Rajini hails Vairamuthu

Kaviyarasu Vairamuthu is truly a magician of lyrics. His abundant literary works and countless musical compositions are priceless treasures of Tamil cinema.

Recently the great poet and lyricist had impressed our Superstar Rajinikanth. Vairamuthu has penned the lyrics for few songs in Rajni’s ‘Endhiran’. Endhiran, meaning Robot, tells the story of a man who invents a robot. To suit the situation, Vairamuthu had written that as the robot is invented by a man, it has ‘father tongue’ and not ‘mother tongue’. Rajnikanth was bowled over this and wondered at Vairamuthu’s intelligence. A humble Vairamuthu said that even the director Shankar and Superstar were to share the appreciation for this line.

Well, we all are highly impressed with you sir, for all the memorable songs you have given so far.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

Aishwarya's Tamil stuns Rajinikanth

Aishwarya Bachchan has many hidden talents. One is her ability to grasp languages quickly. This, the unit of Shankar's Endhiran discovered while shooting with Aishwarya. She was required to hold her own against the glib-talking super-talking Rajni Sir. "And since Tamil isn’t really familiar territory for Aishwarya everyone including Rajni Sir and director Shankar was ready for several re-takes as she got used to the dialogue." To everyone's surprise Aishwarya got a grip of the language in no time at all.

"And she was soon rattling off the dialogues and getting hanged of the emotions with equal skill in both the Hindi and Tamil takes. So much so that Rajni Sir who has waited for decades to work with Aishwarya was taken aback." When asked about the above incident Aishwarya laughs, "Regional languages have never been a problem. I did a Bengali film Chokher Bali and I was able to get a hang of the complex intonations, though later they needed a particular sing-song tone and my voice had to be dubbed."

But the buzz in Robot is that they are planning to retain her Tamil lines in the final print. Says the actress from Ooty, "I'm not at familiar with Tamil. My mother tongue Tulu is very different from Tamil. But you must remember my first film River was in Tamil and I had to say lengthy lines in that film. From my beginnings with Mani Ratnam in Tamil to this my second Tamil film of my career….it's been quite a journey."

At the moment she's shooting in the freezing cold in Oooty for Mani Ratnam with Abhishek. "We shifted from the jungles of Kerala to Ooty by car so I couldn't accompany Abhishek. I've finished this schedule and go back to Shankar and Robot. Really gruelling."

Courtesy: oneindia.in

Vairamuthu's son in Endhiran

Here is yet another interesting snippet about Rajini's Endhiran - The Robot. Leading lyricist Vairamuthu's son Madhan Gorkey is going to make his debut with the help of Superstar Rajini and director Shankar.

It is really a dream gift for the recently married Madhan Gorkey. Things aren’t simple when you’re fixed for a great task in the superstar’s film. Earlier, it was Vairamuthu who was supposed to pen all the songs for Endhiran.

But in course of time, the versatile lyricist suggested to Shankar and Rajnikanth about his son Gorkey and got the green signal from both of them.

At the moment, nothing has been revealed about the song for which Gorky will be penning. Looks like it would be a romantic duet song for which Rahman has plans about roping in the best unheard voice from Bollywood.
Courtesy: oneindia.in

Sabu, the trendsetter

Noted art director Sabu Cyril is on a roll. The set he has put for Shankar-directed Endhiran starring superstar Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai 

Sabu Cyril

Bachchan has become a major tourist attraction. 

The set for the climax scene, erected behind an entertainment complex on the ECR near Chennai, is reported to have cost around Rs 5 crore. It is definitely the most expensive set put up for a Tamil film. The sequence shot on this expensive set will have Rajinikanth, who plays a scientist, fighting with 100 and more robots which are his look-alikes! 
Sabu Cyril has revolutionised the concept of an art director in Indian cinema. Today, he is one of the busiest production designers (as Hollywood would call him) in Indian cinema. 

Currently, Sabu is the art director for three Bollywood filmsand Endhiran is his first film in Tamil in five years, after Shankar’s Anniyan. 
Says Sabu, “I’m doing more work in Bollywood because the budgets are bigger there which gives you room to experiment. But as far as Endhiran is concerned, it is close to my heart as it is my 100th film as an art director. I’ve been fascinated by the project ever since director Shankar narrated the script. I had originally signed up for the project 10 years ago, when Shankar was planning to do it with Kamal Haasan. 

We had even done a photo shoot then. Later, SRK was supposed to do it, but that too did not work out. Now, Rajinikanth is doing it and he is the right choice.” 
Sabu has always been innovative and uses new materials for constructing film sets. He had remarked in an earlier interview that the perception of an art director had changed from being seen more like a carpenter who does the sets to wizards who give life to the film. Today, with the art director being consulted on everything from the colour scheme to the lead actor’s wardrobe, he had also requested that the term art directors be replaced with their Hollywood equivalent, production designers. 

In Endhiran, Sabu is using aluminum composite panel (ACP) for creating the sets. “Endhiran is the first film in India to use ACP to create eco-friendly sets, which unlike wood, can be recycled and cost only a third of the price of wood,” says Sabu and adds, “And structure wise, we have used scaffolding as support system.” 

Today, directors like Mani Ratnam, Shankar, Priyadarsan, Farah Khan and actors like Shah Rukh Khan want only Sabu for their films, but he just does not have the dates. When Karan Johar, who has worked only with his regular art director Sharmista Roy, wanted to create a flood scene for his My Name is Khan, he called up Sabu Cyril. And last week, Sabu signed up one more sci-fi film, this time with Shah Rukh Khan (RA-1), which will be directed by Anubhav Sinha. The shooting for the film will commence next year. 
“I love doing sci-fi as we have to do it on a limited budget, but at the same time, come up with sets that compete with Hollywood. I’ll prove with Endhiran, the biggest challenge in my life, that we are on par with the best in the world,” he signs off.

Courtesy: timesofindia.com

Aishwarya Rai’s fight with Rajinikanth

Ash’s ability to do stunts was evident in her films like Dhoom II and Jodhaa Akbar. The actress is now learning Karate from noted Karate master Ramesh to do some daredevil stunts in the Shankar-directed Endhiran.

From what we heard, the sources close to the team say, Ash will have a fight sequence in the film, where she will test her fighting skills on Rajinikanth. Sources say that Endhiran has a scene where Rajini teaches martial arts to Ash and an interesting fight sequence has been canned.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

New record in Endhiran’s sights

Who is the greatest publicist in Tamil cinema? Well, one year back, this question might have looked interesting. Tamil cinema has quite a few producers who know the art of promoting or marketing their films well. Publicity stills, stunts, star studded audio launches, promos, contests and whirlwind releases are all part of the big picture that makes cinema viable. Producers go all out to make sure that everyone knows about their film in theaters. Nothing ever becomes popular without advertisement, however good it might be. The importance of publicity and promotions cannot be over emphasized in cinema. The old and haloed production houses have always had their ways of promoting their movies. AVM was in full form in 2007 promoting Sivaji, making it a craze all over Tamil Nadu. The cut-outs were all over the city, the songs were

always on FM and practically all theaters were showing Sivaji; there is no better way to promote a movie. Kalaipuli Thanu too is known for his aggressive style of marketing. Quite a few years back, in 2001, when publicity was not a much talked about aspect, he went all out for Aalavandhan. That unfortunately did not work. But, in 2007, he proved that he has not lost his taste for big time promotion when he launched Kanthaswamy in a style that was never before seen in Tamil cinema, making it an overnight sensation. Now, with a grand audio release ceremony, he has set the stage for a big release which will probably work wonders for him. Another publicity and marketing icon of Tamil cinema is Aascar V Ravichandran. He has been the best over the past decade or so. He made it a habit of adopting small films and releasing them with the required backing, Chiththiram Pesudhadi was one such movie. But, it is not the small stuff that he specializes in. In 2005, he showed Kollywood that a big budget can be feasible and even profitable with appropriate release strategies and top gear publicity – Anniyan. Three years later, he once again showed his big budget skills with the multi-crore Dasavatharam. The way the movie was promoted on TV might not have been one of the best, but its pre-release events, especially the Jackie Chan special audio launch were master strokes by a man who knew what he was doing. As said above, around the same time last year, it would have been an interesting debate as to who among the three names mentioned above is the publicity and promotion king of Tamil cinema. But now, this debate has been rendered ineffective and meaningless by a new player in the field who is just too good inherently. Whom are we talking about? No, it is not any of those corporate giants - Ayngaran or Eros, it is South India’s most watched media conglomerate, SUN. If one remembers right, it was with the Nakul-Sunaina starrer Kadhalil Vizhunden that SUN Pictures first entered film distribution. Now, a year later, it makes a lot of sense to talk about their primacy in promotion and marketing when another Nakul-Sunaina starrer Maasilamani is in theaters. From Kadhalil Vizhunden to Maasilamani, SUN Pictures has bought around a dozen films including Thenavattu, Dindigul Sarathy, Padikkathavan, Ayan etc. Out of the films that they have invested in, only Ayan and Padikkathavan might qualify as comparatively big products. The rest are medium budget flicks that do not boast of much star power. Yet, SUN Pictures, has left no stone unturned in trying to make these films popular, of course, not without the cooperation and visibility that the SUN Network enjoys. Promos and trailers of all kinds, lengths and sizes are beamed on the main channels of the network, almost every five minutes. Even the most disinterested person will end up taking notice of such an incessant barrage of promotional videos. It is now being jocularly said that Maasilamani might be holding the all-time Tamil cinema record for having its trailer telecast most number of times on TV. Well, you might have to believe it if you turn on TV. SUN Pictures has certainly given new dimensions to publicity in Tamil, set new benchmarks and redefined the limits of promotion. But too much advertisement can be detrimental to a product too, raising expectations abnormally high. But, SUN Pictures doesn’t seem to be stopping at this. In fact, they are now into their first production and we all know that it as big as it can get - Endhiran. More than Rs. 100 crores, Superstar, Shankar, Aishwarya Rai and A.R. Rahman – these names are publicity enough for any movie. But, SUN Pictures will not take anything for granted. Rumors are already afoot about how they intend to promote the movie, even the Superstar may be making a special appearance personally inviting people to theaters. With more than Rs. 100 crores riding on it, we can expect publicity for Endhiran to touch pitches and intensity never seen before. Maybe the same time next year we will be talking about how Endhiran holds the record for having its trailer telecast on TV the highest number of times.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Endhiran’s new gadget

Here’s latest from the Endhiran sets. Shankar has hired a modified Maruti Gypsy for his fantasy-thriller Endhiran. The Maruti Gypsy, reportedly altered by a noted mechanic in Pudupet, Chennai, cost around Rs. 3 lakhs for the modification. The same vehicle, according to the mechanic, was also used for election campaigning and Shankar got bowled over by its design and hired it for the flick. The Gypsy, as huge as a bus, has 20-inch wheels fixed to it with significant modifications also done to the engine.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Superstar’s new project with SUN TV

Shankar is leaving no stones unturned to wrap up Endhiran in style. According to the latest available reports, there are signs that the mammoth venture’s production budget might well exceed the set limits of 150 crores. That’s not to say that SUN TV is curbing the expenses. On the other hand, the excessive production budget is also being met with, according to sources by the production giant.

Latest in the series is that Rajini has agreed for another movie after Endhiran for SUN pictures. A local tabloid has carried news to this effect adding that Rajini has nodded his consent for the project. Only an official announcement can clear the air, however.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Madhushree sings for 'Endhiran'

Madhushree, who sang the chartbuster "Vaaji Vaaji" in 'Sivaji, the Boss', has crooned a number for 'Endhiran, the Robot'. The singer, reportedly one of the favourite singers of AR Rahman, was very delighted to get another opportunity to sing in a Rajni starrer, directed by Shankar.
After the recording at A.M. Studios in Chennai, Madhusree posed for photographs with Rajni and Shankar. Our sources say that all the songs for the movie have been recorded and the film is progressing at a brisk pace.
'Endhiran', the costliest Indian film ever with a budget exceeding Rs 150 crore, is being produced by Sun Pictures. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays the female lead.

Courtesy: filmysouth.com

The other side of the Endhiran’s Kettavan!

Danny Denzongpa is the new man to fight with the superstar Rajinikanth! Sources close to the Endhiran team say that the sequences where Rajini and Danny appear on screen will be a treat to the fans, especially the intense fights. Though Danny is new to Kollywood, he has 154 films to his credit including Hindi, Nepali and Sikkim. The most famous of his films include the internationally acclaimed 7 Years in Tibet. Danny may be an actor

but he says that he does not like watching movies especially the dance sequences. The last film that he saw was an Amitabh Bachchan starrer in the year 1992. The actor has starred with stalwarts like Big B and Shah Rukh Khan. The baddie on screen that he is, Danny is a totally different man when not facing the camera. Danny initially wanted to get into the military but could not do so due to various reasons. Having found cinema the best avocation, the actor also pursued several of his interests off the screen. He is a noted artist in his home state Sikkim. Apart from that he is good at sculpting and writing too. Well, the superstar sure does have a tough baddie with all the best qualities!

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

The signature Shankar song!

Shankar has a story board for his songs and normally sits with his music director, lyric writer, cameraman and art director discussing the song in detail.

This includes details like camera angle and colour of the costumes worn by the lead artistes to match the background! In every Shankar film, there is a signature number which is a dream song showcasing a lot of splendor, glamour and glitz. The director has had classic hit numbers like Maya... in Indian, Randakka... in Anniyan or Vaaji Vaaji... in Sivaji. Something similar in style, with much more richness and grandeur, is being planned by the ace director for Endhiran where the lead pair (Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai) will be accompanied by nearly 1000 junior artistes, all of them wearing silvercoloured ‘Robo’ costumes with thongs.
The song, which was recorded recently by AR Rahman, was sung by Madhushree who also sang the popular Vaaji song in Sivaji. The song will soon be shot on a set created by art director Sabu Cyril in a Hyderabad studio.


Courtesy: indiatimes.com

Dasavatharam inspires Endhiran

What if Shankar has tightened the security measures making Pentagon to look like an easy place to duck out secrets, news about his forthcoming sci-fi magnum opus Endhiran are dime a dozen. While recent news suggested that the famous Danny Denzongpa will play villain in Endhiran, there is also news that a fight sequence will be the highlight of the film. Not one of those scenes with Danny and Rajini, but with two Rajinis.

As is known, Rajini plays dual role in the movie of that of a scientist and a Robot, developed by the scientist. The action hair-strand-raising sequences were filmed recently with stunt director Peter Hein choreographing the scenes. The fight is said to happen inside an enclosed glass cabinet. Not long ago, if you might remember, one such two-some fight sequence of Kamal (Christian Fletcher) and Kamal (Shingenn Narahashi) for Dasavatharam evoked a stupendous response.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Why Rajini went to a hair dresser?

Robot, Shankar’s project with Rajinikanth is progressing at a steady pace. Media has been speculating about the story of the film in various formats. The recent one to do the round is that scientist Rajini has created the robot Rajini for good purposes. However the Robot Rajini has fallen head over heels in love with Aishwarya Rai who does not reciprocate his feelings. To impress her, Robot Rajini goes to the best saloons in town and gets his hair done. Later on the Robot even visits City Centre to buy

good dresses. Though he tries various means, he is not successful but earns the wrath of the beauty queen. That’s how the story goes. Let us wait and watch for some more time to see if this theory on Endhiran story becomes true.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

'Endhiran' releasing only in 2011?

The much-awaited Rajnikanth film, 'Endhiran, the Robot', will be releasing only in 2011, it is rumoured. The film, directed by Shankar, also starsAishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The film, touted to be the costliest Indian fim ever made, with a budget exceeding Rs. 150 crore, is currently being produced by Sun Pictures. The original producers,Ayngaran International, backed out of the project citing recession and the high costs involved.

Oscar winner AR Rahman scores music for the film. The film reportedly has the superstar in a double role: As a scientist and as a robot created by him. The film has some of the best technicians in the industry working in it.

Courtesy: msn.com

Ash and Boss at Hyderabad

Endhiran alias Robot, the magnum opus of Shankar-Rajinikanth-Rahman is getting chiseled in a perfect manner. Currently the shooting is happening in India after the initial overseas schedule. Though secrecy has always remained the keyword with all of Shankar’s projects, the visual, print and the web media have been successful in getting hold of information about the film in one way or the other. The latest to come from the Robot’s stable is that a

song will be shot soon at Hyderabad involving the lead pair which is likely to be Shankar’s signature number. Industry sources aver that this song will be choreographed on lines of Randakka in Anniyan or Azhagana Ratshasi in Mudalvan where aesthetic and creative minds went into work which took care of the minutest details in the frame. The colossal set for this number will be created by Sabu Cyril in which Ash and Boss will be gyrating along with junior artists in expensive attire to the tune of double Oscar winner A R Rahman, sung by Madhushree.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Rajini - Ash’s Endhiran coziness

With Endhiran progressing day in and day out, there is no dearth of availability of news about the movie. The team was spotted in several parts of the Chennai city and its suburbs in the recent past. The lead pair, Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had been the cynosure of all eyes, especially the media, who were keen to know every little bit of detail involving them. Meanwhile, we heard wind of the fact that for one of

the intimate shoots involving Rajini and Aishwarya Rai, the crew members, except those of the bare minimum staff, were evacuated from the sets. These scenes were shot by Shankar at the AVM Studio recently. It is also learnt that these scenes are part of a song.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Endhiran - Exclusive pics from Peru

 

  

  

  

 

Courtesy: rediff.com

Rajni and Ash in a glass chamber

The Rajnikanth starrer Endhiran, which has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as his lead pair, is being produced by Sun Pictures on a whopping budget of Rs. 140 crores. Endhiran's director Shankar, known for his penchant for creating extravagant sets in his films, has erected a huge glass chamber to can just a few scenes of a duet. Sources close to the Endhiran unit

say that it is impossible for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajni to stay in the glass chamber for a long time and hence only a very few shots will be picturised in it and not the entire song sequence. The necessity to erect such an extravagant set is to enhance the visual effect, it is said.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Shankar finds Rajini's villain!

It is well known that the Rajini-starrer Endhiran's shooting is progressing at a breakneck speed to facilitate a release by the end of this year. The film also stars the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Director Shankar did not disclose the villain for this movie and kept it a closely guarded secret. But now our sources from Kollywood say that the

Bollywood actor Danny Denzongpa is the baddie in Endhiran. Danny Denzongpa shot to fame after his role in the Hindi film Qurbani became a huge hit. Yet another source close to the Endhiran team says that the unit is camping at a private engineering college near Chennai to can a few scenes that has both Rajinikanth and Aishwarya. Only the college students and staff are allowed inside the college to maintain privacy of the unit, our source adds.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

'Endhiran' – from Kollywood to Hollywood

Sun Pictures is all set to make director Shankar's dream of making it to Hollywood come true. It's on the verge of a tie-up with HBO which will see' Endhiran' being released in the West simultaneously.

'Endhiran' will be subtitled in English and released in Hollywood simultaneously, making it the biggest opening for the film industry. Rajinikanth's 'Sivaji' had raked in good money overseas and has made things easier for Shankar.

With promotion in full swing, the film is progressing well after having suffered due to the recent cyclone in Chennai. The crew is about to finish the shoot at VIT University College in Vellore. The next stop is Top Slip and Valparai and the crew will then move to Kulu Manali next year.

Meanwhile there are reports that say that a Benz car has been purchased for the film at a whopping cost of 90 lakhs. According to reports an important scene feautring Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai will be shot in a brand new high-end Benz car.

Superstar Rajinikanth is also said to be working out with a rigorous schedule, to fit the role of a scientist and a robot (the actor plays two roles in the film), and also to look slim fit enough to romance Aishwarya Rai.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com