuring the superstar, Mohanlal. The DVD of the Mohanlal-starrer Aakashagopuram, a highly acclaimed Malayalam film, was launched last week by Medient & Moser Baer at London Suites Hotel, Dubai.
According to the producers, Aakashagopuram is the costliest Malayalam movie ever made, and they hope the film will change the face of Malayalam cinema. The film is an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen classic The Master Builder and aimed at the expatriate Malayalee audience mainly in Europe and America.
Present at the event were the male lead of the film Mohanlal, director KP Kumaran, Medient CEO and producer Manu S Kumaran, Moser Baer CEO G Dhananjeyan, film maker Sudhir Mishra and Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh.
Moser Baer CEO Dhananjeyan said, "We are very proud to present the home video of a critically acclaimed Malayalam film of Mohanlal and it is chosen for screening in many film festivals within a short period." He added the home videos of the film with English subtitles are available at affordable prices in the stores across the globe. They also have plans to bring the home videos of more Malayalam films.

Top ranking Malayalam hero Mohanlal plays the lead role as Albert Samson, a middle-aged architect. He sports an all-new look of stylish shoulder length hair and the popular French beard (bulgan). The film delves deep into the life of Albert’s single-minded focus on his job and the problems that creates in his married life. Shwetha Menon as Alice plays his wife in the film.
Late Bharath Gopi acted in the role of Abraham Thomas, the former employer of Albert and whom he helped to reach the top. Thomas wants his son Alex (Manoj K Jayan) who is working with Albert to have more freedom in the company. Albert fears that the growth of the younger generation of architects will be a setback to his career. He does not allow Alex to design new projects independently. He also does not allow him to leave the firm. Albert also fears that he is losing his creative powers. Then a cheerful teenager Hilda Varghese, who has idolised Albert a decade ago in the early stages of his career, arrives in his stressful life with a helping hand. Debutante Nithya plays Hilda Varghese.

Other prominent artistes of the film are Sreenivasan and Geethu Mohandas.
National award winning director KP Kumaran, who is known for his deep commitment to female empowerment through his films, paints an intriguing portrait of one man’s struggle for success in the film. Santosh Thundiyil is the cinematographer and Ajith Kumar edits the film.
Aakashagopuram is entirely shot in the United Kingdom, with an international crew including Emmy Award winner John Altman, who composed music for Titanic, Shall We Dance, Golden Eye, Bhaji On The Beach etc. The film also brings together the best talents from UK and Hollywood for visual effects of John Harvey/Jonathan Russler (28 Weeks Later and Kingdom of Heaven) and re-recording mixing of Robert Farr & Mathew Gough (Star Wars: Episode II & III, Gangs of New York etc).

Aakashagopuram is produced by Tutu J Sharma, Taizoon F Khorakiwala and Manu S Kumaran under the banner of Medient and Tarlac.