Chinmayi elated after winning award for 'Shivaji'

Chinmayi, who won the Tamil Nadu Government award for the best female playback singer for music chart-buster 'Sahana' in Rajinikanth-starrer 'Shivaji' says she feels "blessed" to have worked with Rahman on her award-winning song.

The singer, who is a multi-tasker with diverse interests in singing, dubbing, hosting TV shows and running her own company and, of late, learning to play the 'sarangi' (stringed musical instrument), is elated after winning the award.

"Working under Rahman sir is always a divine experience," said Chinmayi who was introduced by the popular music composer in the Mani Ratnam directed 'Kannathil Muthamittal' in 2002.

The song also fetched Chinmayi her first state government award for the best female playback singer.

Chinmayi, 24, who learned music from her mother, was studying in the 12th standard when she first met Rahman.


Courtesy: ptinews.com

Vikram wants to be ‘Captain of the Ship’

‘Kanthaswamy’ – Vikram's big film of the year has finally released with a record breaking ticket sales. The film is getting great reviews. We catch up with Chiyan Vikram who talks about his movie Kanthaswamy, his dream of working with Mani Ratnam and more...  Tell us about Kanthaswamy?  Vikram: It’s the earnest hard work of the entire team that had really urged me to put more and more efforts for perfection. For sure, this would be a special film for all the Tamil Cinema buffs.  Looks like your dream of working with Mani Ratnam has come true?  Vikram: Definitely, it’s a blessing to work with such filmmakers. Mani Ratnam and Bala are the best in tinsel town, who don’t compromise with certain things at any extent. Working with Mani Ratnam was a blissful moment. We shot across locales of Ooty, dense forests of Kerala, thickly-populated areas of Kolkata and cold-climatic area of Madhya Pradesh.  Your experience of shooting for ‘Raavan’...  Vikram: Mani Ratnam can be best ennobled as a warrior on battle ground, when he’s on the shooting spots. He has everything pre-planned in his mind and knows the limit of reality to be delivered on the screens. He never allows exaggeration to preponderate in the final take. Abhishek and Aishwarya were contrastive in their nature. Abhishek was so jovial who would remain on the sets even after his portions are finished. When it comes to Aishwarya Rai, she’s so professional and encouraging.  How do you manage to portray the all the different characters in your films with such excellence?  Vikram: I inhale the traits of every character I perform in each film. I live deeply under the skin of characterization even during non-shooting periods. That precisely helps me out in elevating the roles’ traits.  How about your Bollywood dreams?  Vikram: Many say that Language isn’t a barrier. Possibly, I would say an actor must understand the language first and that would alone get them right into the feel. All my focus is in South Indian films as I have good linguistic skills in all the languages.  We hear you are planning to get into direction soon?  Vikram: Naturally, I am very interested in direction. Every actor has his dreams of achieving the designation of ‘Captain of the Ship’. Working with so many filmmakers Shankar, Bala, Mani Ratnam, I have gained unique experience. Within next 5 years, I am sure to direct a flick.  Tamil film industry is hero-oriented. What’s your take?  Vikram: Maybe, but according to me, I solely believe and act as per the director’s taste and requests.  What will be your dream role?  Vikram: I am performing a role that is close-to-my-heart in Selvaraghavan’s next film. I am curiously waiting for the film’s shooting to commence.  Are you an ardent believer of God?  Vikram: Definitely, I put all my trust in God and he has gifted me with success. Hope, he makes me an actor in next birth as well.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Kandhasamy betters Sivaji, in 18 city theatres

Vikram-Shriya starrer Kandhasamy, it seems like, has overtaken the opening collection and release records that the superstar set with 'Sivaji The Boss'.

'Kandhasamy', which finally hit screens on Friday, created a record in Tamil cinema by being released in 18 theatres in Chennai alone. It also had a huge international release, covering over 900 theatres world-over (in Tamil and Telugu)!

Such a theatrical release, coupled with the overwhelming opening revenues it has generated, has so far remained the preserve only of Rajinikanth. It is for the first time that a Vikram film, despite the actor not having delivered a hit after 'Anniyan' in 2005, has received such a response. Produced by Dhanu’s V Creations, 'Kandhaswamy' is a superhero flick directed by 'Thiruttu Payale' fame Susi Ganeshan.

“For the first time in Tamil cinema’s history, a film has been released in 18 theatres in the city. The film which came closest to this was Rajini’s blockbuster 'Sivaji The Boss', which was released in 17 theatres in Chennai,” says popular distributor Abirami Ramanathan, who has bagged the city distribution rights for the film at a whopping Rs 4 crore. He had earlier bought the rights of 'Sivaji The Boss' as well, which also starred 'Kandhasamy’s heroine Shriya, along with Rajinikanth. 'Kandhasamy', which is being released extensively abroad as well, in Malyasia, USA, Dubai and Sri Lanka (in that order of importance), has been released with an eye to quickly retrieve the money spent on it.

Speaking to Express, producer Dhanu says “The distribution pattern is such that we can recover our production amount in two-and-a-half weeks.” Ask him for the money spent on making the film, and he says “It is definitely a higher budget film that Rajini’s 'Sivaji The Boss', where biggies like Rajinikanth, Shankar and AR Rahman were involved. We didn’t spend so much on the cast or technicians, but the film has been shot lavishly in Mexico,” Industry sources say the film has been made at a budget of over Rs 40 crore.

For Vikram fans, who’ve been a disappointed lot with no hit from him after 'Anniyan', it was a red lettered day. Though their actor couldn’t make it to Chennai at the time of the release, the fans let their adulation known by creating a record in the advance booking. “We opened bookings on Sunday for the film and in the next 12 hours, 1,40,000 tickets were sold, generating Rs 95 lakh. This is also a record in Chennai,” Ramanathan says. But the similarity and comparison with Sivaji seem to have extended to the audience too, who thought 'Kandhasamy' was pretty much like Sivaji, the story of a hero playing Robinhood.

For the producer, who says the film has been booked for a week, the next project is on: to release the film in Spanish, Italian and English, after trimming the movie to 1.5 hours.


Courtesy: expressbuzz.com

Vikram, not only an actor…

Vikram is really excited for his two mega projects, ‘Kanthaswamy’ and ‘Raavana’, both being bi-lingual movies took a good amount of time to finish. ‘Kanthaswamy’ is big time project from Susi Ganesan while ‘Raavana’ is equally a magnum opus of Mani Ratnam with striking cast.

Vikram’s film portfolio reflects movies that have created impact among the audience. Each of his movie essays character that would be quite different from his previous one. But few knew that he only entered the film world with a dream to buy a sports car! But do you know that he expressed his desire to become a top hero some day, to his wife when they first met? He not only has a penchant for acting but also has good taste of fashion. It was him who designed the entire cast’s wardrobe in the super hit movie ‘Majaa’. And not only that, as we all know he is a good singer and loves to sing!

Well, our Chiyaan surely has hidden talents!

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Marma Yogi is not abandoned!

Putting the ever-churning rumor mills to rest, production company Pyramid Saimira convened a press meet at the Devi Sridevi preview theater in Chennai today to throw light on Marma Yogi. Swaminathan, who heads the operations of the Pyramid Saimira, spoke to the press. He clarified Pyramid Saimira's stand on the issue and refuted rumors that

the company is going through a finance crunch that is gripping the global economy. "Saimira's finances are healthy and the company is well insulated against the crisis. We have steady finance flow to be able to fund a 150 crore project," he noted. He also admitted that Marma Yogi plans are on hold temporarily and Saimira will resume the project once the turbulent world economy has settled. "We have no intentions to abandon the project," he assured.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Kamal's plans for Thalaivan Irukkiran

So what if Trisha and Shriya were straining their muscles to learn martial arts and the nuances of Tamil language for Marma Yogi? All this will not hopefully go down the drain now that Marma Yogi is abandoned. Kamal is planning to utilize the dates of these two pretty lasses for his next venture, Thalaivan Irukkiran. Since Sai Mira couldn't mobilize funds for

Marma Yogi, the project is, in all probabilities, shelved. Tentatively titled Thalaivan Irukkiran, the new movie is touted to be a racy adventure comedy with involvement from some of the bigwigs of the Indian film industry. The movie will star the likes of Mohanlal, Rishi Kapoor, and Venkatesh and scored by A R Rahman. Kamal directs Thalaivan Irukkiran while Gemini Film Circuit will produce this venture, to be shot in the USA and Switzerland. An official announcement in this regard is expected soon.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Kamal's Marmayogi postponed!

Kamal Hassan's magnum opus Marmayogi has been temporarily shelved even before the shooting of the film started.

The shooting of the much-hyped Marmayogi was to start this month. Sources in Chennai says that the shooting was shelved as the producers felt that the budget of this movie is going to cross the estimated amount. Remember that it was Kamal’s dream project with 5 heroines including big names like Hema Malini, Trisha and Shriya.
As the producers Pyramid Saimira backed out now, Kamal Hassan has decided to suspend the shooting. The market buzz is that the producers felt that the film with a budget of Rs 100 to 120 crores is too much because a Kamal Hassan's movie as hero doesn’t have that much of market thoughMarmayogi is going to be a trilingual movie.
Kamal Hassan was supposed to act and direct this movie and had Venkatesh and Mumaith from Telugu too in pivotal roles. With Marmayogishooting being called off, Venkatesh will start shooting for his next filmKrishnam Vande Jagadgurum.
One person who will be badly affected by this cancellation is Trisha because she said 'No' to many other projects in Telugu and Tamil because ofMarmayogi. 


Courtesy: sify.com

Kamal’s ‘Marmayogi’ to start rolling from Nov 10

After a sensational hit like ‘Dasavataram’, Kamal Hassan is taking yet another prestigious project in his own direction. The story sittings for the film are in progress for the past several months. Kamal Hassan is in search of set properties, busy in selection of locations for the past some time and he had also grew beard exclusively for the film. It is well aware that Kamal Hassan always tries to keep something special in each of his film. He keeps his image aside when it comes to acting and he lives for films alone. With ‘Marmayogi’ Kamal is planning to one step ahead and is striving hard to make it a big hit too. In the process, he made several rehearsals with the artistes who are going to play in the film in different characters. Trisha is playing one of the heroines. The film has a typical story. It will not have any specific importance to a particular character and all the roles are equally important. This great film is most likely to start rolling formally from November 10 and efforts are being made in this regard.

Courtesy: nonstopcinema.com

Marma Yogi - Sun vs Saimira?

Although the photo shoots and initial groundwork of Marma Yogi are over, the movie has not taken off yet. Initial speculations also averred that Marma Yogi will kick off during September last week or October. In the midst, there was also news that Trisha and Shriya being asked to concentrate on their other projects. Latest in the series of news is that

Sun Pictures and Saimira are contending for the production rights of the movie. When contacted, SUN Pictures' Managing Director Saxena mentioned that talks were on in that direction, however nothing has been finalized. On the contrary, spokesperson from Saimira declared that the project has been bagged by them and that shooting is proposed to start from second week of November. More updates in this regard awaited.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Venkatesh's role in Marma Yogi

These days two films from the Tamil film industry are attracting a lot of attention and the more and more spot light falls on them, the more and more they try to wriggle away from it. Mum is said to be the keyword and nobody knows what's happening at the shooting spot. No marks for guessing this. The films are Shankar's Endhiran and Kamal's Marm Yogi.

A Tamil tabloid has released a few distant looking shots of Endiran and some shooting news. But as regards Marmayogi, there are wide varieties of speculations doing their rounds and the unit is yet to confirm the same. But for the fact that Kamal, Trisha and Shriya are in the film, nothing else is known. As per the latest buzz, Telugu actor Venkatesh will be doing the role of a Brahmin Pundit in Marma Yogi. Venkatesh is a versatile actor who has essayed different roles. Let us wait for the confirmation.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Asin in 'Marma Yogi'

Rumours are agog that Asin would share screen space with Kamal Haasan again after 'Dasavatharam'. Sources say Asin has been assigned to do a cameo in 'Marma Yogi', to be directed and enacted by Kamal Haasan. 

Kamal Haasan has managed a casting couch with who's who of the film industry to be a part of the project. Shriya, Trisha, Hema Malini and Venkatesh have already agreed to do prominent roles in the film. 

The buzz is, Kamal has opted for his star cast to do rehearsal in Chennai before commencing the shooting. The star cast will gather and perform a mock performance before going to the floor. 

Asin is considered by Kamal Haasan as his lucky mascot.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Around 7 places in Chennai for Marma Yogi

Kamal Haasan’s Marma Yogi is shaping up in a big way with all the ground work almost over. The shooting of this movie is expected to commence sometime in the second week of October as planned earlier. The latest report on this film is that Mumaith Khan has been roped in to play an important role and will also

do an item number. Veteran actress and danseuse Shobana has also been signed up to star pair up with Kamal Haasan. Interestingly, Shirya plays Kamal’s wife and Trisha plays his lady love in the film. Sources have it that Kamal will appear in three different roles in the film. Recently Kamal held a photo shoot in a background filled with swords and artifacts from that period. More interestingly, Kamal will build seven sets for the film all over Chennai.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Mumaith Khan in 'Marma Yogi'

Mumaith Khan, who shot to fame playing item numbers in a slew of Tamil films in the recent past, is the latest addition to the ‘Marma Yogi’ team. 

The movie enacted and directed by Kamal Haasan, features Trisha and Shriya in prominent roles. Buzz is that Venkatesh and Hemamalini have been roped in for special roles. With music by AR Rahman, the period film is all set to go to floors very soon. 

Latest news says Mumaith Khan has been roped in for a special role. Sources close to Kamal Haasan indicate, “Mumaith Khan would be playing a negative role in the film. Her role will have some grey shades.”

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Kamal’s spray make up for Marma Yogi

It is no secret anymore that Kamal Haasan gives equal importance to his makeup and acting. In his Aboorva Sagotharargal, Avvai Shanmugi, the latest Dasavatharam, where he donned 10 different get ups, he amazed the audience with his makeup. The star had his fans and critics wondering what he is up

to in his forthcoming venture Marma Yogi as the actor is known to come out with novel ideas. The latest buzz in the film industry is that Kamal Haasan used the Spray makeup technique during the photo shoot. This make up is used only in Hollywood and Kamal is the first to bring it to the Indian film industry. The advantage of using the spray makeup is that it gives a uniform color to the face and body.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Telugu super star in Marma Yogi

The Marma Yogi photo session is going on in full swing with Trisha, Shriya and Hema Malini participating along with Kamal Haasan. This over 100 crores budget film has everyone's attention even where the minutest detail is concerned. The latest buzz doing rounds on Kollywood and Tollywood is that Telugu super star Venkatesh has

been signed up to play an important role in Marma Yogi. It is said that Venkatesh is actively participating in the photo sessions. Incidentally, Venkatesh starred in the smash hit Telugu flick Adavari Maatalukke Arthalu Verule. Dhanush had featured in this film's Tamil version, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, alongside Nayanthara.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Kamal to romance four heroines!

Kamal Hassan's Rs 125 crore magnum opus Marmayogiwill have not one or two but four beautiful heroines -- Trisha , Shriya, Hema Malini  and two-time National Award winner Shobhana.
Shobhana is the latest to be a part of the trilingual film.Earlier she neither denied nor confirmed her role in the film stating that it would be better for Kamal Hassan to confirm the same.According Srinivasan of Pyramid Saimira group of production, the shooting for Marmayogi would commence sometime in mid-October. However, the date and exact location of the launch have not yet been finalised, he added.
Besides Shivanasamudram water falls in Mandya district, many other places in Karnataka have been chosen for shooting the period film set in eighth century India.


Courtesy: rediff.com

Trisha’s lessons for Marma Yogi

News about Marma Yogi, the high budget film produced by Pyramid Saimira, is pouring in every day. It is confirmed that Kamal Haasan will share the screen space with Trisha and Shriya. The photo shoot of this film has also been completed a few days ago. According to industry sources, Kamal has been insisting that Shriya should dub for the film as

well. Moreover, Trisha is undergoing a grueling Tamil phonetics class from a Tamil teacher to get her pronunciation right. It is said that Kamal wants her pronunciation to be on par with the ancient Tamil for this period film and would not settle for any imperfections whatsoever. In all probability, Shriya will also undergo this rigorous training, our source adds.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Marma Yogi's grand launch

Kamal's Marma Yogi is all set for a grand launch during the second week of October. Most probably, according to reliable sources, the date could be October 18th if everything goes well. The launch function, incidentally, will be held in Mumbai. It is said that a teaser trailer, which was shot in some exotic foreign locales, will be exhibited at the function to let the audience get a feel of the film.

The shooting of Marma Yogi is slated to begin even before the launch. Sources have it that Kamal Haasan will commence the shooting on September 26th at the Sethsamudram. The heroines of Marma Yogi, which was under speculation for a long while, has now been confirmed to be Trisha and Shriya.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Venkatesh in Kamal's Marmayogi?

These days, unusual combinations are happening in South Indian film industry. Actors from Tamil and Telugu are pairing together to get a wider reach. The biggest of all combinations is Kamal Haasan and Venkatesh. Yes, you read it right. Our Telugu top hero Venky has reportedly agreed to play a very crucial and important role in Kamal Haasan’s magnum opus Marmayogi to be launched very soon.
When Kamal approached Venky and narrated the story, Venkatesh immediately agreed to do it. Marmayogiis directed by Kamal and produced by Pyramid Saimira.
Trisha and Shriya are acting in the movie which is a period flick. Venky who always said that he is open to do multi-starrer movies provided the script is right is looking forward to Kamal’s Marmayogi. Currently, he is mulling over to cater dates for it.


Courtesy: sify.com

‘Marmayogi’ begins with photo shoot

The work on Kamal Haasan’s ‘Marmayogi’ has begun with a photo-session.  The photo shoot was held at a popular film studio in Chennai. 

 

Kamal Haasan, Trisha and Shriya Saran, the three leading actors in the film, were being photographed with antique ornaments ranging from anklets to head-gears, in tune with the storyline of the movie. 

 

The stills that are taken now will be used only during the inaugural function and for printing the invitation cards for the function, it is learnt.

Courtesy: msn.com