Gowtham Menon thrown out of Ajith's film

It was all termed to be a rumuor until Gowtham Menon himself confirmed about directing Vijay’s film. Director Gowtham Menon laid his hand on ‘resurgence of Tamil cinema’ by making Hollywood-inclined led flicks.


Indeed, he drew more inspiration from Hollywood films Kaaka Kaaka, Vetaiyadu Vilayadu (inspired from Bone Collector), Pacchaikili Muthucharam (Derailed) and Vaaranam Aayiram (Tom Hanks starrer Forrest Gump).




Gowtham Menon was signed to direct Ajith Kumar’s film that is produced by Sivaji Productions. But as he failed to deliver the final draft of his script, the offer was withdrawn. At the moment, he is busy shooting for three projects simultaneously- Simbhu-Trisha starrer Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya, Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam and an untitled film featuring his manager and hottie Sameera Reddy in lead roles.


Amidst these busy schedules, Gowtham has confirmed that he will direct Vijay’s film very shortly and they’ve been discussing the script.


Courtesy: oneindia.in

A R Rahman to compose music for Vijay

Vijay is making sure that nothing goes wrong with his 50th flick. He has roped in Thamannah in her desired amount of 50 lacs. Sneha is yet another actress who would be seen in the movie. There were a lot of discussions about who will direct the film and finally Perarasu was zeroed in. Thouigh not confirmed by any team member, it has been heard that music maestro and Oscar winner A R Rahman will be composing the music for this flick.

It seems like Vijay is all set to make his 50th flick a memorable one

Courtesy: thaindian.com

'Kuruvi' flies high

The Vijay starrer 'Kuruvi' has successfully completed its 100-day run across a few theatres. Produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, grandson of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and son of Minister M. K Stalin, Kuruvi brought together the successful 'Ghilli' team. Vijay, Trisha, director Dharani and music director Vidyasagar managed to recreate the magic of 'Ghilli' with 'Kuruvi'.

An action-packed venture, the movie managed to find favor with Vijay fans and completed its 100-day run on Friday. A thrilled Dharani, says, ' we are happy to have made it big. We are hopeful to continue the good run'.

Meanwhile Udhayanidhi has geared up to commence his next venture which would feature Suriya and Nayanthara in lead role. The movie is to be directed by K S Ravikumar and buzz is that A R Rahman will be composing music for the film.

Courtesy: indiaglitz.com

‘Varanam Aayiram is a conservative film’

AFTER your comments about hating Bheema, you seem to be getting notorious for your frank opinions.

There was such build-up for Bheema! Director Lingusamy, Vikram and I keep running into one another. And Harris Jayraj, who did the music, kept saying, ‘It’s such a brilliant film.’ But when I went and watched it, I was so disappointed that I just had to say something about it.
But doesn’t this rub people the wrong way?


Yeah. I think Vikram hates me now and Vijay had a problem with what I said (about his giving me DVDs of his films so that I could incorporate elements from them into a script for him). But I don’t care. They can talk about my film too. That’s the way it should be. If Vikram and Vijay are not going to work with me because of this, I think it’s their loss.

So you don’t think you’re cutting off avenues?

I don’t think so. I’m making a film with newcomers - four boys. I don’t know how well the film will do, but at least I’m enjoying myself. These boys give me everything. Even Surya worked for me like that in Varanam Aayiram. I said, ‘At 17, I need you to look like this, at 21, like this and at 31, you’re a tough guy; so can we have a six-pack?’ It’s only for one scene. And for four months, he went off everything! He’d eat only boiled vegetables and chicken with no salt. And he was going through all that just for a film. I can always do a film with Surya, Karthi and with so many youngsters. But I’m hoping others will come around.

Tell us about Varanam Aayiram.

It’s the story of a young man on the verge of life. The film traces his life from the time he is born up to a point where he realises he’s made it in life. We see his first love, whether he gets to marry the girl he fell in love with and the equation he had with his father - an inspiration at every point in his life. It traces parts of my life and the lives of everybody I know.
So is it a sort of biopic of Gautam Menon?

It’s a very personal story. But what I’m hoping is that the guy next to you in the theatre will say, ‘Hey this has happened to me!’ Of course, there’s a little bit of fantasy.
Let’s shift gears to Chennayil Oru Mazhaikaalam.

Varanam Aayiram is a very conservative film in terms of what Surya thinks about women; but this is a very in-your-face sort of film with four boys and three girls. We wanted to cast only newcomers. Then the co-producer said, ‘We need somebody in this film other than Gautam and AR Rahman.’ So we pitched the idea to Trisha. She was looking forward to working with us.

There’s been a lot of talk about the switch from your regular - Harris Jayaraj.

I am doing a film with Harris in December which stars Ajit. I always wanted to work with Rahman right from when Minnale happened. Harris knows that too. Even Rahman was saying ‘You have a great record with Harris. They’ll think I’ve done something to that!’

With Ajit, will you attempt to tread a middle path between an Ajit film and a Gautam Menon film?

The only time that happened was with Vijay. I narrated bits of Varanam Aayiram to him. He said he loved it but then he said, ‘Can you bring some of my elements into the film?’ I said it wouldn’t work in a film like this. I don’t want to do that kind of compromise. I did that with Pachaikili Muthucharam. That was a mistake; and I don’t want to do that again.

Ever thought of doing films in Bollywood?

I don’t want to make the mistake I made with Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein. Nobody knows me there; so I want to go with a big actor that the crowd will come for. I am pitching something with Abhishek (Bachchan) right now. I’m also thinking of a remake of Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu with Amitabh, taking out the love angle.

Courtesy: newindpress.com

Age in action

Hollywood has finally acknowledged that action heroes who sell are like good wine, they get better with age.

That ageing action heroes still rule the roost has been proved by the critical acclaim Harrison Ford and his Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull received at Cannes, where it premiered last Sunday, and is expected to be this year's biggest summer blockbuster.

The film - which sees the 65-year-old Harrison Ford return to the role of Indiana Jones after a 19-year gap was praised by the world media, reportedly garnering a three-and-a-half minute standing ovation by the select few who were invited to watch it, according to a Hollywood trade publication.

Before the screening, huge crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the movie's super hero Harrison Ford, who is quoted as saying, “I expect to have the whip turned on me. I'm not really worried about it. I work for the people who pay to get in. They are my customers and my focus is on providing the best experience I can for those people.” According to Hollywood websites, the film and its hero have received a resounding thumbs-up from critics known to pan popular entertainers. Noted critic Derek Malcom in his review has surprisingly given three out of five for this film. The film's director, the legendary Steven Spielberg (62) has hinted that he and producer, the iconic George Lucas (63) may take a fifth installment of the world's most popular action adventure Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford!

All this is great news for Kollywood's ageing action heroes who are still in their mid 50s - the likes of Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Sarath Kumar and Arjun (44). These heroes have been around for more than 20 years, and are still the best in business. It reiterates the fact that like Hollywood's dad army - Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone (62) and Bruce Willis (53), our ageing stars have audiences' faith in them. “The Tamil audiences have grown up on Rajini sir and Kamal sir and they are still the poster boys for today's youth in the 16 to 25 age group as they have reached iconic status,” says director K S Ravikumar, who has worked with both the stars.

Just as older action heroes in Hollywood are facing stiff competition from younger and fit action heroes like Tom Cruise, Orlando Bloom and Jason Statham, in Kollywood too, stars like Vijay, Ajit and Surya in their mid 30s are giving the bigger superstars a run for their money. However, the bottom line is that younger action heroes worldwide are not in the same league or as charismatic and hot as the older guys who are all mega-brands with audiences of all ages.

Hollywood's ageing super heroes have the best of make-up men, stunts and fitness personnel monitoring round the clock their sagging skin, creaking bones, thinning hair, paunches, and back problems. The grapevine says that Ford was given air-brushing, his looks were digitally enhanced. This is afterall the world of make believe and our ageing stars too have been given digital make-overs for that youthful, debonair look and make their death-defying action scenes look natural and real on screen. The Kollywood buzz is that Shankar is going to give a totally new look to Rajinikanth in his forthcoming Robot. The director has already teamed with hair designer Bhanu and bought the latest expensive wigs from US for the star. Unlike in earlier days, technology can help a star hide his age and look smarter and more dashing on screen.

Though Rajinikanth's public appearances show his age, it never shows on screen. The trade attributes the success of Sivaji to Rajinikanth's young and charming looks in the film.

Shankar has spent a lot of time and energy to see that he could play the character he plays in the film. The buzz is that the actor keeps to a strict diet, consisting mainly of vegetarian food. Kamal, on the other hand, regularly works out and is very particular on how he looks on screen. Sarath Kumar also works out daily and is an actor who performs action scenes with a lot of conviction. So, while it might seem that size does matter, age definitely doesn't!

Courtesy: timesofindia.com

Rajini and Vijay – at the same time!

Production house Ayngaran International is gearing up to start one of the most expected projects of the year – Robot – on May 10th, 2008. This film will have Rajinikanth playing the lead role. Meanwhile, the Superstar is busy with a short-term project Kuselan, which is shaping up well under director P. Vasu.

Fans are exuberant about Robot because of the success that Rajini’s previous film, Sivaji, reaped. Added to the excitement of this are the big names involved in the project. With the beautiful Aishwarya Rai Bachchan bagging the female lead and sharing the screen space with the Superstar for the first time, it is no surprise that this film has managed to generate enough curiosity even before it hits the floors. The Ash factor apart, director Shankar and music director A. R. Rahman’s association with Robot is another reason for all the buzz.

Ayngaran International has another project on hand that could also take off around the same time Robot commences. This film has Vijay in the lead and will be directed by Prabhu Deva. The duo already has a big hit to their credit with Pokkiri. Will the magic rub off this time too?

Courtesy: behindwoods.com