Prasanna to debut in Malayalam

Tamil actor Prasanna, a very fine actor is debuting in Malayalam with Akku Akbar in Dileep's untitled new film which has Indrajith and Kavya Madhavan in supporting roles.

Prasanna impressed in critically acclaimed films like Anjaathey, Achamundu Achamundu and a few others.

The actor, who had lived for some time in Kerala, can speak fluently in Malayalam.

Prasanna was impressed with Aku Akbar's narration and has a very powerful role in the film for which shooting started last week in Chennai.

He was to do Lucky Jokers,  a Malayalam film for Tamil production house Aascar Films, but backed out at the last minute

Maappillai - Review

No beating around the bush. Mappillai, as promised, is a mass masala entertainer that makes no bones, no pretences and has a distinctly comic-book feel to it. It is exaggerated and formulaic, but relies squarely on the charm of its leading man to pull off its over-the-top tone.



Saravanan (Dhanush) is introduced as a Mr Nice guy who is upright and god fearing. He meets Gayathri (Hansika) the only daughter of Rajeshwari (Manisha Koirala) a rich arrogant business tycoon. When she comes to know about Gayathri’s affair with Saravanan, she immediately arranges for their marriage as she wants a docile, henpecked husband for her daughter!

But just before the wedding, Rajeshwari is in for a shock as she comes to know that Saravanan has another face and is a terror in his area. How Saravanan marries Gayathri and tries hard to win over Rajeshwari forms the rest of the predictable story. Will he succeed in his attempt and how he goes about it, forms the thrilling moments.

Mappillai benefits enormously from its two core strengths – Dhanush’s scorching screen presence and Manisha Koirala’s performance. Dhanush is consistently watchable and the film is a showcase not so much for his acting, but for his mass image and infectious enthusiasm. Vivek in his lengthy comic role is irritating with his funny accent, make-up and hair-style. The gags are downright silly and he seems to be taking the audience for granted.

Hansika handles her role with confidence, has a smoldering presence, and is never lost even in scenes in which she has nothing to do. Music by Mani Sharma is average with Aaru Padai... and Ready Ready Ya.. being the pick of the lot.

On the whole, Mappillai is a crowd-pleaser that knows exactly who its audience is. For die-hard fans of Dhanush, this old-fashioned entertainer is a treat and delivers enough entertainment for your buck


Rating : 3/5

Vaanam on Apr 29

Silambarasan's eagerly awaited Vaanamwritten and directed by Krish and produced by VTV Productions and Magic Box  is getting ready for release once it gets censored on Monday (Apr 18).
Vaanam songs tuned by Yuvan Shankar Raja are already a hit, which will help the film to get a new reach.

A remake of Krish's own Telugu Vedam, the film will feature an ensemble cast, including Silambarasan, Bharath, Anushka Shetty, Prakash Raj, Soniya and Saranya.
The film is marketed by Cloud Nine Movies Dhayanidhi Alagiri and is now slated for a big release on April 29.

It is slotted as one of summer 2011's big releases, and is likely to get a clean run and benefit from the holiday season.

Yuvan's Avan Ivan music leaked!

The music of Yuvan Shankar Raja's Bala directed Avan-Ivan, one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year, has been leaked on the net.

The audio of the film which is being marketed by Sony Music is to be officially launched on April 18.

Yuvan Shankar Raja has tweeted:"Sony says they send the masters to overseas few days before and should have leaked from there! But I'm upset with this. Piracy is killing.  I know Avan Ivan will reach where it has to, I'm not worried about that but this is wrong!"

Remember noted director Bala and Yuvan are coming together after many years.

The combo's last film was the Suriya-Laila Nanda, which had soul stirring music.

Now a lot is expected from Avan Ivan album, where Yuvan has tried out something  different.

Yuvan in an interview has said that it's "hard to satisfy Bala sir with tunes but he is happy with the output for Avan Ivan" . Let's hope the album rocks.

Dhanush and Ash in Mohali

The D-day is here, the big semi-final clash in the world cup between arch rivals India and Pakistan will be held today at Mohali. 

The breaking news is that Kollywood will be represented by its Mappillai  Dhanush and his wife Aishwarya at cricket's biggest match of the decade.
Dhanush and Aishwarya managed to get two tickets for this all important match.

They left Chennai on Tuesday evening for New Delhi, where they will be staying for the night. Early in the morning they will be driving down to Mohali, as they could not get any room in Chandigarh.

Speaking to sify.com Dhanush said: "Actually I'm more of a Tennis fan, but this match is going to be historic and I'm very excited to watch it with Aishu who is a crazy cricket fan."

Aishwarya added: "As the saying goes cricket is a religion and Sachin is the God. All my prayers are with team India, it is going to be Sachin all the way. It is once in a lifetime opportunity to watch a World Cup clash between India and Pakistan and that too in Mohali."

Dhanush's 'Maappillai' getting ready for release

Kalanidhi Maran will be presenting his next entertainer 'Maappillai', under his banner Sun Pictures. As for now, the crew is busy in the post production works and the film is likely to be released in a couple of weeks.

While speaking about the film, director Suraaj said, "I have only taken the crux of the Rajni starrer 'Maappillai' and have modified this film to suit the present trend. It's all about the ego clashes between the mother-in-law and her son-in-law. Dhanush plays 'Saravanan', whose mischief and romance scenes are very bubbly. Hansika Motwani is the heroine. Ashish Vidyarthi does the villain perfectly. Vivek is acting as 'Child Chinna', whose ambition is to somehow pass the 10th examination. How he tries to do this has been narrated in a very funny way. Apart from this, I should say about Mani Sharma. He has composed five songs and each one will be of a different genre. We have shot a song in a festival set erected at the cost of Rs 1 Crore. Satish, of 'Peranmai' fame has handled the camera. After this film, Dhanush will become the son-in-law of the whole Tamil Nadu." 

Hollywood stunt master for Vijay

For the first time, a Hollywood stunt master is working with actor Vijay in his upcoming flick 'Velaayudham'. After the super hit 'Kaavalan', 'Ilaya thalapathy' Vijay now has a bunch of films in his hands including 'Velaayudham' with Jayam Raja, 'Nanban' with Shankar and 'Pagalavan' with Seeman.

Interestingly, 'Velaayudham' is the 52nd film for Vijay. The film directed by Jayam Raja and produced by Auscar Ravichandran, has Genelia and Hansika Motwani in the lead. Saranya Mohan is donning the role of Vijay's sister in the film. Moreover, this is an action film filled with humor and Vijay Anthony composed some memorable tunes. At this moment, the stunt sequences in the film have been orchestrated by Hollywood stunt master Tom Delmar. The film is likely to hit the screens on Vijay's birthday. 

Chikku Bukku - Review

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CHIKKU BUKKU - REVIEW


Debutant director Manikandan has remixed his mentor Jeeva’s success formula of filmmaking.


He has taken the basic thread from Bollywood rom-com’s, mixed it with exotic locations, eye catching picture postcard shots, stylishly shot songs, trendy costumes along with beautiful people.


The film opens in Karaikudi of 1985 and then cuts to London of 2010. Arjun (Arya) is a popular DJ who likes chasing skirts and updating his Facebook profile.


He lives with his grandmother, who asks him to go back to his home town in Karaikudi and reclaim his ancestral mansion, which is being dismantled by his relatives who have pledged it to a local moneylender.


Anu (Shriya) is a modern, happy go-lucky girl MBA student who is going back to her family in Madurai. Arjun and Anu meet at Bangalore airport, after their onward flight to Madurai gets cancelled. They pretend to be newly married couple so that they can travel on a cancelled reserved railway ticket to Madurai.


Meanwhile, Arjun stumbles on an old diary written by his father, which has been kept in his bag by his grandmother. The diary reveals his father Sekhar’s (Arya) romantic past in Karaikudi, when he fell madly in love with Meenal (Preetika), daughter of a school principal. Sekhar’s family was opposed to their love as Meenal was from a different caste.


The film then narrates both romances side by side using a very interesting device by casting Arya as father and son. The narrative inevitably flips back and forth between son Arya’s blooming romance with Shriya and father Arya’s deep rooted love for Preetika.


Ten minutes into the film and you know that you are watching a Tamil cocktail of Bollywood’s most successful romance king Imtiaz Ali’s-Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal! It is watchable in parts, but moves like a slow passenger train. We have some poignant moments interrupted by forced comedy of Santhanam and co thrust into the narration making it irksome. There are some good scenes but unfortunately moments like these are few and far between.


Arya has slowly but surely turning into a dependable star as he is improving with each film particularly on his dialogue delivery and dancing. As both Sekhar and the charming Arjun he is consistently watchable. Shriya looks cute and fits into the role of chatter-box Anu to a T. However, it is debutant Preetika who is the surprise packet and she has a scorching screen presence. She is promising and knows how to use her eyes and body language to her advantage.


The film, despite its slow pace has great chemistry and mad cap moments.


(SIFY)

Kanimozhi - Review

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Kanimozhi - Review (Sify)


Kanimozhi has tremendous title value, especially in the current political scenario. The film is basically a love story with an overdose of emotions, and yes, the characters have handled the scenes quite skillfully.

Rajesh (Jai) is an average middle class guy, his mothers pet, darling of his friends and added to that he takes everything in life in a positive manner. He has a fetish for writing diary and most of time; he takes a different route by scribing things that go wrong in his day-to-day life by giving it a happy ending.

He is smitten by a beautiful girl (Shazahn) (whose name he doesn’t know till the end) and starts believing that she likes him the same manner in which he does. After a series of incidents and scenes stitched together, he decides to express his love to her but what happens? This is the twist and what happens to our hero and how takes this forms the story.

Debutant Sripathy Rangasamy directs this wafer-thin-story with an easy hand, allowing the actors enough room to interpret their characters, but it's the writing here that's mundane. Most scenes lack the energy that was required to elevate this film into a different level, that it was intended to be. What you get is a promising but sadly tiresome film that feels too long even though it's less than two hours (115 minutes) in running time.

On the downside, the other-wise interesting premise is presented in an amateurish manner with hardly any cinematic touches. There are more problems in the film's second half but the climax makes up for it as the hero’s positive attitude in life comes across in a cute manner and you leave the theatre with a smile on your face.

Of the cast, Jai who is there is every frame of the film is endearingly likable and has come out with a natural performance, while the same cannot be said about Shazahn. She looks pretty and has been photographed well but could have invested more energy and emotion to her character as she has the same expression throughout.

Swathi of Subramaniapuram fame who comes in just one scene in the climax scores. The supporting cast mostly newcomers has all done their best. Music by Sathish Chakravarthy are just about ok but come as speed breakers.

Few filmmakers stick their necks out to tell difficult and different stories in these days of Made in Madurai films and mindless mass entertainers. For their intentions alone, the makers of Kanimozhi deserve a thumbs-up.

Kanimozhi - Review (OneIndia)

Considering that it was named Kanimozhi, many were under the impression that the film would have some relation to today’s political condition in Tamil Nadu. Fortunately or unfortunately, it does not. On the contrary, it is an age old love story with an overdose of philosophical twists. Both the screenplay and the story of the Tamil flick has failed to impress. But we must say that Sripathy Rangasamy had done a good job considering that this is his debut venture. At least, he has handled the lead characters well giving them individual spaces, albeit very few, to showcase their acting skills, but the actors refuse to make use of it to deliver a very lacklustring performance.

The story centers on a middle class boy Rajesh (played by Jai), who falls in love with a girl (played by Shazahn Padamsee). The strange thing is he never makes an attempt to know the name of his love interest till the end of the film! However, this boy believes that everything in life delivers positive results and hence the girl loves him too. It is when he decides to express his love that everything in his life changes. Will it change for good or for bad is something that you will have to visit theaters to know!

Even in this extremely poor storyline, Jai puts up an average performance as Rajesh. But lead actress Shahzahn Padamsee is an utter disappointment. She manages to look good but puts on only a single expression throughout the movie. The only good part of Kanimozhi is its running time. With less than two hours of screen time, it means less torture for viewers of the Tamil flick.

Nandalala - Review

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Nandalala - Review (MSN)

Mysskin's 'Nandalala', which has finally hit the screens long after it had been completed, has come out as a movie with artistic features without losing the popular elements.

Though the accusations that he has 'adapted' the theme of Japanese film 'Kikujiro' are quite reasonable, there is no denying the fact that Mysskin has proved yet again that he is a good filmmaker. He has the talent to transfer the emotions on screen across to the audiences - which is something unique.

'Nandalala' is all about two people who are in search of their mothers. Destiny puts them together. They travel through several places to reach their respective destinations.

The journey by Bhaskar (Mysskin), who is mentally disturbed, and Akhilesh (Ashwath Ram), a schoolboy, has been told in a gripping manner.

Their journey turns out to be a revealing experience that changes their lives for the better. Both walk around without knowing the harshness and striking realities of the world around them.

Battered and bruised by many, they also meet some good people who help them a lot. The travel reveals the greatness of human life. Many times hostile people turn out to be good after realising the real position of both of them. Their innocence, helplessness and affection change others too. The scene that shows a physically handicapped person moves the audience. Even the climax is quite emotional and heartening.

Cinematographer Mahesh has done a marvellous work. The visuals are quite amazing. The way he has captured the landscape of Tamil Nadu is excellent.

Ashwath Ram, Mysskin and Snigdha have done their parts very well. Their performances lift the film to another level.

Mysskin, who is known for shaping even the small characters well, has done it again. The characters of the tender coconut seller, granny, maid, policeman, lorry driver and ice cream seller are pleasant to watch. The dialogues are realistic and poignant.

On the flipside, the fact that Mysskin has got inspired from 'Kikujiro' does cast a shadow on the merits of the filmmaker.

Though he has deftly adapted the original to fit into the Tamil milieu, the repetition of the characters like the bald two-member biker gang guys, the farmer and the lorry driver from Kikujiro seems to be too much to digest.

Ilaiyaraaja's music is a huge plus point to the movie. His background score adds immense value to it. The sequence when Mysskin meets his mother and the lullaby that Ilaiyaraaja sings in the background would bring tears to anybody's eyes.

Despite lacking originality, 'Nandalala' works in a big way with its stunning visuals, music, script and performances.

Nandalala - Review (Sify)

Dark and disturbing has been the leitmotif of director Mysskin’s cinema. In his latest Nandalala, he hasn’t changed his style or characterization except that he himself plays the protagonist.

Mysskin has come out with another heart wrenching story. He tries to create a hero out of a mentally challenged person and an 8 year old school boy, who he befriends on a road trip as both of them are in search of their respective mothers.


The film works in bits and pieces, as the pace is very slow and not even. The running time is 2 hours and 5 minutes with the first half dragging on for 80 minutes and post interval it is just 45 minutes. In a nutshell the film is a road trip of two unlikely buddies who bond and become inseparable in their quest for motherly love.


The premise for the story is interesting as a lonely boy Akhilesh (Aswath Ram) living with his grand mother, embarks on a journey in search of his mysterious mother armed with her photo and a map .Early in his exploratory trip he comes across a mentally challenged person (Mysskin), who joins him on the trip.


They journey across the state bumping into various kinds of people and situations, which bring out the different facets of human behavior. Along the way, a commercial sex worker (Snigdha) joins them. Finally they realize the ugly truths, which they should never have gone looking for and realistically withdraw into their shell.


The plus point of the film is Ilayaraja’s outstanding melodies and background score, it is soothing and in harmony with the theme of the film. ‘Melle Oorundhu..’ sung by the maestro himself is the pick of the lot. Another major highlight is Mahesh Muthuswamy’s camera, which is eye-catching and makes Pollachi and surrounding locations look better and greener than English country side. Mysskin for a first timer is ok, though he speaks like the way Kuruvi character spoke in Anjathey. The boy Aswath Ram is impressive in his first outing.


Now coming to the big question- Was Mysskin inspired from the Japanese Kitano Takeshi film Kikujiru ? The answer is a loud and clear “Yes”. He has taken the basic framework of the Japanese film reworked it to suit local nativity with loads of human emotions that work with our audiences.


The over the top characters that they meet during their journey like the bald two member biker gang guys, the farmer, the lorry driver were there inKikujiro! There are too many scenes in the first half which are unbelievable like cop not suspecting a boy in school uniform travelling with an insane man. However the scene of Mysskin bashing the beer bottle on the head of the teaser boys in their yellow car is hilarious.


On the whole if you are the art house type who likes films that explores the realms of anguish and despair, Nandalala is worth a look. If you are looking for another Anjathey, you will be disappointed. So make your own choice.

Premiere Show of Kanimozhi:Stills

Celebrities were in for a surprise at the premiere of the Jai-Shazahn Padamsee starrer Kanimozhi, where all of them were greeted with shiny, glitteriing stars. 

Actor Jai, Sona and Sripathy Rangasamy were the early birds, who played perfect hosts, greeting one and all. 

As the film started rolling, the auditorium was filled with shrieks and whistles for the actors. Venkat Prabhu surprised everyone as he chose a seat away from the celebrities and was spotted whistling when ever Jai and Vijay Vasanth came on screen.

Manmadhan Ambu audio launch on TV

Vijay TV is all set to telecast Manmadhan Ambu audio launch held on November 20 in Singapore.  This grand function was a an extravagant three day affair as the entire cast began their journey from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on board the luxury cruise liner Superstar Virgo and headed to Singapore. The exclusive event of the Manmadhan Ambu audio launch will be telecast on Vijay TV on Sunday, December 5 at 11am.  It was an extravagant audio launch at Max Pavilion, Signapore to an audience of over 7000. The event commenced by the performances of Vijay TV's very own Super Singer Juniors & Jodi No.1 contestants along with the popular playback singers Mano & Chitra. The event featured performances by the music director of the movie Devi Sri Prasad along with singers Suchitra, Sagar & Andrea. And for the first time ever in an audio launch of the movie, the stars came forward to give extraordinary performances that thrilled the audiences. Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan sang his favorite number from the movie “Neelavanam”. This was Kamal Haasan's first performance in Singapore after a gap of more than 20 years. Apart from this phenomenal performance, Trisha joined Kamal Haasan on stage to perform an act from the movie; which was a song in poetry form which was penned by the man himself. Director K.S. Ravikumar, Madhavan, Sangeetha, the producer, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Gauthami and Ramesh Aravind were also part of the grand audio launch function in  Singapore.