What's next after Ghajini?

After the smashing success of Ghajini, Director A R Murugadoss is all set to direct his second Hindi film. He says he's already decided on two stories but he's keeping the details firmly under wraps.

"I will definitely make more Hindi films. I have two stories in mind. Will work out the details in eight to ten days," said Murugadoss.

It was not the success of Ghajini that prompted him to pursue a Bollywood dream. He says Hindi movies were always on the cards.

"When I wrote Ghajini in Hindi, Aamir said he would act in it. It was a dream come true for me," he said.

But it's not only sucess that Murugadoss is relishing, he also savouring the experience of working with one of the best actors in Bollywood, Aamir Khan.

"At the start, Aamir told me, 'Just let me know if you need my help, with the language and dialogues'," he said.

The taste of sucess is sweet but it's only a lucky few who get to experience it. As for Murugadoss, he seems to have hit upon a winning formula.

Courtesy: ndtv.com

FXLabs, Eros Intl launch 3D game on Ghajini

FXLabs Studios, a Hyderabad-based game developer for PCs and video game consoles, has partnered Eros International Plc, a distributor of Bollywood film content in the UK, US and Europe, to launch the country’s first 3D PC action game based on a Bollywood movie.




Developed on the Bollywood film ‘Ghajini’ starring Aamir Khan, ‘Ghajini - The Game’ will be distributed by Eros International in both Indian and international markets.
‘Ghajini’, a third person action game, recreated movie locations and scenes in the 3D world so as to provide the gamers with the actual movie sets to make the game playing experience as authentic and adventurous as the movie. The players get a first hand experience of the main protagonist and character Sanjay, played by Aamir Khan, and experience the challenges and trails faced by him.
“Aamir Khan has taken a keen interest during the development of the game. The actor has lent his voice and has also enacted certain ‘moves’ to bring in authenticity for the action sequences in the game,” FXLabs stated in a press release on Monday.



Courtesy: business-standard.com

Sivaji: Available on Blu-Ray now

After acquiring the DVD rights of Rajni starrer Sivajidirected by Shankar, Ayngaran International has launched Sivaji on Blu-Ray, the next-gen discs! Now,Sivaji Rajinikanth is not only a ‘Vellai Tamizhan’ but is also the brightest Tamizhan on TV!
What is Blu-Ray? While conventional CD and DVD readers/ writers use red laser rays to read or write/ read data, Blu-Ray writers uses blue laser rays (405 nm), with wavelengths shorter than red lasers (650 nm), which means the blue laser is finer than its red counterpart. This allows Blu-Ray writers to write more data in less space with greater precision. This is analogous to a sharp-sighted artist (enabled with good magnifying glass) painting on a grain of rice with his finest brush. Finer the brush, finer the art work; for these artists, there is enough space on a single grain to draw landscapes or intricate designs and patterns! Similarly, a single Blu-Ray DVD can store up to 500 GB of data.
Of late, being available on Blu-Ray format has become a status-builder for films. To that extent, Sivaji has added one more feather to its cap. Thanks to the efforts of Ayngaran International, now you can watch Sivaji on a Blu-Ray disc, which will be a first-of-a-kind experience.


Courtesy: galatta.com

A.R. Rahman's fete!

Slumdog Millionaire has received rave reviews from all quarters, especially for its music that was scored by A.R. Rahman. This film has already bagged some awards. The latest award that it has garnered is the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Fourteenth Annual Critics Choice Awards. A R Rahman made his countrymen proud by

bagging the Best Composer award. Slumdog Millionaire was directed by the English director Danny Boyle. Other awards that this film got were the Best Film, Best Director, Best Writer (Simon Beaufoy), Best Young Actor (Dev Patel). The event took place at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on January 8th, 2009.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

A R Rahaman launch nokia 5800

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Slumdog Millionaire is just a masala film

Blame it on the hype.
The reviews -- mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States, where the film was released first -- forSlumdog Millionaire [Images] compete with each other in discovering superlatives. It is being billed as the movie of the year gone by, and has catapulted its protagonists Dev Patel and Freida Pinto into competing with Oscar heavyweights in major award nominations.
So expectation is par for the course, I hope you will agree.
But after watching director Danny Boyle's attempt at encapsulating the India story with a miraculous tale, I for one was majorly under-whelmed. 
Let me try to explain why.

• Also Read: Showcasing Slumdog Millionaire

And for those of you who want to watch the movie first unencumbered by premature knowledge of plot turning points, please click away to another page, because it is impossible to critique this particular film without giving away what classify as 'spoilers'.
So where was I? The film. Do you remember a recent movie that had the tagline -- 'he was arrested for raping his daughter'? Well,Under-trial too was based on 'real events'.
The point I am trying to make is that a film about real events need not end up real enough, or engaging enough. That is precisely what Slumdog Millionaire suffers from, IMHO.
The premise is brimming with potential. A slum kid rises above fate to win Kaun Banega Crorepati -- the sets are ditto, as is the background music for the show -- and the love of his life. He is helped by destiny, as each of the questions on the quiz show is linked to an event in his life. Wow.
But the execution falls very flat because of two basic flaws: The language barrier, and a wishy washy story line.
It starts off with Jamal Malik being given the 'third degree' in a police station because the cops are sure the slum kid has cheated on the game show.
I agree custodial torture is not limited to Abu Ghraib. But what is not taken into account is the usual fall guy in 21st century India -- the media. If a 'slumdog' -- as the police inspector (Irrfan Khan [Images]) calls Jamal -- were to be poised to win Rs 20 million on KBC and if the country knew it (as it does in Slumdog), I doubt he would be subjected to any other grilling apart from that most profound of television journalism questions: "Aapko kaisa lag raha hai?" (How are you feeling?).

• Also Read: Ghetto superstar

And if he was arrested for cheating, it would be an even bigger story, with reporters grilling the police and PYTs (pretty young things) doing PTCs (piece to cameras, the bit where the reporter faces the camera and signs off with usually insights like: 'What will happen next remains to be seen. With cameraperson in Mumbai [Images], , ') in front of Jamal's slum.

Instead, Jamal narrates to the police inspector just how he knows the answer to each question.

So we flashback to him as child diving into potty -- isn't once enough, given that Boyle's gritty and edgy Trainspotting featured such a nauseating scene too? -- to get Amitabh Bachchan's [Images] autograph.
For all the Amitabh-crazed fans, maybe the megastar does oblige children caked in faeces; be sure to try it the next time.
More such flashbacks reveal the scars life has inflicted on Jamal and his brother Salim. The Bombay riots that orphaned Jamal; how he and his brother Salim met Latika, the love of Jamal's life, as children; the underworld don who has children's eyes gouged out so that they can earn more as beggars; how Jamal and Salim escape him and land up in Agra [Images]; how they come back; how Jamal and Salim and Latika are thrown apart; and how, eventually, love conquers all.
Again, fantastic -- and seemingly real -- premise; but shoddy experience.
For starters, the kids (who deliver heart-warming performances, faring way better than those who play their adult avatars) and his brother speak in Hindi, and suddenly when they turn adolescent they start talking in pucca English. Huh?
Arre, that's because the film is meant for a world audience, and you can't have an entire film in subtitles, you might say. Fine, but then why do the police officers have to speak 'Indian' English and why does the 'slumdog' have an accent?
And no, a semi-literate office help in a call centre does not develop an accent.
In fact, a lot of the 'how he knows the answers' flashbacks are too contrived. Sample this, Jamal knows Samuel Colt invented the revolver because Salim got a gun -- it is never explained how -- and shot dead the vile man who heads the beggars' racket. In my hometown, the pistol goes by monikers like 'machine' in the netherworld; I doubt the average underaged Mumbai underworld operative knows a Colt 45, or Samuel Colt. The first gun is usually what is called a 'country' revolver.
And then there is the stereotyped, half-baked, black and white characterisation, almost bar none. For example, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor [Images]), the KBC host, is the typical villain who taunts the chaiwallah on his show; and the audience joins in with jeering laughter. Agreed, slum children get life's rawest deal, but not on live television. More likely, sugary treatment on the show, and bitter backstage.
It is also not explained just why Prem goes after Jamal with such malice, beyond a muttered 'It's my show'. 
I can go on and on -- like point out that call centres serving customers in Scotland don't keep telephone directories of Indian cities accessible at the click of a button, and that mobile phones are not listed in telephone directories yet (that's how Jamal finds his brother again) -- but the point is that Slumdog Millionaire is miles short of what I had expected it to be.
The really key events, the struggles of survival, are glossed over, and instead we get montage (albeit beautiful) shots hurrying towards a climax that leaves you untouched. A R Rahman's music is good, but not the master's best. But then, maybe on second hearing it will grow on you.
But -- maybe it's just me -- you never really feel for the adult Jamal. Maybe it has something to do with the acting.
I have no problems with the 'West' taking up themes of poverty and highlighting the real India. I can completely understand a foreigner being obsessed with the filth and the poverty -- I too was stunned by the plight of the homeless in New York -- of India. I thought Slumdog is brilliantly shot, and I am willing to forgive Ram dressed as a mix between Shiva and Krishna in a foreign film.
But I do have a problem with a story that pretends to be real when in reality it is just a masala film -- the kind we churn out by the dozens in Bollywood.
Yes, Slumdog Millionaire is just superficial fluff, mainly because of its gaping plot holes. It should have been much better researched, and they really should have stuck to one language.
Maybe the makers -- and half the world, apparently -- believe they have married Bollywood escapism with Western sensibilities, but it is not a match made in cinema heaven. It is more along the lines of 1970s Bollywood tear-jerkers, the kind where the hero transforms from street urchin to gang lord in one running shot and where long-lost brothers are reunited by tattoos.
Blame it on the hype.
Rediff Rating: 


Courtesy: rediff.com

Ghetto superstar

You know a director is a true master when he can turn shit into dreams.
And if a man can do it twice over, he's a true bloody genius.
In Danny Boyle's 1996 masterpieceTrainspotting, Ewan McGregor's Renton pours himself disgustingly yet poetically through the worst toilet in Scotland for a handful of pills. The search goes from squalid to surreal as the filth is scavenged and the pills found, and for a brief hold-your-breath moment, the film becomes a beautiful ode to joy, before the patently polluted protagonist emerges into harsh reality. 
In Slumdog Millionaire [Images], Boyle's latest masterpiece, pint-sized Jamal Malik (played by a marvellous Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) finds himself barricaded inside a messy Mumbai [Images] latrine with all thoughts of his own constipation forgotten in a starry haze. The lord God Amitabh Bachchan [Images] is descending, via helicopter, into the slums for a brief moment, and our irresistible urchin is a huge fan. Images of Coolie dance before his desperate eyes, he briefly contemplates the pile of excrement below, and jumps -- right into the mess.
Standing up like a swamp monster -- only a hundred times more disgusting -- this creature covered in the goo of strangers holds up a picture of his idol and, repeatedly yelling 'Amitabachchan' as one word, makes his way through a frenzied mob, one that backs away at the sight of this scummy fanboy. Renton hunted for a hit while Jamal hunts for the greatest hitmaker in the land, and his triumphant instant of glory -- when we see that mythic left-hand scribble an autograph just for him -- is an immortal one, reminding us just how magical cinema can be. 
The film tells us the story of this very Jamal Malik, who at 18 has cleaned up to become a call-center chaiwallah capturing India's imagination by occupying the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? hot-seat with unbelievable accuracy. He seems to know every answer in the book, a fact that leads gleefully smarmy show host Prem to calls the cops on him on charges of cheating. The film thus begins with the cops torturing Jamal, but there is only that much of the saala slumdog they can resist as he spins them his tale, and it truly is a tale of wonder. 


Loosely based on Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A, Simon Beaufoy's script uses coincidences instead of commas and weaves a grand drama, a fantabulous reality-mocking story, of love and of loss, of survival and of sweethearts. It is a Dickensian tale set in a merciless, mesmerizing city with no time for minor detailing quibbles, with characters speaking not as they naturally would but as the madcap narrative demands, and reality itself breathlessly bending over backwards to accommodate the frenzied energy of Anthony Dod Mantle's disarmingly honest camera. 
By itself, the story -- set firmly in happenstance and high drama, in fantasy and formula -- could be just another piece of overbearing Bollywood kitsch, but Boyle takes it into his spirited hands and plays havoc, clearly relishing every bit of the high-intensity experience. A third of the film is in Hindi (co-director Loveleen Tandon has kept things impressively real) and Boyle uses up subtitles with delightful whimsy, bobbing about like unobtrusive comic-book speech bubbles instead of stagnating at the bottom of the screen. The result is an exceptionally dynamic energy that gels right into the film's rabid groove, urging the narrative forward even more.
The ensemble cast is uniformly pitch-perfect. Dev Patel is wonderfully woeful as the grown up Jamal, breaking into a smile only as he answers his final question in the film's climax, but young Khedekar pretty much outshines him as tiny Jamal, while Tanay Chheda's middle Jamal does rather well too.
Jamal's brother Salim is played likewise by a trio of three (chronologically: Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala and Madhur Mittal), the performances going from strength to strength.
Frieda Pinto's grown up Latika has a wonderful smile, but the true meat of her character's part lies with her youngest version played by Rubiana Ali, while Tanvi Ganesh [Images]Lonkar's middle Latika has the most haunting moments. 
Irrfan Khan [Images] seems to be in effortless vein as the police inspector, and it's great to see genuine vim in the eyes of the often-underused Anil Kapoor [Images]. As the show's ebullient host Prem, Kapoor finds nefarious joy in tossing seemingly harmless digs at young Jamal, and the actor sinks his teeth into the part as he masterfully alternates between an on-camera and off-camera persona, ego and arrogance giving way to silken charm soon as the lights are on. He shares a bathroom moment with Patel that leads to inevitable goosepimples -- not once but twice, in the moment itself and its eventual aftermath -- and the performance is a chilling one.  


Particularly laudable also, among the film's many revelations, is Ankur Vikal, who plays Maman, the Fagin of this particular tale, a begging-industry villain with a penchant for a particular Krishna bhajan. His character is the film's only absolute baddie, and he plays it stunningly, repulsively well. As for the bhajan itself, Darshan Do Ghanshyaam was penned by Gopal Singh Nepali and not Soordas, as Slumdog tells us.
But then in a world where Millionaire is broadcast live, where Kareena Kapoor [Images] from Yuva [Images] dances when Kareena from Don should, and where little municipal schools feature Alexander Dumas in the syllabus, the tiniest details clearly don't matter. All that does matter is that everybody -- repeat, everybody -- gets up and dances.  
And A R Rahman more than sees to that, in his own inimitable way. You'll see. That the director is from farflung Ireland and not right here in Mumbai -- not that you can tell, while watching -- is even more reason to celebrate this film. Grin through the joyous end-credits and pour forth your salutations to this magnificent tale of humanity's hope and hurdles, of the director's Bombaylove and his Bachchanmania, and of Jamal and his ridiculously irresistible heart. 
Boylesa'ab, salaam. 
Rediff Rating:  


Courtesy: rediff.com

Ghajini collection report in trouble

A petition by the producer of the Tamil version of Ghajini, calling for the collection details of the Hindi Ghajini came up for hearing at the High Court yesterday (6th January). It may be recalled that producer Salem Chandrasekar filed a petition seeking a stay on the film, as he had the rights of the film with him. The local court issued a stay order on the release

of Ghajini but this was conditionally vacated by the High Court of Madras on appeal after the defendant deposited Rs. 5 crores. Hearing the petition, the Division Bench comprising Justice Dhanapalan and Sathyanarayana called the defendants, Geetha Arts to submit the collection report. The defendants pleaded that the film is being screened in several parts of the country and hence it would take time to get the report. The judges ordered Geetha Arts to submit in writing the reasons for the delay and the time needed to submit the report. The case is posted for hearing on January 27th.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Paparazzi doesn't let Rajini & Ash alone!

The Rajinikanth starrer Endhiran is progressing very well amidst mounting expectations. Ever since the film commenced, the entire Indian film industry is keen watching the developments. To make matters even interesting, Endhiran has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starring opposite the Superstar.

Only recently, the production rights of this film were purchased by Sun Pictures from the original producers Eros International and Ayngaran. Being a mega budget film, the producers and director Shankar wanted every bit of privacy during the film shoot and they also took extra care to ensure the photos from the shooting are not leaked out. But with the latest technology rearing its ugly head we saw a few of the photos shot during the Endhiran shooting in Peru and Goa find its way to the internet. To top all this, the local paparazzi in Vellore have shot a few stills while the film unit was busy shooting at the Vellore Institute of Technology. Shankar naturally is fuming over this and is now said to working out a new strategy to prevent such things in future.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Vikram's jungle wedding

First leg of star director Mani Ratam's Raavan shoots are wrapped up in the Chalakkudi and Cunoor area. Mani also seems to have found his location for the next schedule of shoots, the dense jungles of Orsa in Madhya Pradesh. To join the cast and crew Vikram left to Delhi recently.

Further, to reach Orsa, a train journey from Delhi followed by subsequent road journey is required. Mani has finalized the Orsa jungles for the wedding scenes of Raavan, the movie heavily inspired by the mythological epic Ramayana.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Rajini set to look younger for Ash

South superstar Rajinikanth is ready to do anything for his leading lady Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. To work with Ash is a unique experience for Rajini. If he is the superstar of South then Ash is the queen of Bollywood. Both are coming together for Shankar’s Endhiran. The film is the costliest one ever made in India. One of the attracting angles associated with the flick is that Rajini will be shown romancing Ash inside a Benz car worth Rs. 1 Crore. To match up with the glamour of his leading lady and to hide his age, it is known that Rajini has undergone various facial treatments. By hook or by crook, he is determined to look younger and handsome.

Shankar’s endhiran is a sci-fi which included enormous graphics and heavy loaded stunts and romance. Rajinikanth will depict two roles. One being a scientist and the another Rajini will be a robot-Endhiran. Ash and Rajini have shot in various exotic locales of the world. A major part has been shot in Chennai.

Courtesy: bollywoodmantra.com

Murugadoss to do a film with Aamir again

After the box office success of his debut Hindi film Ghajini, A R Murugadoss has become a celebrity in Bollywood.

After the release of Ghajini, most of the Hindi superstars have been requesting Murugadoss to do a film for them. But the director is now preparing a script to make it in Hindi.

According to Murugadoss, he will not return to Tamil immediately. His next project will also be with Aamir Khan and after the completion of this project he will return to Tamil. "I have two scripts and want to work with Aamir again. I'm his biggest fan," said Murugadass,

Regarding the remake of Ghajini, the director commented: 'Aamir is truly a perfectionist as he is known in Bollywood. He's brilliant and brings a different level of energy on to the sets. There's nobody like him."

Actually Murugadoss made changes in the film to suit the Hindi audience and of course, the censor board asked them to cut down certain violent scenes in the film.

"Scenes which were very gory were cut and we made changes in the climax since I wasn't happy with it. The characterization of the songs was also changed and certain fight sequences were removed. I actually got to improve my own mistakes by remaking my film," said the director.

Courtesy: oneindia.in

Ghajini takes lead on the internet too

This year's best kept secret just upped the suspense quotient on the web! The makers of Ghajini are capitalizing the potential of the web to create maximum visibility for the film. Hungama, the largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment content globally, has created a innovative website www.rememberghajini.com. However, in addition to this website are the two virals: www.findghajini.com and www.wallofsuspects.com that grip the user and give him an experience like the movie, over the Internet.

The official website of the movie is one of a kind. For the first time, a movie website does not talk about the movie. That's right! The website maintains the suspense of this movie and does not provide a synopsis, while keeping the user engaged in a multitude of videos and images. What even further differentiates the website is that true to the theme of the film, the website refreshes itself every fifteen minutes. No matter which section the user is accessing, every fifteen minutes you are driven back to the homepage. To support it, there is a timer that runs at the bottom of each page.

The producers of Ghajini and Hungama believe this initiative has all the elements that will attract the online audiences to the theatres. Exclusive videos of Aamir Khan have been shot and used for the viral www.findghajini.com. In this viral application, the user plays the role of Sanjay Singhania (character played by Aamir Khan) and tries to find Ghajini through the clues provided. After the user finds a clue, he/ she is given a hint about where one might find the next one. After one finds all the clues, the user needs to dial a phone number on which one can hear Aamir Khan talking to them.

Commenting on the new route explored for Ghajini, Madhu Mantena, producer of Ghajini says, "Ghajini is a film with tremendous potential, and therefore we felt we owed it to the film to invest time and creativity in the marketing program. We strongly believe in giving each and every film the maximum attention possible to create a space in the audience's minds that merely does not create awareness but instead goes a step further to ensure a 'buy-in' to the film by creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. To achieve this thrust, promoting the movie online was extremely important. And it is for all to see that the website has fabulously brought forth the interesting elements of the film, giving viewers a complete experience of the film without revealing the plot and simultaneously engaging the viewer."

Hungama has integrated elements in all the three initiatives. In the viral www.wallofsuspects.com, users can upload their own photograph or that of their friends, much like the Aamir Khan's wall of suspects in the film. Once they have done so, they receive a code which is required to view the entire wall of suspects. What does this wall have? Find out yourself at www.rememberghajini.com.

Courtesy: oneindia.in

Aamir wants to remake Forrest Gump

If things go Aamir Khan's way, his fans might have an opportunity to see him remake the Hollywood blockbuster Forrest Gump.

The movie has impressed Aamir so much that on being asked which film he would choose to do as a Hindi remake after Ghajini, he says, "It's Tom Hank's Forrest Gump. I have seen this film. It's a wonderful movie. Tom Hanks has done a fantastic job. If I get an opportunity to do a remake, it has to be Forrest Gump."

Forrest Gump is the story of a man with a low IQ. He has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historical events. But despite all that he has achieved, his one true love eludes him. The film is a 1994 comedy-drama. It is based on the 1986 novel by Winston Groom. According to an estimate, the film turned out to be a huge commercial success, earning US$677 million worldwide. It became the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

Every bit of the film is shot with so much of precision that that Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan can't think of any other film for a perfect remake. Talking about the aspects of remakes, he feels that every film doesn't qualify for a good remake.

His currently running movie Ghajini is also a remake of the Tamil film of the same name and Aamir says that the concept of 15 minutes of memory loss impressed him very much. "This concept has not been used in any Bollywood film so far. So It impressed me very much and that's why I thought of working in it. From my point of view Forrest Gump is also a very good film for a Hindi-remake."

Courtesy: ndtv.com

Aamir Khan gives India its first Rs1 bn movie - Ghajini!

Mumbai, Dec 31: Aamir Khan’s ‘Ghajini’ will be written in golden words in the history of Indian cinema as it has brought India its first ever one billion bucks. Mr Perfectionist’s dedication and talent have finally paid off. Yes, the film that till yesterday was just a few bucks away from claiming the title of highest grosser this year has today not only become the biggest hit this year but also the most profitable film ever.With this, the much-anticipated flick not only cut its potential competitor ‘Singh Is Kinng’ to bits and pieces but has also defied the recession-hit economy.

And going by industry analysts, the whooping one billion bucks that the film has raked in is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, it’s only been a week since the film released. Observing the pace at which the cash registers are ringing, the film is touted to cross Rs 1.40 million mark by its second week.

According to reports, just five days after it’s release, the film’s collection passed the collection of the other mega hit ‘Singh Is Kinng’, which opened with Rs 900 million worldwide.

With such moolah coming his way, Aamir Khan is euphoric. Talking to a news daily, an overwhelmed Aamir said, "I'm very happy and thankful that the film is being appreciated by the audience so much. The hard work put in by the entire team is being appreciated by the people."

Well, looks like the year’s never over till the last day passes by, for Bollywood has just got its real King!

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Mani Ratnam shifts base to MP

Director Mani Ratnam’s forthcoming venture, which has Vikram, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles, is currently being filmed in the dense forests in Kerala. The film is titled as Ravan in Hindi and Ashogavanam in Tamil. A couple of months ago problem arose between the forest officials and the film crew over the abuse of the forest area by

the latter. This issue was solved between the parties and the shooting resumed after a few days halt. Sources close to the film unit now disclose, that Mani intends to shift base to the forests in Madhya Pradesh. According to cameraman Manikandan, shooting in these areas will go on for two months.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Aamir changed the climax - Murugadoss

Director Murugadoss, in an interview, has said that Aamir Khan rewrote the entire climax of the film. According to the director, Aamir wanted to stick to the original script but changed the climax to suit the Bollywood audience. He said that the Hindi version of Ghajini is far better than the Tamil version because the changes that have been made by Aamir Khan.

The film, which was released a few days ago, has already grossed over Rs. 90 crores worldwide. Murugadoss added that Aamir turned out to be his consultant. He disclosed that he would consult him for all his future ventures.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Robotic reproduction in Endhiran

A key scene of Endhiran was shot recently at the Vellore Institute of Technology. In the scene, a large number of people along with Rajini were seen standing expectantly in front of a giant screen and then suddenly erupting into applause. The scene was reminiscent to the expression of joy that was seen in the

ISRO offices after the successful launch of Chandrayan.

If you remember, Endhiran has Rajinikanth playing a scientist. In a scene that followed, Rajini was seen briefing the press and telling them that this was the first time that a robot had produced an offspring and this was most certainly one of the landmarks of science.

Robotic reproduction is something that has not been imagined even in Hollywood which churns out futuristic sci-fis every year. All credit to Shankar and the late Sujatha for this out of the world idea.

After completing the schedule at Vellore, the Endhiran unit is set to move to Kulu Manali for the next schedule.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Endhiran to be re-shot!

The portions of Endhiran which have been shot were recently screened for Kalanithi Maran. The producer is reportedly very happy with the way the scenes have come out and is said to have wholeheartedly praised director Shankar for the richness in every frame. However, the perfectionist that he is, Shankar has seen some scope for

improvement and has decided to re-shoot some of the scenes. With the producer already very happy with what has been made, only a director of Shankar’s quality would have been ready to put even more effort to make the movie better.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

AR Rahman's upgraded website

AR Rahman has decided to give his website a face-lift after two long years. The decision came in after his fans did not find much information about the musician and his works. AR Rahman's web site will be officially re-launched on January 6th, 2009 coinciding with his 43rd birthday. The new website will have his smash hit

videos, live show grabs, concert footage, his photographs, and songs compositions.

The most interesting feature of the web site will be the "Rahman's Recommendation" wherein he will personally select the top 10 songs of a particular genre.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com